Sea-Horsing Around

Meeting the demand for seahorses for use in traditional medicine has led to rapidly declining catches in some areas of southeast Asia. But in Handumon in the Philippines, villagers are working to restore the local seahorse fishery. Partnering with researchers from Oxford University, they’ve set up a small marine reserve where no one is allowed to fish for seahorses during the breeding season. They’ve also have helped restore seahorse habitat by planting thousands of mangrove trees. The project has been so successful that people in two nearby villages have started seahorse projects of their own.