Important Reason Why People Should Stop Eating Parrot Fish

• Parrot fish eat algae and dead coral and given that they spend 90% of its day nibbling, they are cleaning up the reefs in the process.
• Each parrot fish produces up to 320 kilograms (700 pounds) of sand a year, which is important for sand distribution.
• A Filipino diver pleaded for the local government to educate the fishermen so that they wouldn’t catch the parrot fish anymore.

Reg Carlotta, a deep sea diver from the Philippines, was going through the stalls in a public market when she saw something that upset her – the sight of colorful parrot fishes lined up and being sold as food.

It’s not that parrot fish are poisonous and not safe to eat, Carlotta explained. She said that this type of fish is perfectly edible, but there’s another reason why it’s best to leave them alone.

In a Facebook post, Carlotta explained that parrot fishes serve a more important purpose than being food for humans. She said that this fish is essential for the ocean’s regeneration.

There are important reasons why we should not eat them and dapat we should educate the fishermen to stop catching these beautiful fish! Please do spare them … the ocean needs them to regenerate.

Citing sources online, the diver said that parrot fish eat algae and dead coral and given that they spend 90% of its day nibbling, they are cleaning up the reefs in the process.

Here is why, Parrotfish eat algae and dead coral. They spend up to 90% of their day nibbling. In other words, they clean the reef. This is important because most of the reefs across the tropics are being smothered by algae because there are not enough parrotfish and other herbivores out there grazing.

Reefs across the tropics are being smothered by algae because there is lack of parrot fish and other herbivores grazing.

Carlotta also added that the parrot fish discharges white sand – each of them produces up to 320 kilograms (700 pounds) of sand a year and this goes on for the rest of its life. It’s important for sand distribution and avoiding beach erosion.

After all that eating, get this: They poop fine white sand – lots of it! Each parrotfish produces up to 320 kilograms (700 pounds) of sand each year.

This is why the parrot fishes are best left alone, she said. Referencing an information online, she explained.

“Their numbers are so depleted, and algae levels are so high, that they cannot be fished sustainably right now anywhere in the Caribbean. These flamboyant, algae-eating, sand-pooping fish need to be left in the water. And when they are left to chomp away, they do a brilliant job. A massive new report concludes that reefs where parrotfish were abundant in the 1980s are the reefs that are healthy now.”

She pleaded for the local government to educate the fishermen so that they wouldn’t catch the parrot fish anymore.