Seahorses (genus Hippocampus) form a group of over 30 species of enigmatic and charismatic marine fish that are attracting increasing global concern for their threatened status. Particular issues include the overexploitation of seahorses in target and bycatch fisheries and their utilization for traditional Chinese medicines. Seahorses are also thought to be highly vulnerable to habitat loss and deterioration throughout their circumglobal range in temperate and tropical shallow seas. A suite of unusual biological characteristics, including male pregnancy, has not only stimulated research attention but also contributed to the seahorses' apparently vulnerable nature. Key areas of advancement in recent years, as reviewed here, include the application of genetic tools to confirm the monogamous behaviour of many species both within and between breeding events, to elucidate their challenging taxonomy, to gain insight into their evolution, biogeography and origins, and to identify which species are being traded internationally. Efforts to conserve seahorses have included both 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches, which together have highlighted the need for international regulation of seahorse exploitation and demonstrated that seahorses can stimulate local and regional action in protecting not only seahorses themselves but also a range of threatened habitats in which they live. Updating and extending the global assessment of individual seahorse species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is urgently needed (currently only eight species have been fully assessed), as are a renewed survey of the global seahorse trade and further studies to assess how best to protect seahorses within marine reserves.

The live reef fish trade (LRFT) is one of the greatest but least-quantified sources of fishing pressure for several species of large coral reef fish across the Indo-Pacific. For the first time we quantify the localized impact of the LRFT. We collected data from three LRFT traders in northern Borneo, which yielded information on daily fishing effort and the species and mass of all fishes sold every day by individual fishers or vessels over 2, 3 and 8 years. Total monthly catch and relative abundance (catch-per-unit-effort) declined significantly in several species, including the most valuable species the Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus, estimated changes of -98 and -78% over 8 years in catch and relative abundance, respectively) and lower-value bluelined groupers (Plectropomus oligocanthus: -99 and -81%) and Epinephelus groupers (-89 and -32%). These severe declines were rapid, species-specific and occurred in the first 2-4 years of the dataset and are, we believe, directly attributable to the LRFT. This has crucial implications for future data collection and monitoring if population collapses in other parts of the LRFT and similar wildlife trades are to be successfully detected.

In their Policy Forum “Globalization, roving bandits, and marine resources” (17 Mar., p. [1557][1]), F. Berkes and colleagues highlight the serious ecological and management consequences of sequential exploitation of biological resources by mobile agents with no attachment to place. Such “

merce de poissons de récif vivants entraîne une surexploitation des populations de poissons de récif (Johannes et Riepen 1995; Bentley 1999; Lau et Parry-Jones 1999; Sadovy et al. 2003; Hamilton et Matawai 2007). La principale diffi culté, dès lors qu’il s’agit de parvenir à une gestion durable du commerce de poissons de récif vivants, consiste à obtenir les données nécessaires pour déterminer l’infl uence du commerce sur la base de la ressource naturelle et défi nir les caractéristiques exactes de cette fi lière sur les plans spatial et temporel. Ces informations sont nécessaires pour suivre de près l’incidence de ce commerce sur des espèces précises (par exemple, informations à fournir en vue de l’obtention d’un avis de commerce non préjudiciable pour le napoléon inscrit à l’annexe 2 de la CITES, Cheilinus undulatus ; Chu et al. 2006) et pour prendre des mesures de gestion en connaissance de cause, tant dans les pêcheries existantes que dans les pays où le commerce n’a pas encore cours.

Consumer perspectives on the " web of causality " within the marine aquarium fi sh trade B.A. McCollum p. 20 Applying the triangle taste test to wild and cultured humpback grouper (Cromileptes altivelis) in the Hong Kong market Monitoring the live reef food fi sh trade: Lessons learned from local and global perspectives H. Scales et al. p. 36 The live reef fi sh trade in the Pacifi c: A look at recent trends and developments Three articles in this bulletin focus on the marine ornamentals trade. Together, they give an absorbing around-the-world tour of the trade, from the day-today lives of collectors in small fi shing villages in the Indo-Pacifi c to the buying habits of aquarium hobbyists in the United States. First, Gilles Lecaillon and Sven Michel Lourié report on recent developments in collecting and using post-larval reef fi sh – that is, young fi sh collected just before they settle on reefs. They describe the latest post-larval collection and grow-out methods and how they are being applied in the Indo-Pacifi c. They are optimistic that these methods can be used to produce fi sh for the aquarium trade and other purposes, but they cite further research and outreach that will be needed to make that happen. Next, Gayatri Reksodihardjo-Lilley and Ron Lilley take a close look at the supply side of the ornamentals trade through a case study of fi shing communities in north Bali. They describe the fi shing patterns and working conditions of collectors, as well as the very interesting business dynamics among collectors and the series of buyers up to the point of export. They conclude that reform of Indonesia's aquarium fi sh industry is needed, and that a fundamental step would be to get players near the demand side of the trade, including importers and exporters, to work more closely with collectors to improve working conditions, the quality of the product and reef management. Shifting to the demand side of the marine ornamentals trade, Breck Mc-Collum examines the perspectives and preferences of marine aquarium hobbyists in the United States. Like Reksodihardjo-Lilley and Lilley, she takes it as a given that reform of the trade is needed to safeguard the resource and to improve the lot of collectors. She fi nds that the information available to hobbyists and the general public pays little attention to the negative environmental and health impacts of the trade, …