Realities of offering advice to governments on CITES.

What happens when those who provide conservation advice are required to take policy and management action based on that advice? Conservation advocates and scientists often try to prompt regulatory change that has significant implications for government without facing the challenge of managing such change. Through a case study, we placed ourselves in the role of the government of Thailand, facing obligations to seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). These obligations include ensuring that its exports of seahorses do not damage wild populations. We applied a CITES-approved framework (which we developed) to evaluate the risks of such exports to 2 seahorse species. We used the framework to evaluate the pressures that put wild populations of the species at risk; whether current management mitigates the risk or offsets these pressures; and whether the species is responding as hoped to management policy. We based our analysis on information in published and grey literature, local knowledge, citizen science data, results of government research, and expert opinion. To meet CITES obligations, exports of both species would need to be prohibited until more precautionary adaptive management emerged. The risk of any exports of Hippocampus trimaculatus was above a tolerable level because of a lack of appropriate management to mitigate risks. In contrast, the risk of any exports of Hippocampus kuda could become tolerable if monitoring were put in place to assess the species' response to management. The process we developed for Authorities to determine risk in response to CITES guidelines was challenging to implement even without the need for government to consider social implications of conservation action. Despite the imperfections of our risk evaluation, however, it still served to support adaptive management. Conservationists need to keep implementation in mind when offering advice.

Realidades al Ofrecerle Consejos sobre CITES a los Gobiernos Resumen ¿Qué ocurre cuando se requiere que quienes proporcionan consejos para la conservación realicen acciones políticas y de manejo basadas en aquellos consejos? Los científicos y partidarios de la conservación tratan con frecuencia de provocar cambios legislativos que tienen implicaciones significativas para el gobierno sin enfrentar el reto que implica manejar ese cambio. Mediante un estudio de caso, nos colocamos en el papel del gobierno de Tailandia, el cual enfrenta obligaciones con los caballitos de mar (Hippocampus spp.) bajo la Convención sobre el Comercio Internacional de Especies Amenazadas de Flora y Fauna Silvestre (CITES). Estas obligaciones incluyen asegurar que las exportaciones de caballitos de mar no causen daño a las poblaciones silvestres de este grupo. Aplicamos un marco de trabajo aprobado por CITES (el cual desarrollamos) para evaluar los riesgos de dichas exportaciones para dos especies de hipocampos. Usamos el marco de trabajo para valorar las presiones que ponen a las poblaciones silvestres de ambas especies en riesgo; si el manejo actual mitiga o compensa el riesgo de estas presiones; y si las especies están respondiendo como se esperaba a las políticas de manejo. Basamos nuestro análisis en información tomada de literatura publicada y de la literatura gris, del conocimiento local, los datos de la ciencia ciudadana, los resultados de investigaciones realizadas por el gobierno y de la opinión de expertos. Para cumplir con las obligaciones de CITES, las exportaciones de ambas especies necesitarían estar prohibidas hasta que existiera un manejo adaptativo más preventivo. El riesgo de cualquier exportación de H. trimaculatus quedó por encima de un nivel tolerable debido a la falta de un manejo apropiado para mitigar los riesgos. Como contraste, el riesgo de cualquier exportación de H. kuda podría volverse tolerable si se realizaran monitoreos para evaluar la respuesta de la especie al manejo. Fue todo un reto implementar el proceso que desarrollamos para que las autoridades determinen el riesgo siguiendo la pauta de CITES incluso sin la necesidad de que el gobierno considerara las implicaciones sociales de la acción de conservación. Sin embargo, a pesar de las imperfecciones de nuestra evaluación de riesgo, todavía funcionó como apoyo para el manejo adaptativo. Los conservacionistas necesitan seguir considerando la implementación cuando ofrecen consejos.

Presence of microplastics and microparticles in Oregon Black Rockfish sampled near marine reserve areas.

Measuring the spatial distribution of microparticles which include synthetic, semi-synthetic, and anthropogenic particles is critical to understanding their potential negative impacts on species. This is particularly important in the context of microplastics, which are a form of microparticle that are prevalent in the marine environment. To facilitate a better understanding of microparticle occurrence, including microplastics, we sampled subadult and young juvenile Black Rockfish (Sebastes melanops) at multiple Oregon coast sites, and their gastrointestinal tracts were analyzed to identify ingested microparticles. Of the subadult rockfish, one or more microparticles were found in the GI tract of 93.1% of the fish and were present in fish from Newport, and near four of five marine reserves. In the juveniles, 92% of the fish had ingested one or more microparticles from the area of Cape Foulweather, a comparison area, and Otter Rock, a marine reserve. The subadults had an average of 7.31 (average background = 5) microparticles detected, while the juveniles had 4.21 (average background = 1.8). In both the subadult and juvenile fish, approximately 12% of the microparticles were identified as synthetic using micro-Fourier Infrared Spectroscopy (micro-FTIR). Fibers were the most prevalent morphology identified, and verified microparticle contamination was a complex mixture of synthetic (∼12% for subadults and juveniles), anthropogenic (∼87% for subadults and 85.5% for juveniles), and natural (e.g., fur) materials (∼0.7% for subadults and ∼2.4% for juveniles). Similarities in exposure types (particle morphology, particle number) across life stages, coupled with statistical differences in exposure levels at several locations for subadult fish, suggest the potential influence of nearshore oceanographic patterns on microparticle distribution. A deeper understanding of the impact microplastics have on an important fishery such as those for S. melanops, will contribute to our ability to accurately assess risk to both wildlife and humans.