The primary source of supply for the global trade in marine ornamental specimens is the archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines. It has been estimated that these two countries supply around two thirds of the market. The remainder of market supply is sourced from several countries, including Australia, Brazil, Fiji, Hawaii, the Maldives, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Around half of the specimens traded are fish with coral and invertebrates, each representing around 25% of product traded.

The global trade involves operations in many countries throughout the tropical world where significant regulatory disparities exist and the practices in some of those countries are destructive. As an industry leader, Cairns Marine clearly differentiates itself from suppliers of marine specimens elsewhere in the world that use poisons to catch fish but which kill the reef habitat that supports the nutritional requirements of many coastal communities.

The stringent regulatory environment in Australia conveys additional cost, which means that Australian suppliers must deliver only the highest quality specimens to the market in order to effectively compete.

In Australia

In Australia, specimens are sourced from Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. In Western Australia, there are 13 licenses, variously permitted to collect marine fish, coral and invertebrates, operating in nearshore waters adjacent to nearly 21,000 km of coastline. The total marine aquarium fish harvest in Western Australia represents about 35% of the national total.

In the Northern Territory, there are also 13 aquarium licences that permit the collection and sale of all aquatic life, including freshwater and marine fishes, plants and coral. Only seven licences were active in 2006. Commercial harvesting of marine species is concentrated in coastal waters near Nhulunbuy and the greater Darwin area. Few marine fishes are collected. The marine harvest primarily comprises hermit crabs, live rock, corals and anemones, much of which services the domestic market. More than 70% of the Northern Territory coastline has access prohibited under Native Title legislation.

Queensland

Around 60% of the total national marine aquarium fish collection occurs in Queensland, including those collected on the Great Barrier Reef. In Queensland there are 44 licenses for the collection of fish and invertebrates; and 59 licenses endorsed to collect coral. Many operators work across both the fish and coral fisheries and in total, there are around 40 businesses actively involved in aquarium specimen supply. These vary in scale from father and son outfits to the highly capitalised businesses that are multiply endorsed and carry a large support staff that service custom built shore based facilities.

As Australia's largest supplier, Cairns Marine has two ocean going 22m collection vessels, a state-of-the-art shore-based holding facility and employs 28 staff, including marine biologists and qualified aquarists. Cairns Marine is acutely aware of the standards of environmental performance demanded by communities and consumers and has taken steps for their business to establish the worlds highest standards and to demonstrate these as the benchmark for marine aquarium fish collectors and wholesalers worldwide.