🌊 New paper alert 🌊

Our latest study takes a deep dive into the relatives of seahorses, a group of fascinating but often understudied fishes.

projectseahorse.org/new-study-qu...

Hello! Great question. Depending where you live, there may be sustainable seafood programs to help consumers. For example, Seafood Watch in the US and Ocean Wise in Canada. In Europe, all seafood must show how it was caught on the label — more countries need to do the same!!

Bottom sea trawlers snaring many endangered species: UBC study Researchers say bottom trawling is taking a serious toll on marine ecosystems and recommend the world rethink this practice.

When we talk about fisheries, it’s our last wild food source that we consume on the regular. And this is not farming. It is going out into the wilderness and bulldozing wildlife.

vancouversun.com/news/bottom-...

@projectseahorse.bsky.social

Our latest research underscores the need for fisheries and managers to fully account for the extensive pressures that bottom trawls impose on marine fishes.

From seahorses to sharks, 3,000+ fish species have been caught in bottom trawls, including those most at risk. Our new global inventory shows that what’s recorded is only a glimpse of the true toll of bottom trawling. projectseahorse.org/bottom-trawling-catches-...

So proud to have helped create the #iSeahorse platform that has expanded our knowledge of seahorses around the globe. The incredible images of these magical fishes keep me inspired everyday - check them out! I just wish I got to spend more time underwater contributing sightings of my own!!

iSeahorse - Project Seahorse iSeahorse - saving seahorses together

April is #CitizenScienceMonth, and we are shining a spotlight on #iSeahorse, our very own citizen science project hosted on #iNaturalist 🌊🍃

Full story here: projectseahorse.org/iseahorsecitizensciencem...

#SavingSeahorses #ProjectSeahorse

The biggest hurdle is moving from policy outcomes to field outcomes—where protocols and promises become real frontline action.

If we want meaningful progress, we need to break that barrier. More data alone won’t do it.

More: www.linkedin.com/posts/sarah-...

Colleagues and I developed a framework to analyse policy implementation across four levels:

1. Technical outputs (research/data)

2. Policy outcomes (governance changes)

3. Field outcomes (on-the-ground action)

4. Impacts (biological/environmental results)

At the World Ocean Summit in Montreal, the focus was moving from commitments to action for ocean health.

But I was struck by how often “action” was framed as collecting more data. Data matters—but it’s rarely the main barrier. 🧵

🎥 Watch our talk: Assessing policy implementation in global trade of marine fishes - Project Seahorse Our Director, Dr Amanda Vincent, and Program Leader, Dr Sarah Foster, share how conservation policies move from agreements on paper to action on the ground for marine fishes in a recent talk at the In...

🎥 Watch now: Drawing on more than 20 years of experience with global trade regulations for marine fishes, @amandavincent.bsky.social and @sarahjfoster.bsky.social share insights from three case studies: seahorses, sharks, and humphead wrasse.
projectseahorse.org/assessingpol...

#ProjectSeahorse

Having been part of the team that brought iSeahorse into being, I can't be more proud of all it has achieved, or more thankful to the hundreds of people that have contributed observations over the years. Saving seahorse together indeed!

Reversing the Red for the Estuarine Pipefish by getting the science right — IUCN Seahorse, Pipefish & Seadragon February 7 marks Reverse the Red Day, part of a global movement focused on halting extinctions, reversing declines on the IUCN Red List, and restoring species through science-based action. For the Est...

Today is #ReversetheRedDay. For the Estuarine Pipefish (Syngnathus watermeyeri), it’s a reminder that reversing the red doesn’t always come with dramatic interventions, but often begins by getting the science right with research. Read more: www.iucn-seahorse.org/news/2026/2/...

A few days later, but representation in science should be celebrated every day! My answer to why it matters: Women in STEM are changemakers who think broadly, collaborate with pragmatism, and make science stronger and more inclusive.

At the side event we hosted at #CITESCop20, several 🇧🇷 🇮🇩🇵🇭🇹🇭 parties shared inspiring progress that has emerged directly from the #CITES Appendix II listing of #seahorses.

