International Trade in Australian Syngnathid Species from Interviews and Official Records

Trade data for Australian syngnathid species, such as seahorses and pipefish, was estimated from semi-structured interviews with traditional medicine merchants and aquarium businesses in Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane. A database of official international trade records was also sourced from the Australian Department of Environment & Heritage. The dataset is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in July 2026.

Use Cases

• Assessing the scale of international trade in syngnathids based on interview estimates and official records.
• Analyzing trade patterns for specific Australian cities mentioned in the description, such as Perth and Sydney.
• Studying the intersection of traditional medicine and aquarium industries with wildlife conservation.
• Modeling potential pressures on syngnathid populations from commercial trade activities.

Strengths

• Data combines two distinct sources: merchant interviews and official government trade records.
• Interviews were conducted in four major Australian cities, suggesting multi-city coverage.
• The dataset was updated in July 2026, indicating recent maintenance.

Limitations

• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, incorporating data from the Australian Department of Environment & Heritage.

Collection Method

Semi-structured interviews with merchants and businesses, combined with official trade records.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-22 02:17:50.512701; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia, with specific focus on Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane.