Saving Face HK

Why Humphead Wrasse?
Humphead wrasse is a spectacular, large, reef fish found across coral reef ecosystems of the Indo‐Pacific region. This species is highly appreciated in the luxury seafood market and is one of the most expensive live reef food fish. Unfortunately, its biological characteristics makes the species “conservation-dependent” and vulnerable to uncontrolled fishing. The fish is listed on the IUCN Red List as “Endangered” and was included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II in 2004.

What is the Challenge?
Humphead wrasse was the first reef food fish ever-listed in CITES and success in managing it under CITES could be a role model for sustainable trade and conservation of other similar listed or to-be-listed fish species. One major and ongoing, threat to the species, and to the success of the important CITES listing, is illegal trade, including into and through Hong Kong.

How Saving Face works?
As part of the community, you can help to make the humphead wrasse CITES listing a success. You can help by recording and monitoring humphead wrasse trade in local markets, shops, restaurants and hotels. By taking or importing photos of humphead wrasse using the ‘Saving Face’ app, you can compare and recognize humphead wrasse individuals with the assistance of AI models. Through Saving Face, you can also report suspicious illegal trade of humphead wrasse to the government (Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department of Hong Kong) to assist their further investigations.

Why Hong Kong?
HK is the major importer for the globally threatened humphead wrasse, which is mainly caught in and exported from South East Asian countries, especially Indonesia. Our city is the major global trade hub for this fish which is imported for consumers in the city, tourists and for re-export, mainly to Mainland China. Despite the regulations and enforcement in HK in relation to CITES and conservation, illegal trade is ongoing in the city.

Why a facial app is needed?
A Licence to Possess system is implemented in HK by the AFCD under local laws to improve enforcement for laws to protect threatened species. This Licence is required for all entities to hold and sell wild-caught animals listed in CITES under a quota at any time. However, since tagging of individual animals is currently not used, nor any other method to distinguish legally imported fish individuals, Effective tracking and management of trade in an individual is currently impossible.

Why facial recognition?
Humphead wrasse has distinctive facial markings, including dark lines posterior to the eyes that are different for each individual of the species as a “fingerprint”. This can work with the photo records of legally imported live wild-caught fish taken by AFCD upon arrival of the fish.

Funding support was provided by Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong (OPCFHK).