Grateful for all who joined, & to @sarahjfoster.bsky.social for leading this insightful session. 💙

📸 Tang Yong Jen

Presenting Ratapan Lautan (Lament of the ocean) by Pangrok Sulap — Inspired by Iconic Fishes As we seek new ways to highlight our iconic fishes, we are delighted to showcase Ratapan Lautan ( Lament of the Ocean ) , a striking woodcut by Pangrok Sulap . Pangrok Sulap is a Malaysian collec...

Showcasing "Ratapan Lautan" in our Inspired by Iconic Fishes movement - a striking woodcut by Pangrok Sulap and the Kampung Tajau Laut fishing community in Malaysia. Explore the artist statement and watch the 4-min making-of documentary
🎥👉 www.iconicfishes.art/updates/pres...

#IconicFishes #Art

Seahorse Decisions adopted by consensus at #CoP20Samarkand @projectseahorse.bsky.social @iucnseahorse.bsky.social

Side event today!

Why decisions made at CITES CoP matter for seahorses - Project Seahorse Insights from Dr Sarah Foster, Project Seahorse Program Leader, reporting from CoP20 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. I’m honoured to be at the 20th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endang...

Why decisions made at CITES CoP20 matter for seahorses: projectseahorse.org/why-decision...

CITES Parties to deliberate potential listings of animals and plants in the CITES Appendices at the landmark World Wildlife Conference in Samarkand: CITES Secretariat Final Recommendations released | ... Geneva, 15 October 2025 — With just over one month to go before the 20th World Wildlife Conference, the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and

I've arrived in Uzbekistan to represent @iucnseahorse.bsky.social at CITES CoP20. Two weeks of critical decision-making that will affect the over 40,900 species of animals and plants listed on the CITES Appendices - including all species of seahorse. cites.org/eng/news/pr/...

Will you be at #CITESCop20? So will Dr. Sarah Foster
@sarahjfoster.bsky.social, our Focal Point for Global Fisheries and Trade. If you spot her, please say hello, & be sure to join our side event "Global Action for Seahorses" on 29 Nov!
👉 www.iucn-seahorse.org/cites
#CoP20Samarkand #Uzbekistan

Will you be at #CITESCop20? So will Dr. Sarah Foster
@sarahjfoster.bsky.social, our Program Leader & the Focal Point for Global Fisheries & Trade for @iucnseahorse.bsky.social.

Learn about the seahorse decisions up for discussion & why they matter 👉 www.iucn-seahorse.org/cites
#CoP20Samarkand

A glimpse of “Lament of the Ocean” inspired by #IconicFishes, created by #artists at Pangrok Sulap & a fishing community in Malaysia. 👀How many of our iconic fishes can you spot in this woodcut print?
✨Stay tuned for the full reveal.
🎨 Feeling inspired to create? Start here 👉 www.iconicfishes.art

when you really need a "dislike" button....

'This should raise flags': Smuggling seahorses a $29 million global industry, say UBC researchers A UBC study found that nearly five million dried seahorses, used in traditional Chinese medicine, were seized at airports or in sea cargo.

One of the issues being addressed for seahorses at the 20th CITES CoP in Uzbekistan is seahorse illegal trade. Learn more about the scale of the issues in this news article covering our paper on seahorse smuggling vancouversun.com/news/smuggli...

CITES action — IUCN Seahorse, Pipefish & Seadragon

Excited to represent @iucnseahorse.bsky.social at the 20th CITES CoP in Samarkand, Uzbekistan (24 Nov–5 Dec 2025). Learn about the seahorse decisions up for discussion and why they matter: www.iucn-seahorse.org/cites

So many seahorses around Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - a place dear to my heart after spending a year near there living on board #bottomtrawlers for my PhD research. Perhaps our #iconicfishes can inspire a transition toward more sustainable fishing methods in the Gulf of California.

Proud to be part of an amazing group of dedicated conservationists, working to save seahorses and their seas. See what we got up to in 2024...

I'm definitely biased, but this is my favourite of the #iconicfishes

Excited that my first Blue Sky post is to share our new initiative which calls on artists of all kinds, in all places, to inspire love for our #iconicfishes. Looking forward to digging up some old seahorses in art photos to share with you soon.