Project Seahorse
Project Seahorse was co-founded by ZSL in 1996 in response to the destructive, global seahorse fishery.
Identification of dried seahorses in Hong Kong market The project has developed into an international, multidisciplinary project and with bases in London, University of British Columbia and Philippines with projects also underway in Portugal and Sri Lanka. This year marks the 6th Anniversary of the Philippines’ non-government organisation, the Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation.
Seahorses are charismatic, fascinating and engaging. Their quirky features attract interest and make them one of the most iconic of fishes. Their reproductive strategy – including pair bonding and male pregnancy – is extraordinary in the animal kingdom. Most importantly, seahorses are representative of global threats to marine life: overfishing, bycatch (non-target fisheries) and habitat degradation and loss.
Seahorses are used for traditional medicine, live aquarium fishes and as souvenirs. Project Seahorse produced the first analyses on seahorse trade and consumption that led to new management regulations in Australia, Hong Kong, and the European Union. Our discovery of this extensive, expanding and detrimental trade resulted in our mentoring of a landmark agreement among 175 nations CITES . This requires the regulation of the international trade in seahorses for sustainability, the first such decision for the regualtion of marine fisheries.
Unusually, we have also actively engaged the traditional Chinese medicine traders in trade management. We have worked in Hong Kong for a decade, developing close and positive collaborations, notably with the Hong Kong Marine Medicinal Merchants Association. Our discussions with these key stakeholders resulted in voluntary changes in their practices even before the CITES legislation was introduced.
Our work in the Philippines is based on a previously rich double barrier reef in the central Philippines which has been heavily depleted by over-fishing and destructive fishing methods: The Danajon Bank is an international conservation priority due to its threatened coral reefs. It is also home to the greatest number of poor fishing communities in the Philippines.
We started in one village and helped the community set up one marine sanctuary where no fishing was allowed. Since then, we have helped set up a further 33 marine sanctuaries with 3-4 being added each year. Our eight year monitoring programme has shown these sanctuaries to work, improving the number, size and diversity of fish species both in and outside the reserves.
Short-nosed seahorse by Luc Rooman To encourage the fishers to work together, Project Seahorse catalysed a fishers’ alliance called KAMADA, which now consists of over 1,000 subsistence fishing families across the region. KAMADA encourages governments to enforce fishing laws, mobilises communities on conservation issues and implements and manages the marine sanctuaries.
The establishment of new MPAs has become less a Project Seahorse initiative and more a community and provincial government driven scheme, with Project Seahorse providing indirect support. This includes biological and social research as well as establishing long-term community-based monitoring programmes to measure MPA effectiveness. Training workshops are provided to local communities in MPA monitoring and management.
Project Seahorse conducts research on issues as diverse as species identification to understanding the balance between fishing and seaweed farming as livelihood options for poor fishing communities. For example, Project Seahorse research associate Sara Lourie, along with Rudie Kutier, have described three new seahorse species within Indonesia; Hippocampus severnsi, H.pontohi and H.satomiae. The newly found species are all varieties of pygmy seahorses and are rarely bigger than 2cm tall.
The long-nosed seahorse (H.guttulatus) and short-nosed (H.hippocampus) are both native to European waters, including the River Thames. Project Seahorse researcher Lucy Woodall has determined the genetic structure of these species throughout their range that has been directly input into management strategies to conserve these charismatic creatures.
The great success and achievements of the team has resulted in Project Seahorse being presented with the prestigious award for ‘Best Field Conservation Project’ by the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria ( BIAZA in 2009.
Project Seahorse’s current focus is the identification of seahorse hotspots globally and developing proposals for their management.
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To find out more download our factsheets:
Project Seahorse at 10 - A decade advancing marine conservation (1.3 MB)- Community based coastal resource management in the Philippines (143 KB)
- Marine protected areas in the Philippines (490 KB)
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