Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines

This study represents the first attempt to evaluate exotic ornamental fish species in Shops specializing in ornamental fish. This study was carried out in the province of Basrah between 2023 and 2024. The visits were made to Shops specializing in ornamental fish spread throughout Basrah province. The species present were documented and classified based on their respective families. The study recorded 46 species of ornamental fish belonging to 20 families, including five marine species, exotic fish and no local species. However, the study recognized certain species that are hazardous to the environment if infiltrated, and the study did not record species that threatened humans during the study period. However, there is a need to improve the monitoring and management of dangerous species, as some of them are among the most popular aquarium fish traded worldwide. In addition to the plans and efforts made by the government through the management of its institutions. Researchers and hobbyists should be involved, along with state institutions, because of the importance of their role in the successful monitoring and management of fish introductions. If new fish species need to be imported in the future, a risk assessment should be adopted to assist in making recommendations to guide management decisions. Exotic fish often cause harm to fish stocks, environmental damage, and sometimes a threat to humans. Therefore, the ornamental fish trade must impose trade restrictions and legislation to regulate this trade. To reduce the negative effects resulting from the entrance of non-native species.

Globally, sawfishes are amongst the most threatened of all sharks and rays, but a paucity of current data on their presence and status has limited conservation action in many countries. Whilst 2 sawfish species, Pristis pristis and P. zijsron, were historically present in the Philippines, a lack of recent reports suggests that they may have become extremely rare. To determine the current status of sawfishes in the Philippines, interviews were conducted with 106 fishers, fish brokers and fisheries officers at 31 sites in 2016. Interviewees confirmed that sawfishes had inhabited Laguna de Bay and the Agusan and Cagayan Rivers in the past, but the majority of interviewees had last seen a sawfish several decades ago. The most recent observations of a sawfish reported during interviews were in 2014, at the estuary of the Tamontaka River, Mindanao, and at Mercedes fish port, Bicol. After the study, photographic evidence of the landing in 2015 of a largetooth sawfish in Zamboanga Peninsula was published on social media. The considerable degradation and modification of freshwater ecosystems, mangrove loss, coastal degradation, fishing pressure and widespread bottom trawling since the 1940s have all likely contributed to sawfish declines. This study confirms that sawfishes, previously abundant in the Philippines, are now extremely rare or locally extinct. Bottlenose wedgefish Rhynchobatus australiae were observed at Mercedes port during the study and interviewees stated that they are landed regularly. Given the Critically Endangered status of this species, this fishery likely needs immediate management.

The 2022 Global Deep-Sea Capacity Assessment is a baseline assessment of the technical and human capacity for deep-sea exploration and research in every coastal area with deep ocean worldwide. From 200 to nearly 11,000 meters below sea level, the deep sea encompasses the single largest—and arguably the most critical—biosphere on Earth. Globally, two-thirds of all exclusive economic zones combined have water depths between 2,000 and 6,000 meters, making this a particularly critical depth range to access. This study includes information for 186 countries and territories, analyzed by subregional, regional, and income groups. The data were collected through both an online survey and manual research. We found that globally, 52% of respondents agreed that exploration and research were considered important in their community. A third of respondents agreed they had the in-country technology to conduct deep-sea exploration and research, and half agreed they had in-country deep-sea expertise. Survey results revealed that the most important challenges worldwide are funding, access to vessels, and human capacity. The top three global opportunities for deep-sea exploration and research were training opportunities, less expensive data collection technology, and better data access and analysis tools. This assessment provides the baseline information necessary to strategically develop, equitably implement, and quantitatively measure the impact of deep-sea exploration and research capacity development over the coming years. It is now possible to measure the evolution of deep-sea capacity over the next decade, an important indicator of progress during the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Panorama general de los resultados sobre la capacidad de aguas profundas de 186 países, divididos en seis regiones del mundo: Europa, Asia, América del Norte, África, Oceanía y América Latina y el Caribe.

Stretching from Turkey to Japan, Asia has the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the thirdlargest deep-sea area of all the regions assessed.

