Authors:
Emerson Y. Sy and Ariana Gabrielle B. Melgar*
TRAFFIC, Southeast Asia Regional Office, Wisma Amfirst Tower 1, Suite 12A-1, Jalan Stadium SS7/15, 47301 Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
*Correspondence: arianabmelgar@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Seahorses Hippocampus spp. are a unique group of fish characterized by their unusual morphology and male pregnancy. The current 48 seahorse species occur mainly in shallow seawaters globally, of which 10 species occur in the Philippines. Estimated annual seahorse collection in the Philippines for the traditional medicine trade was 4,000,000 individuals and up to 1,000,000 individuals for the live aquarium trade prior to 2004. Due to the significant international trade threatening the survival of seahorses in the wild, the genus Hippocampus was listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Appendix II in 2004. Although seahorses are protected nationally under the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 and Wildlife Act of 2001, large-scale illegal collection in the wild continues. It was estimated that 1.7 million seahorse individuals were collected in the Philippines per year after 2004. Open-source seizure data were collated and official seizure records from 2010 to 2021 were analyzed to provide a status review on seahorse trade dynamics and analyze Philippine law enforcement efforts. Nineteen seizure incidents involving approximately 658 kg of dried seahorses (approximately 280,318 individuals) were recorded in the study period. In addition, 181 kg of dried pipefishes and sea dragons were recorded. While seizures occurred across eight islands, 13 incidents (68%) were documented in the central Philippines (Visayas and Palawan). Preliminary analysis of the seizure data suggests the following: 1) a significant portion (95−100%) of the illegal seahorse trade is not detected by law enforcement activities; 2) National Capital Region and Cebu are important exit points for international trade, and 3) pipefishes and sea dragons may be targeted as an alternative to seahorses.
Keywords: CITES, pet trade, traditional medicine, wildlife trade
