Seahorses in Danger

Seahorses all over the world inasmuch their relatives sygnathides Dried Seahorses by Ngan-Ha like the sea dragon, pipefish and pipehorse,after of over 20 million years of their presence and thriving in the seas (Fritzsche, 1980) face now one of the most significant dangers to their existence. “Doomed” by the fascination thatthey exert on humans, they are being the most vulnerable victims of humane greed. Seahorses are traded for medicinals, aquaria and curios, with a total global trade of well over 25 million seahorses (more than 70 metric tonnes, as estimated in 2001 – Project Seahorse) per annum.

The major exploitation of seahorses is attributed mainly to traditional Chinese medicine and its derivatives (Japanese, Korean, Jamu et cetera), where they are used to treat a variety of conditions such as respiratory disorders including asthma, incontinence, impotence and other sexual dysfunctions, arteriosclerosis, thyroid disorders, skin ailments, broken bones and heart disease, lethargy and pain, despite the fact there are no evidence for their reliability. Moreover China's economic growth since the mid-1980s is probably the principal cause of the great surge in demand for seahorses; in 1995, TCM traders in China and suppliers elsewhere reported notable increases in Chinese consumption (a factor of 10 over 10 years). In response -- and in part because other marine resources are declining -- subsistence and small-scale fishers in Asia increasingly target seahorses. However direct fishing is not only responsible for the risks posed on seahorse populations. The combination of incidental catch in trawl nets (bycatch), and extended habitat destruction raises great concerns about the future of these creatures and therefore since May 2004 have been added to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)[ii]. Unfortunately, to a great disappointment Indonesia, Japan, Norway, and South Korea proffered to withdraw from CITES for the purposes of seahorses.

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Their overexploitation is based mainly on the easiness of their capturing. Seahorses, as Foster and Vincent (2004) have noticed, are very vulnerable species due to the low density of their populations, their relatively low fecundity, which is even worsen by water pollution, their lengthy, obligatory and vital parental care, relatively small brood ( most species give birth to about 200-300 while a typical, similar-sized fish can release 200,000 or more eggs at a time) mate fidelity, very low mobility, and finally small home ranges. Especially, the fact that male seahorses are some times caught while pregnant means not only that a whole new generation is written off too but also that their mate may not be able to find another partner. Therefore the application and practice of international regulations concerning their trade such as the Minimum Height Restriction (CITES) is vital for the control of seahorse trade, particularly now that the demand for seahorses far exceeds supply (according to interviews made by Seahorse Project, click to learn more about Project Seahorse).

Project Seahorse notes that “The impact of removing millions of seahorses can only be assessed indirectly because global seahorse numbers are unknown, taxonomic identities are unclear, geographic ranges are undefined, and fisheries undocumented. Nonetheless, most participants in established seahorse fisheries report that catches are dwindling markedly. Indeed, fishers' reports and preliminary research indicate that seahorse numbers in sample populations from five countries could each have declined by 50% over the past five years. Numbers in the best understood central Philippines' populations are reported to have declined 70% between 1985 and 1995” on the same time that overfishing increases.

dried seahorse But even if international seahorse trade would ever be controlled, seahorses live in some of the world's most threatened habitats: sea grasses, mangroves, coral reefs and estuaries. All these habitats are really affected, and some times irreversibly, by eutrophication, water contamination, erosion, costal works and overfishing. The use of dynamites and poisons and finally global warming and ocean acidification add greatly to their decline. For instance, worldwide, 51,000 square kilometres of sea grass meadow have disappeared since 1879[ii] and soccer field worth of seagrass disappears every 30 minutes. Parallel to that about 20% of worlds reefs have been destroyed and half of them (50%) are threatened or at critical stage (Wilkinson, Clive; 2004)

So, it is time to act. We should not wait until seahorses, these beautiful, extraordinary and unique creatures, are found only in museums.

A.A.

September 2009

Click here to see what you can do (under construction)

Notes

I An Appendix II listing requires that Parties wishing to export seahorses must first determine that the export will not be detrimental to the survival of seahorses in the wild (known as a non-detriment finding)

II http://riverofgrasscoalition.org/article.php?id=study-seagrass-decline-severe-2009-07-13

Bibliography – Further Reading

http://www.projectseahorse.com/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/seahorse/

Curtis, J.M.R., J. Ribeiro, K. Erzini, and A.C. J. Vincent (2007) A conservation trade-off? Interspecific differences in seahorse responses to experimental changes in fishing effort. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 17(5):468-484 (PDF)

iles, B.G., Truong, S.K., Do, H.H. and A.C.J. Vincent (2006) The catch and trade of seahorses in Vietnam. Biodiversity and Conservation 15(6):2497-2513 (PDF)

Martin-Smith, K.M. and A.C.J. Vincent (2006) Exploitation and trade in Australian seahorses, pipehorses, sea dragons and pipefishes (Family Syngnathidae). Oryx 40:141-151 (PDF)

Grey, M., A.-M. Blais, and A.C.J. Vincent (2005) Magnitude and trends of marine fish curio imports to the USA. Oryx 39(4):413-420 (PDF)

Lourie, S.A., J.C. Pritchard, S.P. Casey, Truong S.K., H.J. Hall, and A.C.J. Vincent (1999)The taxonomy of Vietnam's exploited seahorses (family Syngnathidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 66:231-256 (PDF)

Vincent, A. (1995) Seahorse conservation and traditional Chinese medicine. Abstracts of Chinese Medicine 6(2):272-281 (PDF)