Abstract Practical biodiversity conservation relies on delineation of biologically meaningful units, particularly with respect to global conventions and regulatory frameworks. Traditional approaches have typically relied on morphological observation, resulting in artificially broad delineations and non-optimal species units for conservation. More recently, species delimitation methods have been revolutionised with High-Throughput Sequencing approaches, allowing study of diversity within species radiations using genome-wide data. The highly mobile elasmobranchs, manta and devil rays (Mobulaspp.), are threatened globally by targeted and bycatch fishing pressures resulting in recent protection under several global conventions. However, a lack of global data, morphological similarities, a succession of recent taxonomic changes and ineffectual traceability measures combine to impede development and implementation of a coherent and enforceable conservation strategy. Here, we generate genome-wide Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) data from among the most globally and taxonomically representative set of mobulid tissues. The resulting phylogeny and delimitation of species units represents the most comprehensive assessment of mobulid diversity with molecular data to date. We find a mismatch between current species classifications, and optimal species units for effective conservation. Specifically, we find robust evidence for an undescribed species of manta ray in the Gulf of Mexico and show that species recently synonymised are reproductively isolated. Further resolution is achieved at the population level, where cryptic diversity is detected in geographically distinct populations, and indicates potential for future traceability work determining regional location of catch. We estimate the optimal species tree and uncover substantial incomplete lineage sorting, where standing variation in extinct ancestral populations is identified as a driver of phylogenetic uncertainty, with further conservation implications. Our study provides a framework for molecular genetic species delimitation that is relevant to wide-ranging taxa of conservation concern, and highlights the potential for genomic data to support effective management, conservation and law enforcement strategies.

Funding for this study was provided by the SeaWorld Research and Rescue Foundation, the Save our Seas Foundation, the Monash University Malaysia Tropical Medicine and Biology Platform, Monash University Malaysia School of Science, Quadrant Energy, Australian Institute of Marine Science, The Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation, The Four Seasons Resorts Maldives. Funding for SP came from Aqua-Firma, the Shark Foundation, the Save Our Seas Foundation and two private trusts.

Background Shark viewing tourism is a burgeoning global industry. Numerous operations provision sharks to increase sightings yet the effects of provisioning on shark behaviour are often poorly understood. At a unique provisioning site in Oslob, Cebu, Philippines, whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) have become the focus of a mass tourism operation since late 2011, receiving over 185,000 tourists a year. Approach To better understand and advise management bodies on the effects of provisioning on these animals, we used photographic identification (photo-ID) to assess the daily abundance and site visitation patterns of the sharks. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) based on co-occurrence matrices was used to investigate visitation patterns amongst individuals and define groupings. Modified maximum likelihood methods were then used to model mean residency for these different groups. Results Between March 31st 2012 and March 31st 2015, we identified 209 (165 males, 34 females and 10 of unknown sex) individuals at the site (a 0.065 km2 demarked area located 50 – 100 m from shore), with an average of 12.4 (SD = ± 4.8, range = 2 – 31) sharks sighted per day. Daily shark abundance increased over time and showed strong seasonal variation, with annual peaks occurring between May and November. We documented a spectrum of site visitation patterns ranging from single sighting (21% of sharks identified) to year-round residency (5% of sharks identified). For frequently sighted sharks, PCoA revealed two primary residency groupings: highly resident sharks (N = 9), which were seen year-round with few prolonged absences, and seasonal sharks (N = 21), which were primarily present between May and November. The daily abundance of highly resident sharks varied nonlinearly over time with no clear trend, while the daily abundance of seasonal sharks showed a clear increase during peak season in each year of the study. Mean residency for highly resident sharks was estimated at 55.5 ± 175.5 SE (95% CI 49.5 – 730.0) days, 58.3 ± 161.7 SE (95% CI 23.2 – 81.4) days for seasonal individuals, and 16.8 ± 1.8 SE (95% CI 14.8 – 22.2) days for infrequent sharks (N = 130). Conclusions The difference in residency patterns between frequently sighted and infrequent individuals was almost fourfold. This shift in residency could have long-term implications for ca. 15% of identified whale sharks at the site. We provide insight into the impacts of provisioning on shark movements and inform the debate surrounding the future of this controversial activity.