The draft management plan by QFMA proposes restrictions on the taking of pipehorses, but also points out that sensible management is impossible without some basic biological knowledge of the species. What is needed is, firstly, to determine catch rates and distributions of pipehorses as by-catch species. Secondly, an understanding of the basic biology of pipehorses is needed. It is important to know population characteristics including the age structure of both sexes, fecundity, longevity and recruitment timing. Specimens are already being collected as by-catch; it is a matter of making scientific recordings on those specimens. It is also important to estimate how far pipehorses move, to know whether they can recolonise areas that have been depleted. Tagging and recapture is probably not useful, as the fish are thought to be in poor condition by the time they are brought to the surface. Genetic methods of estimating movement are needed; modern DNA methods do not even require that the fish be withdrawn from market as only a tiny piece of material from each specimen is required. The pipehorse by-catch issue is being pursued by conservation groups who use syngnathids as symbols of healthy oceans. This is another important reason to implement a sound management plan based on the biology of the species and its interaction with the trawl industry.