No Ranking for Sea Horse
The trade of seahorses is legal. But if we are not careful, then we could push this amazing creature into extinction. The Chinese, Indonesians and Central Filipinos use sea horses in their medicines as cures for illnesses, as aphrodisiacs and as food. Medicinal purposes for seahorses include using them as "cures" for asthma, arteriosclerosis, incontinence and impotence, thyroid disorders, skin ailments, broken bones and heart disease. Some areas even use seahorses as an aid in childbirth. The price of dried seahorses can fetch up to US $550 a pound! The use of sea horses in aquariums, especially in North America, is also steadily growing but many populations are now coming from seahorse farms. Their inshore habitats are also being destroyed which in turn destroys them. Water pollution is also aiding in the destruction of these wondrous creatures.
Seahorses are being over collected. Please help preservation efforts and don't use them in aquariums. Reports indicate for example, that the Hippocampus population in the central Philippines have diminished by 70% between 1985 and 1995! Thousands of seahorses are imported to Europe, the United States and Japan as pets for aquariums.
Dried seahorses are often offered as souvenirs. However the biggest consumer is traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean medicine. Dried seahorses are used to "cure" a wide range of illnesses such as asthma, arteriosclerosis skin diseases but most important sexual dysfunction. The annual consumption by Asians nations of dried seahorses has been estimated at 45 tons (= ca. 16 mill. individuals!).
