Boeseman rainbowfish populations decline in Papua due to overfishing

The Maybrat community in Southwest Papua, Indonesia, identifies the boeseman rainbowfish as a local treasure known as sekiak. This fish species features distinct blue and orange colors and primarily inhabits Lake Ayamaru and its surrounding lakes.

Gerald Allen and Heiko Bleher collected live specimens from Lake Ayamaru in 1982 to begin breeding the fish outside of Papua. While these actions helped establish a global aquarium trade, the popularity of the fish led to intense pressure on wild populations.

An Australian government report from 2023 noted that fishers caught up to 60,000 males every month in Lake Ayamaru during the mid-1980s. Commercial breeding now provides most of the international supply, reducing the need to catch fish from the wild. However, local populations remain threatened. Research by Hidayah and colleagues in 2021 found that the abundance of boeseman rainbowfish in Lake Ayamaru is now very low or difficult to find because of overfishing and habitat changes.