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Abstract of the project.

Background:

Frogs' legs are widely considered to be delicacies. Many countries in Europe and America import large quantities of frogs' legs, mostly from Asia (Martin, 2000). India and Bangladesh used to be the main sources of supply, but in 1985 their two edible frog species (Euphyctis hexadactylus and Holobatrachus tigerinus) were included in Appendix II of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), because of declines in their populations (Abdulali, 1985; Pandian and Marian, 1986; Dash and Mahanta, 1993). Indonesia, which has exported frogs since 1969, (Susanto, 1989) has since become the primary exporter of frogs legs (Niekisch, 1986; Martens, 1991; Schmuck, 2000b). However, criticism of the Indonesian frog trade has increased (Barfield, 1986; Bazilescu, 1997; Patel, 1993; Schmuck, 2000a; Yuwono, 1998). The reason for this criticism is the possible impact of the frog trade, causing both diminishing populations of frogs and increasing use of pesticides as the frogs' role as biological controls is lost (Abdulali, 1985; Barfield, 1986; Oza, 1994). The impact of the frog leg trade in several countries, such as the United States, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, has been well documented (Abdulali, 1985; Jenning and Hayes, 1985; Pandian and Marian, 1986; Kahn, 1990; Oza, 1994; Jacques, 1999). However no effort has been made to study the edible frog trade in Indonesia and its impact on frog conservation. The harvest of edible frogs from Java has been going on for many years, and may be negatively affecting frog populations. To ensure the sustainability of the harvest, research about the impact of this trade is needed.

Project goals and research aims:

Gaps in our knowledge of the trade in edible Indonesian frogs make it difficult to evaluate the impact of this trade and its conservation implications. Although concerns have been raised about the possibility of reductions in frog populations caused by frog hunting, it is possible that the impact of frog hunting on these populations is not as great as people fear. To obtain an understanding of the impact of this trade in relation to ecological sustainability, there is a need to assess the trade and harvest and also to assess the distribution and status of populations of the edible species. The purpose of this project is therefore to provide sufficient empirical data to determine the impact of the Indonesian frog leg trade through detailed observations of harvesting and trading and regular sampling in the field. Empirically evaluating the impact of this trade will increase the likelihood of effectively conserving the edible species while maintaining sustainable use.

The aims of the research are to:

1. Quantify the extent of the Indonesian edible frog leg trade from the earliest records to the present.
2. Determine the distribution and population status of the harvested species in enough detail to permit modelling species rates of increase.
3. Investigate the possibility that environmental factors such as pesticides and diseases affect the abundance of the edible species
4. Incorporate the information on population biology and harvesting into models of the dynamics of harvested populations.
5. Use model to determine sustainable harvesting rates

Study Species and Sites:

This study will examine three common species of edible frogs, Fejervarya cancrivora, Fejervarya limnocharis and Limnonectes macrodon. All of the species are in the family Ranidae, and were previously placed in the genus Rana. The taxonomy of this genus is currently under revision but the result is not final and still debatable (Iskandar, 1998). However, I will use the taxonomy of Iskandar and Colijn (2000). Field sites for assessing population density and studying ecology will be established in rice fields and streams of the Bogor and Sukabumi district region, West Java, Indonesia. The trade and harvest study will be conducted in Bogor, Sukabumi area and Jakarta. The study areas have been selected based on the existence of trade and harvesting in this region and because data on past trade and accommodation and assistance in the field are available.

Literature cited:

Abdulali, H. 1985. On the export of frog legs from India. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 2:347-375.

Barfield, S. 1986. Indonesia's Frog Legs. Journal of Environmental Health: June 1986.

Bazilescu, I. 1996. Trading in frog legs. TED Case Studies NO 238 online on http://www.american.edu/ted/FROGS.HTM 5(1).

Dash, M. C. and J. K. Mahanta. 1993. Quantitative analysis of the community structure of tropical amphibian assemblages and its significance to conservation. J. Biosci. 18(1): 121-139.

Iskandar, DT. 1998. Amfibi Jawa dan Bali. Puslitbang Biologi -LIPI. 132 p.

Iskandar, DT and Colijn, E. 2000. Preliminary checklist of Southeast Asian and New Guinean Herpetfauna. Treubia 31 (3) supplement: 1-133.

Jacques, M. 1999. Bengali frog legs export and uses of pesticides. TED Case Studies No 508 online on http://www.american.edu/projects/mandala/TED/bangfrog.htm Volume 9(1).

Jenning MR and MP Hayes. 1985. Pre-1900 overharvest of California red-legged frogs (Rana aurora draytonii): the inducement for bullfrog (Rana catesbiana) introduction. Herpetologica 41: 94-103

Kahn, MS. 1990. The impact of human activity on the status and distribution of amphibians in Pakistan. Hamadryad 15:21-24

Martens, H. 1991. Trade in frog legs of wild SE Asian rana species: Some facts and considerations. Germany, Scientific Authorities of CITES, Germany.

Martin, RE. 2000. Other aquatic life of economic significance: Frogs and frog legs. In Marine and freshwater products handbook. Martin, RE., Carter, EP., Flick, GJJ. and Davis, LM. Lancaster, Technomic Pub. Co. Inc.: 279 - 287.

Niekisch, M. 1986. The international trade of frogs' legs. Traffic Bull. 8: 7-10.

Oza, GM. 1990. Ecological effects of the frog's legs trade. Environmentalist 10:39-41

Pandian, TJ and MP Marian. 1986. Production and utilization of frogs: an ecological view. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Anim. Sci.), Vol 95 no 3: pp 289 - 301

Patel, T (1993) French may eat Indonesia out of frogs. New scientist 1868:7

Schmuck, J. 2000(a). Amphibians in Human Nutrition. Page 214-217.in R. Hofrichter (Ed). 2000. The encyclopedia of Amphibians. Key Porter Books Lim. Ontario.

Schmuck, J. 2000(b). Trade and Species Conservation. Page 228-241 in R. Hofrichter (Ed). 2000. The encyclopedia of Amphibians. Key Porter Books Lim. Ontario.

Susanto, H. 1989. Budidaya Kodok Unggul, Jakarta: Penebar Swadaya.

Yuwono, FB. 1998. The trade of Live Reptiles in Indonesia. Page 9-15 in Erdelen, W (Ed). 1998. Conservation, Trade and Sustainable Use of Lizards and Snakes in Indonesia. Martensiella No 9.

 

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1 April 2002