🎥 Watch our talk: Assessing policy implementation in global trade of marine fishes

Our Director, Dr Amanda Vincent, and Program Leader, Dr Sarah Foster, share how conservation policies move from agreements on paper to action on the ground for marine fishes in a recent talk at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia.

Drawing on more than 20 years of experience with global trade regulations for marine fishes, they share insights from three case studies: seahorses, sharks, and humphead wrasse. The talk introduces a framework developed by Project Seahorse to analyze policy implementation across four levels:

• Technical outputs – tools and capacity building

• Policy outcomes – governance changes

• Field outcomes – practical action on vessels, at docks, in trader facilities, Customs offices, and courts

• Population impacts – biological changes in wild populations

Applying this approach shows that the biggest hurdle often lies in achieving field outcomes, where policies must move from protocols and promises into real-world action among fishers, traders, and enforcement authorities.

The seminar also highlights recommendations for strengthening implementation and how this framework could be applied to other conservation policy arenas.