- When they are fed regularly, fish start to behave unnaturally, like trained animals in a circus. In areas where fish are not fed, there are still plenty to be seen, and they can be watched going about their normal fascinating daily routines.
- Feeding encourages only certain varieties of scavenger and predator fish, which come to dominate the area.
- Marine biology surveys have shown that the number of fish species seen on a reef area where fish are fed regularly, decreases by half the normal number.
- In areas where fish are not fed, there are many more species, in a much more natural balance.
- Fish feeding affects the whole balance of the reef. Many of the fish attracted to feeds are predators, who eat the smaller algae (plant)-eating fish in between feeding sessions.
- This lack of herbivorous (plant-eating) fish means that there is soon an overgrowth of the algae that they would normally have eaten, and the coral becomes overgrown and chokes. In areas where fish are regularly fed, the coral often dies.
We thank you for your co-operation in helping to preserve the natural balance of the Fijian coral reefs. It is our hope that you get more pleasure from observing the fishes’ natural behaviour than you would from feeding them.
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