Challenges and perspectives on tackling illegal or unsustainable wildlife trade

Illegal or unsustainable wildlife trade (IUWT) currently presents one of the most high-profile conservation challenges. There is no “one-size-fits-all” strategy, and a variety of disciplines and actors are needed for any counteractive approach to work effectively. Here, we detail common challenges faced when tackling IUWT, and we describe some available tools and technologies to curb and track IUWT (e.g. bans, quotas, protected areas, certification, captive-breeding and propagation, education and awareness). We discuss gaps to be filled in regulation, enforcement, engagement and knowledge about wildlife trade, and propose practical solutions to regulate and curb IUWT, paving the road for immediate action

Testing a global standard for quantifying species recovery and assessing conservation impact.

Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a "Green List of Species" (now the IUCN Green Status of Species). A draft Green Status framework for assessing species' progress toward recovery, published in 2018, proposed 2 separate but interlinked components: a standardized method (i.e., measurement against benchmarks of species' viability, functionality, and preimpact distribution) to determine current species recovery status (herein species recovery score) and application of that method to estimate past and potential future impacts of conservation based on 4 metrics (conservation legacy, conservation dependence, conservation gain, and recovery potential). We tested the framework with 181 species representing diverse taxa, life histories, biomes, and IUCN Red List categories (extinction risk). Based on the observed distribution of species' recovery scores, we propose the following species recovery categories: fully recovered, slightly depleted, moderately depleted, largely depleted, critically depleted, extinct in the wild, and indeterminate. Fifty-nine percent of tested species were considered largely or critically depleted. Although there was a negative relationship between extinction risk and species recovery score, variation was considerable. Some species in lower risk categories were assessed as farther from recovery than those at higher risk. This emphasizes that species recovery is conceptually different from extinction risk and reinforces the utility of the IUCN Green Status of Species to more fully understand species conservation status. Although extinction risk did not predict conservation legacy, conservation dependence, or conservation gain, it was positively correlated with recovery potential. Only 1.7% of tested species were categorized as zero across all 4 of these conservation impact metrics, indicating that conservation has, or will, play a role in improving or maintaining species status for the vast majority of these species. Based on our results, we devised an updated assessment framework that introduces the option of using a dynamic baseline to assess future impacts of conservation over the short term to avoid misleading results which were generated in a small number of cases, and redefines short term as 10 years to better align with conservation planning. These changes are reflected in the IUCN Green Status of Species Standard

Shark Attacks and Shark Diving Reply

It is with great astonishment and concern that I read the letter to the editor by Barreiros et al1 in which the authors report an attack by a blue shark on a spear fisherman in the Azores. Whereas the first part of the article accurately details the circumstances of the accident, Barreiros et al, in the second part, devise a far-fetched and illegitimate connection with shark diving, in particular with shark feeding

Seasonality of Ichthyofauna Bycatch in Shrimp Trawls from Different Depth Strata in the Southern Brazilian Coast

Changes in the species composition and ecological descriptors of fish assemblages in terms of abiotic factors such as depth, temperature, salinity, and granulometry were analyzed. Monthly trawls, from October 2003 to September 2004 (30 minutes each) were analyzed in two areas covering an important shrimp fishing site of the Brazilian coast. Results using bifactorial analysis of variance revealed a seasonal variation of environmental variables (p < 0.05), and granulometry analyses showed that the composition of the fishing grounds was similar-mostly sand. A total of 12,613 fish were collected: 7880 in area I and 4733 in area II. the highest values of capture in numerical abundance (catch per unit effort) occurred during winter. Fifty taxa were caught in area I, and 53 taxa were caught in area II. Both values are considered high when compared to previous studies conducted in nearby areas. Sciaenidae was the most speciose family in all samples and in both areas were dominant in number of species (37 species in area I and 42 species in area II). Cynoscion striatus was the most abundant and dominant species in both areas. Estimates of ecological descriptors, such as richness, diversity, and evenness, showed that the ichthyofauna structure was strongly influenced by climatic factors, and all values were more pronounced during fall and winter. the permutational multivariate analysis of variance demonstrated that ichthyofauna species composition differs among seasons. the Student's t test applied a posteriori showed that the community composition differed (significantly) in the following comparisons: spring vs. fall (p < 0.05) and winter vs. summer (p < 0.05). According to similarity percentage analysis, changes in the community structure were mainly correlated with species classified as abundant, which occurred unevenly during the different periods. Our results show that the fish community is influenced by seasonal variations such as salinity and temperature but not by depth or sand grain sizes.Federal University of Sao Carlos Programme in Ecology and Natural ResourcesUniversity of Vale do Itajai Office of Graduate Research, Extension and CultureConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Hidrobiol, BR-13565905 São Paulo, BrazilUniv Vale Itajai, Ctr Ciencias Tecnol Terra & Mar, BR-88301970 Itajai, SC, BrazilUniv Acores, Dept Ciencias Agr, Azorean Biodivers Grp CITA A, Platform Enhancing Ecol Res & Sustainabil PEERS, P-9700042 Angra Do Heroismo, PortugalUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Hidrobiol, BR-13565905 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Valuable but vulnerable: Over-fishing and under-management continue to threaten groupers so what now?

Among threats to marine species, overfishing has often been highlighted as a major contributor to population declines and yet fishing effort has increased globally over the past decade. This paper discusses the decadal reassessment of groupers (family Epinephelidae), an important and valuable group of marine fishes subjected to high market demand and intense fishing effort, based on IUCN criteria. Allowing for uncertainty in the status of species listed as Data Deficient, 19 species (11.4%) are currently assigned to a “threatened” category. This first reassessment for a large marine fish taxon permits an evaluation of changes following the original assessments, provides a profile of the current conservation condition of species, identifies the challenges of assessing con- servation status, and highlights current and emerging threats. Measures needed to reduce threats and lessons learned from conservation efforts are highlighted. Present threats include intensifying fishing effort in the face of absent or insufficient fishery management or monitoring, growing pressures from international trade, and an inadequate coverage in effectively managed, sized, or located protected areas. Emerging threats involve expansion of fishing effort into deeper waters and more remote locations, shifts to previously non-targeted species, increases in the capture, marketing and use of juveniles, growing demands for domestic and interna- tional trade, and, potentially, climate change. Those species most threatened are larger-bodied, longer-lived groupers, most of which reproduce in spawning aggregations

Historical separation and present-day structure of common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) populations in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

The common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) is an epipelagic, mid-trophic level, highly migratory species distributed throughout the world's tropical and subtropical oceans in waters greater than 20 degrees C. Life-history variables, migratory behaviour, and genetic markers have been used to define major stocks in the central Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Here, we used the mitochondrial DNA gene NADH subunit 1 (688bp) to test for differences between population groups. A total of 103 haplotypes were detected among 203 fish. Gene diversities in samples were large and similar among populations (mean h=0.932; range 0.894-0.987), but nucleotide diversities varied widely among samples (range pi=0.004-0.034) and appear to reflect population histories. Principal component analysis revealed two large populations groups, and the analysis of molecular variation and pairwise values of Phi(ST) resolved population structure within these groups. Populations in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean showed the largest amounts of divergence from one another (Phi(CT)=0.331). Adult movement and biophysical barriers to larval dispersal may explain contemporary differences between stocks, but the divergent populations in the Mediterranean Sea are likely due to isolations by cold temperature barriers during Pleistocene glaciations. The geographically large stock groupings require international cooperation in the harvest management and conservation of local dolphinfish populations