“They are so unlike typical fishes that they were once considered to be marine insects. With their upright posture, strange body-shape and features, and incredible camouflage, it is no wonder that people used to think that seahorses were mythological beings and assigned them such roles as Bering sea nymphs and pulling Poseidon’s chariot.”—Sara A. Lourie
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I am not fond of diving in the open seas; however, I have witnessed seahorses swimming gracefully in the waters. How did I accomplish this? I visited the Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium located at the Mall of America, where I had a close encounter with these remarkable marine creatures.
They are incredibly beautiful and ought to remain in the open seas to thrive naturally. I have learned from my friends who engage in scuba diving in the Davao Gulf that we have these bony fish (indeed, they are classified as fish!) in our waters.
As an environmental journalist, I have learned from my interviews done when I was attending an international conference for science journalists in Montreal, Canada some years back that seahorses are on the verge of extinction in some parts of the world.
Now comes this disturbing report published in the journal Conservation Biology that seahorses are exploited for economic reasons.
Nearly five million smuggled seahorses, valued at approximately Canadian $29 million (P811 million), were confiscated by authorities over a decade. The extent of the trade is significantly greater than what current data reflects, the report surmised.
The research examined online seizure records from 2010 to 2021 and identified smuggling activities in 62 countries, with dried seahorses – commonly utilized in traditional medicine – being most frequently intercepted at airports within passenger luggage or transported via sea cargo.
“The nearly 300 seizures we analyzed were based only on online records and voluntary disclosures including government notices and news stories. This means that what we’re seeing is just the tip of the iceberg,” said first author Dr. Sarah Foster, research associate at Project Seahorse of the University of British Columbia (UBC) and focal point for trade in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) global expert group on seahorses and their relatives.
Seahorses are frequently confiscated along with other illegally traded items such as elephant ivory and pangolin scales, indicating that marine species are trafficked similarly to terrestrial wildlife within global networks.
The research team also identified new trade routes for dried seahorses that connect Europe and Latin America, in addition to significant markets like China and Hong Kong. “Trade routes seem to be expanding, and enforcement measures must adapt accordingly,” stated co-author Syd Ascione, an undergraduate research biologist at Project Seahorse.
The international trade of seahorses is permitted with the necessary permits that ensure it does not endanger wild populations, as stipulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an agreement involving 184 countries, including Canada and the European Union. However, challenges such as demonstrating the sustainability of the trade complicate the acquisition of permits, pushing the trade into illicit channels.
Countries that trade in seahorses include Australia, Belize, Brazil, China, Dubai, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States, and Vietnam.
The Philippines is home to 10 species of seahorses, said the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Unfortunately, seven of these are designated the global conservation status of “vulnerable” due to threats from overharvesting, pollution, and destruction of their coral reef habitat.
Since 2004, the exploitation and trade of seahorses have been illegal in the Philippines under Section 97 of Republic Act 8550.
The seahorse, whose genus Hippocampus (hippo meaning, “horse” and campus, “worm”) is placed in the family Syngnathidae. It has an unusual shape: snout like a horse, tail like a monkey and males have pouches like kangaroos.
The seahorse swims weakly, propelled largely by the rapid motion of its dorsal fin. Its food consists primarily of minute, planktonic crustaceans, which are ingested into a small mouth at the end of a long tube-like snout by a rapid intake of water.
From Canada to Australia, a species of two is found in most coastal areas with sea grass beds, mangroves, coral reefs, estuaries, and lagoons. The smallest species have fewer than 10 offspring. Just one-fourth-inch long when born, seahorse species grow to 2 inches to 12 inches.
Scientific studies have shown seahorses having no problem with breeding, but only one in a thousand will reach maturity.
But trade is not the only threat to seahorses. They are also threatened due to destruction of their habitats, primarily mangroves, seagrasses, and coral ecosystems.
“Worldwide, over the past few decades an estimated half of all mangrove habitats have been destroyed; nearly 60 percent of coral reef habitat has disappeared, become degraded and/or fallen under imminent threat; and some 1,400 square miles of seagrass habitat has been lost,” reported the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) on its website.
“Such degradation – caused by coastal development, pollution, dredging, climate change, and destructive fishing practices that include the use of trawls, dynamite and poisons – are just some of the threats to the places seahorses call home,” AWI added.
