Pollom, R.A., Ralph, G.M., Pollock, C.M. and A.C.J. Vincent
Few marine taxa have been comprehensively assessed for their conservation status, despite heavy pressures from fishing, habitat degradation and climate change. Here we report on the first global assessment of extinction risk for 300 species of syngnathiform fishes known as of 2017, using the IUCN Red List criteria. This order of bony teleosts is dominated … Read more Global extinction risk for seahorses, pipefishes and their near relatives (Syngnathiformes)
Implementing a ban on fishing specific taxa is difficult enough without the added complexity of the taxa being primarily obtained as incidental catch. Most measures for restricting capture and trade to sustainable levels are directed towards targeted species, while overlooking the needs of incidentally caught species. Our study investigates the exploitation and conservation of seahorses … Read more State of seahorse fisheries in India, nearly two decades after they were banned
To pursue sustainable fisheries, the world needs to constrain bottom trawling (BT) through effective management. Such change is particularly urgent for China, which operates one of the largest bottom-trawl fisheries (BTF) both in and beyond its waters. We provide the first comprehensive review of China’s approach to BTF over seven decades (1949–2018) based on bibliometric … Read more China’s policies on bottom trawl fisheries over seven decades (1949–2018)
Vaidyanathan, T., Zhang, X., Balakrishnanm, R. and A.C.J. Vincent
All seahorse species (genus Hippocampus) are listed under Schedule I of India’s Wild Life Protection Act, making all capture and trade of seahorses illegal. In the more than 15 years since the ban, little work has been done to assess its effects on seahorse conservation. Between 2015 and 2017, fisheries and trade surveys were conducted … Read more Catch and trade bans for seahorses can be negated by non‐selective fisheries
Abstract: The first extensive seahorse trade surveys undertaken in India, during 1999, take on tremendous importance in light of subsequent changes in management of seahorse fisheries and trade. As these early surveys have never been published, we now present our findings. We gathered information from 325 interviews on the biology, fisheries, and trade of seahorses, … Read more The catch and trade of seahorses in India pre-ban
Article impact statement: Only when conservationists consider the perspective of government can they realize implementing their own advice is not as easy as it sounds. Abstract: What happens when those who provide conservation advice are required to take policy and management action based on that advice? Conservation advocates and scientists often try to prompt regulatory … Read more Realities of offering advice to governments on CITES
Abstract The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora decided to implement export controls for all seahorses in 2002 to ensure international trade is sustainable, legal and monitored. The Philippines, however, has not implemented the listing because their domestic Fisheries Code banned the extraction of any CITES listed marine species, … Read more The catch and trade of seahorses in the Philippines post-CITES
Article impact statement: : Modeling and mapping human impacts can reveal conservation status and threat patterns for data‐poor marine species. Abstract Understanding the threats acting upon marine organisms and their conservation status is vital but challenging given a paucity of data. Here we provide a global‐scale study of cumulative human impact (CHI) and conservation status of … Read more Using cumulative-human-impact models to reveal global threat patterns for seahorses
