The township of Langye, near Qingdao, lies beside a species rich part of the Yellow Sea. This area is home to the Japanese seahorse and other rare and protected animals like the narrow-ridged finless porpoise.
The Japanese seahorse is a small yellow-brown creature that can easily go unnoticed in a haul of fish. It lives in shallow water coral reefs and seagrass meadows and is threatened by bottom trawling and habitat loss. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists it as vulnerable. “Initially, the IUCN experts didn’t believe there were still seahorses living there,” said local fisher Liu Shujie. “They were shocked to see a fishing net bring 138 up in only 10 minutes.”
It was not until 2021 that China gave Class II protections to all of the 14 species of seahorses living in its waters. When this particular habitat was identified by IUCN seahorse experts in 2017, no special protections were put in place. Liu took the lead and, in 2019, formed a conservation group with other fishers called the Blue Bay Centre. Together, they protect the area by patrolling in their boats.
If the group’s conservation work is successful and meets the Convention on Biological Diversity’s definition of Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECM), it could count towards the target of having 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean area protected by 2030. There are hopes that agreement will be reached on this “Thirty by Thirty” target at the CBD talks later this year. However, China has no system for identifying or managing OECMs. There is much work to be done before the country can confirm if and where OECM definitions are being met.
The patrols and publicity work the group carries out make local fishers aware of the importance of protecting seahorses – in stark contrast to the practice of catching and even openly selling seahorses seen elsewhere. Liu says a case involving a seahorse stall at the nearby Rizhao market saw over 20 fishers arrested.
Liu Yi, national coordinator with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said: “As we see the fishers of Langye are enthusiastic about protecting the area, we are supporting them to enhance local capacities, build a sense of pride and recognition for conservation work among fishers, and preserve resources for future generations through charitable projects. We also encourage them to communicate and cooperate with the local authorities and win government recognition.”