Proceedings of the International Cyanide Detection Testing Workshop

through the implementation of a network of cyanide detection laboratories (CDT labs), this
program successfully reduced cyanide fi shing within the Philippines, at least temporarily.
Over a period of roughly eight years, IMA tested 48,000 aquarium fi sh and food fi sh for the
presence of cyanide. Cyanide was detected overall in about 25% of all aquarium fi sh and 44%
of the food fi sh. The testing appeared to serve as a deterrent, at least in the initial years, as the
proportion of aquarium fi sh testing positive declined from about 43% in 1996 to 8% in 1999.
Unfortunately, the numbers of fi sh testing positive for cyanide has increased in recent years,
and most CDT labs were closed in the mid 1990s.
In the United States, the issue of unsustainable trade in coral reef species was fi rst highlighted
in 1998 with Executive Order 13089 on Coral Reef Protection, which called for the creation
of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF). Over the next two years, USCRTF members
developed a road map for coral reef conservation, the National Action Plan to Conserve
Reefs, which outlines the key threats affecting reefs and identifi es specifi c actions to mitigate
those impacts. The Plan includes a section on international coral reefs and the role of the
United States as a major consumer of coral reef species. This section identifi es seven key
strategies to advance a sustainable marine ornamental fi shery, one of which specifi cally calls
on the United States to improve enforcement capacity domestically and internationally. As one
step to implement the recommendations in the Plan, the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation
Program provided funding in 2003 and 2004 to reestablish a lab in the Philippines and expand
testing into Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. These projects were halted in 2006, due to recent
publications by researchers from the University of Hong Kong (Mak et al., 2006) and reports
from the Marine Aquarium Council that suggested the Ion Selective Electrode (ISE) method
used in the Philippines was not sensitive enough to determine cyanide traces in exposed fi sh.
The USCRTF has also adopted three resolutions on trade since 2004. The most recent, in
May 2006, requested that the U.S. government identify existing or potential cyanide detection
tests that could determine whether fi sh had been exposed to cyanide and develop a cyanide
fi shing mitigation strategy. In response to the USCRTF resolution, NOAA convened the
International Cyanide Detection Testing Workshop (February 6-8, 2008, in Orlando, Florida)
to advance cyanide detection methods for the live reef fi sh trade. The primary objective of
this workshop was to review the state of testing methods and identify simple, cost-effective,
rapid, and internationally accepted tests to detect cyanide or its metabolites at different points
along the supply chain, from point of collection and export to ports of import in the United
States. Also identifi ed were key research needs and major steps that need to be implemented in
importing countries and exporting countries to curtail the use of cyanide. The United States is
committed to continuing its work with partners to address the recommendations identifi ed in
the workshop, including science questions pertaining to cyanide kinetics, additional testing and
validation of cyanide detection methods, and, ultimately, implementation of cyanide detection
laboratories.
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