AUG 20, 2019

Today OceansAsia found a large shipment of pipefish drying in the streets of Hong Kong, whilst not illegal more than often we find their close relative seahorses drying openly and in plain sight as well. In Hong Kong the relevant authorities are the HK Customs who are clearly not discovering these large shipments likely due to the shipments being mis-declared to avoid detection. However once in Hong Kong the AFCD (Agricultural, Fisheries & Conservation Department) have the remit on all wildlife trade. With such large volumes so openly visible, why are the traders not being questioned about their source and permits being checked? The blame does not lie solely on Hong Kong’s authorities, the exporting countries have bans in place, yet they are clearly being fished and shipped without the local authorities checking.

Protection
With the CITES CoP19 currently underway in Geneva, one item up for discussion is Seahorses. Although they were amongst the first marine species to ever receive protection status back in 2002, OceansAsia regularly find massive shipments of seahorses along with pipefish drying in the streets of Hong Kong.

Background
The great majority of seahorses are obtained as bycatch in bottom trawls and other non-selective fishing methods. Such indiscriminate fishing obtains at least 37 million seahorses each year, a vast number that can easily enter trade. It is vital that such fisheries be constrained, even as trade is regulated. Most pipefish species are exploited for traditional medicines however some are sold in the aquarium tradeor  as  curios.  Pipehorses  of  the  genus  Solegnathus  are  the  most  valuable  syngnathids  in  Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Seahorses,  pipehorses,  and  pipefish  are  harvested  in  range  countries  through  directed  fisheries  and as bycatch. Bycatch currently accounts for the majority of specimens intended for the TCM and curiomarkets, whereas directed fisheries are usually the source of live specimens for the pet trade, as wellas  a  portion  of  the  dried  specimen  trade.  It  is  estimated  that  at  least  20  million  seahorses  are captured annually from the wild. Bycatch   of   Syngnathids   generally   occurs   in   commercial   fisheries   directed   at   food   fish   orshrimp/prawns.  The  associated  fishing  methods  are  not  conducive  to  the  survival  of  individualsyngnathids  with  long  net  deployment  times,  abrasion,  and  compression.  India,  Indonesia,  and  the Philippines exhibit significant bycatch fisheries for seahorses, which are almost entirely destined forexport  to  the  major  importing  TCM  jurisdictions  (China,  Hong  Kong,  Taiwan).  Although  catch  of seahorses  per  trip  may  be  low,  overall  harvest  by  local  fleets  is  significant.  In  terms  of  medicinal value, pipehorses rank above seahorses, which in turn outrank the smaller pipefish.