Educational Media Reviews Online

Plectropomus is a mouth-full of a name but the peril it faces is not unique to this one species. Also known as the coral trout, Plectropomus is one of many coral reef fishes in high demand for consumption by humans. The flesh of this fish can sell for over $100 per kilogram.

Plectropomus is a fascinating fish. All coral trout are born female and it spends the first month of its life adrift in the open sea. A few fish will turn into males later in life and it is during their frenzied mating season that humans have been able to harvest great numbers of coral trout as they aggregate to reproduce. The viewer will come away with an appreciation for the life cycle and life history of this reef fish.

Commercial harvesting is not the only peril facing Plectropomus. During World War II, fishermen began to use dynamite to catch reef fishes and the video makes use of underwater footage to show the extent of the destruction suffered by some reefs. More recently, cyanide has been used to capture these reef fishes for live delivery to Far East fish markets. The cyanide poisons not only the coral trout, but non-target fishes and corals as well. The use of cyanide is illegal, but it is difficult for any country to police the large area in which coral reefs occur. The practices employed in this fishery to date are quite shocking and the video footage captures the bleakness of the destroyed and de-populated reef.

There are a number of videos relating to coral reef life but what may be an advantage for this video is that it combines a lesson about the biology of reef fishes with a discussion of the environmental effects of human actions. I found the video informative and well edited and I highly recommend it for high school, college and adult viewers.