Asian Diver and Scuba Diver No. 4/2016 Volume 143 | Page 3

WITH ITS BIGGER-THAN-MICK-JAGGER’S lips,
and its doleful (slightly gormless?) expression, the
humphead, Maori or Napoleon wrasse, Cheilinus
undulatus, is the biggest member of the wrasse
family, and one of the biggest fish on the reef.
These beautiful, and often friendly and inquisitive
fish, have been firmly on IUCN’s Red List for some
time, listed as Endangered.
They are one of the most expensive fish in
the world, and their capture for the aquarium
trade, as well as for the dinner table, continues to
threaten their future, and the future of the reefs
they inhabit, as poachers often resort to legal and
destructive fishing methods to catch them.

“Conservation is a state of
harmony between men and land”
Aldo Leopaold, 1887–1948

Dray Van Beeck

1,000 WORDS