Traders noted that they were aware it was illegal for this species to be exported from certain areas and noted that smuggling is a common phenomenon. Malaysia was reportedly the main source of Coral trout imports. Taiwan appears to be the only place where significant amounts of groupers are hatchery-reared. Air transport has become increasingly important for transporting fish as it enables a faster and more reliable supply. Transport by sea, however, is still used for imports of the larger specimens of Giant grouper and Humphead wrasse as larger specimens fare better if transported by sea.
Mortality is an issue of conservation concern because it is live fish, which are in demand.
Hence, more fish need to be caught to compensate for those that die in transit in order to meet demand. Thus, although they spoke of the 11 most commonly available species there were in fact 12. Analysis and comparison of officially recorded imports with interviews with traders provide an insight into the shortcomings of the current monitoring system in Hong Kong. Traders revealed that although Indonesia and the Philippines were the main countries of origin for Humphead wrasse imports, other countries exporting this species also included Australia, China, Malaysia, the Maldives, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. These countries are not recorded in the CSD data.