Millions of seahorses smuggled in global illegal trade, UBC researchers say

Dried seahorses for sale are pictured. (Courtesy: Tyler Stiem/Project Seahorse) (Tyler Stiem)

Nearly five million smuggled seahorses were seized by authorities across the globe over a 10-year span, according to a new study out of the University of British Columbia—which warns the illegal trade is far larger.

The study, published last week in the science journal Conservation Biology, analyzed seizure records available online between 2010 and 2021 and found smuggling incidents in 62 countries.

Researchers estimated the seizures were worth a combined $29 million.

“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 author Dr. Sarah Foster, a researcher at UBC’s Project Seahorse, in a media release.

The fish were most commonly found in passenger baggage at airports or in cargo at sea. Dried seahorses are widely used in traditional medicine and are most often bound for China and Hong Kong, often seized alongside other illegally traded wildlife like elephant ivory.

The study found emerging trade routes in Europe and Latin America, suggesting the global trade is diversifying.

“All countries must step up with strong deterrents — good detective work, determined enforcement, and meaningful penalties — to shut down the illegal seahorse trade,” said author Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, director of research at OceansAsia, in the release.

“At the same time, we must continue using innovative research and investigation methods to uncover hidden networks and outpace traffickers.”

The international seahorse trade is allowed if it adheres to regulations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an agreement signed by 184 countries. It requires exporters to have a permit and prove the fish are being harvested sustainably.

Countries’ challenges to meet those obligations did not end the seahorse trade, but moved it underground, according to Project Seahorse.

“Illegal trade under bans and suspensions was predictable. Most seahorses are caught by non-selective fishing gear, primarily bottom trawls. As long as such fisheries persist, seahorses will be caught and available for trade,” reads its website.

The researchers suggest incentivizing traders to operate legally, rather than stopping seahorse sale altogether.

“We need to make sustainable, legal trade viable enough that people obey the laws, and ensure that we also have sufficient deterrents to stop illegal activity,” said Foster. “We’ve done work with traditional medicine traders in Hong Kong, and when we ask them, ‘How long do you want seahorses around?’, they say ‘Forever, they’re really important!’ And we agree.”