Great Seahorse Migration:
A study indicated that extensive fishing off the Coromandel coast could be forcing the great seahorse to migrate towards Odisha.
- Sea horses are tiny fish that are named for the shape of their head, which looks like the head of a tiny horse. They are classified as fish, in the genus Hippocampus.
- There are 46 species of seahorses reported worldwide. The coastal ecosystems of India house 9 out of 12 species found in the Indo-Pacific.
- They are found in shallow coastal waters in latitudes from about 52° N to 45°S.
- Seahorse populations in India are distributed across diverse ecosystems such as seagrass, mangroves, macroalgal beds, and coral reefs.
- These 9 species are distributed along the coasts of eight States and five Union Territories from Gujarat to Odisha, apart from Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Conservation Status:
- IUCN status-Vulnerable
- CITES: Appendix II
