Dwarf Seahorses among Galaxaura subverticillata, one of the macroalgaes they associate with in the wild

2016 will see wild Dwarf Seahorse Hippocampus zosterae gain new protections in the waters around Florida. These regulations are designed to limit their harvest from the wild in order to sustainably manage Dwarf Seahorse populations.

The proposed regulations:

Recreational bag limit: reduce the current limit of five (5) of each species of seahorse (within the 20 organism aggregate bag limit for all Marine Life species) to five (5) seahorses total per person per day

Commercial trip limit: reduce the current daily commercial limit from 400 dwarf seahorses to 200 per person or per vessel (whichever is less)

Establish an annual commercial quota of 25,000 individual dwarf seahorses and provide for closure of the recreational and MORE