What is the complete supply chain for coral from ocean to my living room?

[Layne.Wilson]

So I was looking at my tank and all the different varieties and species of coral in it and it hit me that all of these are once from different parts of the ocean originally. This got me thinking about all the different places the coral had to have gone to before it got to me. I was talking to my friend about it and we came to the conclusion it goes in this order from 1-5. How close is this to what actually happens? Is there anything I’m missing?

1. Mariculture farms In Australia and Indonesia
2. Importers
3. Wholesalers
4. Retailers
5. Hobbyists/collectors
   

 

[ichthyogeek]

Hmm...well, you're not wrong from a mariculture perspective. But keep in mind that a lot of the large single polyp corals (Trachyphyllias, Elegances, Homophyllia/Scolymias, etc.) are wild collected and not maricultured. Usually it's the following for them:

1. Collector (who is definitely not being paid enough)
2. Containment facility (typically nearby, ships to: )
3. Importers
4. Wholesalers
5. Retailers
6. Hobbyists/Collectors/Public Aquariums

 

[Layne.Wilson]

Hmm...well, you're not wrong from a mariculture perspective. But keep in mind that a lot of the large single polyp corals (Trachyphyllias, Elegances, Homophyllia/Scolymias, etc.) are wild collected and not maricultured. Usually it's the following for them:

1. Collector (who is definitely not being paid enough)
2. Containment facility (typically nearby, ships to: )
3. Importers
4. Wholesalers
5. Retailers
6. Hobbyists/Collectors/Public Aquariums

Very interesting do the collectors work for the containment facilities? And do the containment facilities ever import their own corals?

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Very interesting do the collectors work for the containment facilities? And do the containment facilities ever import their own corals?

I could be wrong, but I think this depends on the location and regulations there.