The waters of Indonesia teem with a huge variety of fish but the rapiddegradation of coral reefs is threatening many species that are uniqu e in the world. Illegal practices such as blast fishing and cyanide fishing are enormously destructive. The demand for live capture of exotic fish is a real threat to the future of many species. Exported foraquariums and for human consumption, fish caught using cyanide repres ent more than 40% of Indonesia's exports. Fortunately, a few fishermen have adopted methods that respect the environment but they are in a very small minority.