Advancing marine conservation
We are keen to advise Mexico on how best to meet its commitments under national law and international policy. To support this, we are collaborating with Professor Nuno Simões at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) on research that will help guide a national plan to protect seahorses. As part of this work, our …
Since launching our collaboration with Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) in early 2025, we have been working to support the Indonesian government in filling knowledge gaps and identify solutions to the impacts of current seahorse trade on wild seahorse populations. Our work has moved from building capacity to conducting field surveys and gathering …
Earlier this year, we issued a call for help to find “missing” seahorse species – species that are known to science but lack observations or data on iSeahorse, our global citizen science project hosted on iNaturalist. Now, one of them has turned up: the Zebra seahorse (Hippocampus zebra). Thanks to a recent observation from citizen …
An international team of scientists has named a seahorse species from the Indian Ocean, Hippocampus amandavincentae, in honour of Prof. Amanda Vincent, director and co-founder of UBC’s Project Seahorse, for pioneering seahorse science and advancing marine conservation. This magical seahorse was found by researchers among heaps of fish bycatch at Tuticorin harbour in southern India. …
This month, our PhD candidate and researcher, Yixuan Chen, is heading to China for her fieldwork and to investigate what keeps bottom trawling in operation despite its heavy costs.… Read more
Our research over the last four years has revealed the scale of pressures on seahorses in Peru. Our first assessment along the Peruvian coast by our PhD candidate and researcher, Marta Flotats, estimated that at least 17.3 million Pacific seahorses (Hippocampus ingens) were caught in 2022, mainly as bycatch in non-selective fisheries. Of these, at …
To help build Sri Lanka’s first national assessment of seahorses, last year our PhD candidate and researcher Samara Polwatta led a multi-sector workshop on seahorse conservation, bringing together 20 stakeholders from government agencies, NGOs, academia, and diving clubs. The workshop report, Advancing Seahorse Conservation in Sri Lanka, is now out.… Read more
Governments have made promises to protect seahorses from illegal and unsustainable trade. At the upcoming 34th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Animals Committee, taking place July 13-17 in Geneva, Switzerland, Project Seahorse will be there to help make sure governments follow through. Our program leader, Dr. Sarah Foster will be in attendance as the Focal Point for Global Fisheries and Trade for the IUCN SSC Seahorse, Pipefish and Seadragon Specialist Group, which we host.… Read more
Project Seahorse sends out the occasional newsletter. Link to the June 2026 newsletter… Read more
We are delighted to present Achievements 2025, a look back on a remarkable year of action, collaboration, and growing momentum in marine conservation, with seahorses guiding our mission.
Download Achievements 2025… Read more
