The movie targeted children who in turn begged their parents to buy them their own Nemo. The fact that normal cliental were unaffected and sales to new clients increased is significant because individuals involved in the marine aquarium hobby are generally older than the audience targeted by Finding Nemo. The next question that must be answered is, can the decreases in size of the clownfish population be linked to the aquarium trade? When asked the question, how did the release of the movie, Finding Nemo, affect the demand for clownfish and anemone’s, John Reiter, the owner of Fish and Other Ichthy Stuff, responded by saying “My normal cliental where unaffected but there was a substantial increase in demand from those who never had an aquarium before.” This response shows that the decrease in the population is related to the aquarium trade.
The results of this research leave no hope for someone trying to dispute the argument that the population of clownfish was affected immensely by the release of Finding Nemo. From this research scientists learned that the population density of clownfish in areas closed to fishing and collecting was as much as 25 times higher than in areas where fishing and collecting are allowed (Clownfish decline due to aquarium collecting). Doing so would allow them to rule out a natural cause as the reason for the population decreases. Based upon these facts it would appear as though Finding Nemo has had a significant impact on the population of clownfish, but in an effort to link the decreases in the population directly to the release of the movie, scientists decided to compare the size of the populations in protected areas to the size of the populations in unprotected areas. Sinclar discovered that the population of clownfish in Keppel Bay had gone from 25 to only six over the course of two years (Sinclar qtd. In some cases the populations have decreased by more than seventy five percent. Shoals that used to number dozens of clownfish have dwindled to just a few specimens, leaving them with difficulty breeding” (qtd. Sinclair has conducted numerous studies on populations of clownfish around the world and explains, “Studies of clownfish on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have revealed a dramatic population decline since the release of the movie in 2003. Since the release of Finding Nemo, many studies have been done in an attempt to capture the effects of the movie on the clownfish population. Hatcheries have begun breeding clownfish in captivity, but they are unable to keep up with demand, and when captive breed fish are not available aquarium shops resort to buying wild caught fish to keep from losing customers. The primary reason for the decrease in the clownfish population is the fish have been over collected to keep up with increased sales in the aquarium trade. The increased demand has caused the wild population of clownfish to shrink, and in some areas clownfish have almost become extinct. Children want their own Nemo.” Instead of getting the message across, the movie caused the demand for clownfish in the aquarium trade to rise drastically.
Yet did kids get the point? As clownfish sell out across the country the answer seems to be: not quite.
Sarah Osterhoudt explains, “Overall, the movie's message seems simple: fish are unhappy trapped in tanks. The primary goal of the movie was to portray the message that fish are better off left in the wild. In 2003, Disney and Pixar released their hit movie, Finding Nemo. After sharing it with John at FAIOS, he suggested that i post it here for others to read.įinding Nemo and its Effect on Clownfish in the Wild and in the Aquarium Trade Below is a paper that i wrote for one of my classes in college.
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