Whitespotted Puffer

There have been no confirmed population declines in A. hispidus. However, because of its affinity with coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and estuaries we infer that A. hispidus may be experiencing population declines due to habitat loss in parts of its range. Additionally, A. hispidus may be experiencing population declines as a result of harvesting for human consumption as part of the pufferfish trade.

As of 2008, fifteen percent of the world’s coral reefs were considered under imminent threat of being “Effectively Lost” (with 90% of the corals lost and unlikely to recover soon), with regions in East Africa, South and South-East Asia, and the wider Caribbean being the most highly threatened (Wilkinson et al. 2008). Of 704 zooxanthellate reef-building coral species which were assessed by using the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Criteria, 32.8% are in categories with elevated risk of extinction (Carpenter et al. 2008).

One-third of global seagrass species are currently experiencing population declines, and 21% of globally assessed seagrass species are in threatened or near-threatened categories primarily due to coastal development and pollution (Short et al. 2011).

Globally, 16% of mangrove species are at elevated risk of extinction. Particular areas of geographical concern include the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central America, where as many as 40% of mangroves species present are threatened with extinction. (Polidoro et al. 2010). In the Caribbean, approximately 24% of mangrove area has been lost over the past quarter-century (FAO 2007).

Large areas of the China Seas (Liu 2013) and the Gulf of Thailand (Blaber 2000) are considered to be heavily overfished. Additionally, heavy bottom-trawling in the 1980s and the widespread use of modified driftnets for multi-species fisheries in the Bohai Sea, combined with other anthropogenic stresses in this area, have been implicated in the steady decrease in fish landings in this area (Xianshi 2004).

The China Seas have faced severe environmental degradation due to a range of anthropogenic activities within a relatively recent and short time frame (Daoji and Daler 2004), In the lower Yangze River basin it is also likely to be impacted by anthropogenic activities including dam construction and other hydrological alterations, land reclamation, exotic species introductions, eutrophication, rapid sedimentation, deforestation and land erosion (Fu et al. 2003).

Since the 1960s, more than 100,000 ha of Japanese coastal land has been reclaimed for use as new commercial and industrial areas. This has resulted in the denudation of the coastal ecosystem in certain areas.During this period, the ratio of natural seacoast has declined rapidly to 55% for the whole of the Japanese seacoast line, and under 10% in the Tokyo, Osaka and Hiroshima Bay regions (Terawaki et al. 2003)