Backgrounder | Nov. 15, 2002
About Project Seahorse
Project Seahorse is led by Dr Amanda Vincent (University
of British Colombia, Canada) and Dr Heather Hall (Zoological
Society of London, United Kingdom) with teams based in Canada,
UK, the Philippines, Hong Kong SAR, Australia, Portugal and
USA. The group works in formal partnership with the John G.
Shedd Aquarium (USA), the Haribon Foundation for the Conservation
of Natural Resources (Philippines), World Wide Fund for Nature
Hong Kong, TRAFFIC East Asia and the University of Tasmania
(Australia).
The Project's aim is to secure the future for the threatened
and charismatic seahorses, by addressing many of the most
pressing issues affecting marine life. The team undertakes
biological and socio-economic research, facilitates community-based
management, shapes sustainable trade, and catalyses international
policy. For more information visit www.projectseahorse.org.
About CITES
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement
among 160 governments. Its aim is to ensure that international
trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten
their survival. The species covered by CITES are listed in
three Appendices, according to the degree of protection they
need. Appendix I include species threatened with extinction.
Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional
circumstances. Appendix II includes species not necessarily
threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled
in order to avoid utilisation incompatible with their survival.
Appendix III contains species that are protected in at least
one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance
in controlling the trade. For more information visit www.cites.org.
Seahorse facts and figures
At least 23 of the approximate 32 species of seahorse are
exploited.
A minimum of 13 species sold dried for traditional medicine
17 species sold dried as curiosities
18 species sold live for the aquarium trade
It is estimated that the global trade in dried seahorses
exceeded 70 tonnes in 2000. This would amount to at least
24.5 million seahorse, using an average of 350 seahorses per
kilogram.
Subsistence fishers in developing countries obtain important
income from targeting seahorses. In addition, seahorses can
attract considerable earnings from tourists and divers.
All male seahorses become pregnant and as in other fishes
with obligate paternal care, taking the male will also remove
or kill all its dependent offspring.
Seahorses have highly structured social behaviour. They form
long-term faithful pair bonds that enhance their reproductive
output. If one member of a pair is fished, its partner also
stops reproducing for a prolonged period. Seahorse monogamy
means that fishers finding one seahorse will search carefully
for its partner, thus frequently catching both.
Seahorses are slow growing and can take a year to mature
yet juveniles find ready market as aquarium fishes or in patent
medicines. Thus young seahorses are fished before they can
reproduce.
Seahorses have low mobility are sparsely distributed and
are site faithful. This means that a skilled fisher need only
complete several careful surveys of an area to eliminate local
seahorses. It also means that recolonisation of depopulated
areas is very slow.
Seahorse fecundity is low, with each pair commonly producing
only 1,000 young per year. The seahorses' low fecundity means
that populations will find it more difficult to recover from
overfishing.
Uses of seahorses
Seahorses as Traditional Medicines: The majority of
seahorses (as much as 95 percent) are used in traditional
medicine, especially traditional Chinese medicine and its
derivatives (e.g. Japanese and Korean medicines), which together
have a large global constituency. Treatments including seahorses
are considered to address a range of conditions, including
asthma and other respiratory disorders, sexual dysfunction
such as impotence, and general lethargy and pain. Traditional
medicine is recognized by the World Health Organisation as
providing a viable health care option.
Seahorses as ornamentals: Seahorses have been popular
fishes for aquarium hobbyists for many years. The vast majority
of seahorses bought from aquarium shops are wild-caught and
fare poorly in captivity, leading to repeat purchases. In
some regions, the aquarium hobbyist trade is the primary pressure
on seahorses.
Seahorses as curiosities: Many dried seahorses are
sold as curiosities or souvenirs. They are found in tourist
shops as key chains, glued to candles, picture frames, suspended
in yo-yos, and much more.
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