The problems associated with maricultural practices in ponds established in areas previously occupied by mangroves are exacerbated by the short life span of such ponds. Attendant problems of eutrophication, accumulation of toxins, sulfide-related acidification, and crop diseases limit use of a pond to a 5–10-year span, after which growers move on to a new area of mangrove (DeSilva 1998, Wolanski et al. 2000). This shifting cultivation pattern accelerates loss of mangrove environments, because the rate of recovery from spent ponds to mangrove forests is much slower than the rate of habitat loss (Primavera 1991). Fuller assessment of the combined effects of direct losses of habitat and the potentially major consequences of indirect effects of maricultural practices should therefore be a high priority for understanding what is taking place in one of the world's major coastal habitats.