Saving the seahorse from the pet shop and Viagra set

[Anonymous]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... 0119171425

Saving the seahorse from the pet shop and Viagra set

2 hours, 5 minutes ago Science - AFP

HANDUMON, Philippines (AFP) - Nights spell danger for the tiny seahorse, the colorful but naive denizen of the Philippines' coral reefs.

Here on the southern edge of Danajon Bank, fishermen dragging tiny boats lit with gas-fed lamps wade through the mangrove-shrouded coast into the shallows hunting for the exotic fish whose camouflage is easily exposed by the light.

The lantern boats are the basic infrastructure of a multi-billion-dollar global trade in seahorses, which end up in curio shops or aquariums across Europe and North America.

But most are dried and powdered as an organic Viagra or impotence cure for the booming traditional Chinese medicine market.

While humans do not eat seahorse, its gradual disappearance has mirrored the degradation of the Danajon Bank, the only double-barrier coral reef in Southeast Asia and a key sanctuary of the species.

"Seahorses are indicator species," said Allen Mondido of Project Seahorse, an international marine conservation campaign that has adopted the uniquely-shaped fish, genus Hippocampus, as its "flagship species".

"Their habitats are mangroves, coral reefs and kelp forests. When the population of the species exhibits a sharp drop, it means the resource has been degraded," the 31-year-old Mondido told AFP during a visit to the group's field office on the tiny island of Jandayan in the central Philippines.

Danajon Bank, which borders the major islands of Bohol, Cebu and Leyte, has suffered from destructive fishing practices like using dynamite or cyanide to stun the fish, or the use of chemicals to wash seaweeds used for the food-binder industry, Mondido said.

Holger Horn, a German marine conservationist based in the tourist island of Panglao elsewhere in the central Philippines, said the idea of conservation remained an "alien" term to many of the millions of Filipinos who depend on the sea for a living.

"You are dealing here with people who spend between one and three years in elementary school, and sometimes they don't even know how to write properly," he said.

But even the well-off, educated scuba divers from northeast Asia tend to take trophies when they visit reef formations in the Philippines, a practice that conservationists are trying to discourage, Horn added.

The residents of Handumon, a major seahorse fishing village, keep the fish alive in tanks or leave them outside to dry in the sun for two days. Buyers visit regularly to supply the big exporters at the major port city of Cebu, a short boat ride from here.

A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of dried seahorse fetches about 3,500 pesos (about 62 dollars). Live seahorse is sold for just 10 pesos (18 US cents) apiece, Mondido said.

Project Seahorse says the global seahorse trade reached about 70 million tonnes or about 25 million fish in 2001.

The Philippines, along with India, Thailand and Vietnam are the largest known exporters.

Accidental catching by trawlers in search of other fish is also a problem. The populations of some of the seven known species of seahorse in the Philippines are understood to have fallen by up to 70 percent in the 10 years to 1995.

All 34 known seahorse species worldwide are now on the so-called "Red List of Threatened Animals" of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

In 2002 the seahorse trade was regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Mondido, who has a university degree in community development, arrived on Handumon three years ago to help save the seahorse. The project persuaded the small-scale fishermen to trade only in seahorses bigger than 10 centimeters (four inches).

The village association also guards and maintains three marine sanctuaries around Jandayan island, including mangrove forests which had previously been exploited for firewood and construction. Other areas of Danajon Bank are following its lead.

"If you concentrate on just one species and allow the over-exploitation of other species, you end up achieving nothing," said Mondido.

Tying up with the local communities and local governments, Project Seahorse and other marine conservation outfits in the Danajon Bank are retraining residents in other jobs.

In Handumon, a primitive community of about 5,000 people who make do without electricity, this means raising free-range chickens and producing handicrafts using local non-marine resources.

Selling the idea of marine conservation "is very difficult," Mondido said. "There are no shortcuts."

Once the villagers are won over, the next challenge is to sustain their enthusiasm so it becomes self-financing and the fishermen do not revert to their old, destructive practices once donor funds run out.

 

[Anonymous]

This may be a bit callous since we see Seahorses as a pet rather than a product but would a hunting season for them be better or worse, as well as limiting size.

 

[Anonymous]

None of thats gonna do any good with the Chinese though Njord.. - We can make all the rules and regulations we want, won't make a sh***in bit of difference.

 

[Anonymous]

There was also a public television special on one village in the phillipines. They limited the catch and enforced the limits even to hunters from other villiages. and the seahourse population recovered. Seemed they were just one step away from seahorse farming.

 

[Anonymous]

I was under the impresison that Seahorse were protected by CITES now and very difficukt to get wild caught.

 

[danmhippo]

Contrary to popular belief, but dried seahorse are not used as often in Chinese herbal medicine. I am pretty sure though, that seahorse for medicinal use still counts for at least 60% of all trade, but there was a report that tropical fish trading has become the second largest reason behind seahorse trade, and has surpassed curio purposes.

Most of the seahorses being caught are divided into drab and colorful. Needless to say, the colorful ones end up in US and Europe. In US alone (from my personal experience), most of the seahorses in the trade are not captive bred.

SW tanks has not been popular in Asia. If you go to Asian countries, you do not find much LFS selling saltwater goodies.

I used to live in Los Angeles, and I recall almost every LFS carries saltwater fish, and 80% of them has wild caught seahorses. On the contrary, the metropolitan city that I am living in right now, Taipei, 95% of all LFS only carries FW fish and planted tanks. Of the few stores that carries saltwater fish in the whole city (pop. 4 Million), no one has kept seahorses before.

 

[dizzy]

Jimmy,
You won't see many wild seahorses in LA or anywhere now. They are Appendix II in CITES. I have seen a few coming in legally from Indo, but most are now farmed. I think some are coming out of Brazile. New Zealand too.
Mitch




A rough guide to CITES
‘CITES’ stands for the ‘Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna’, (Flora = plant, Fauna = animal).

It is a United Nations administered Treaty, also known as the "Washington Treaty", which was set up in 1975 to control the international trade in wild flora and fauna in order to protect against over exploitation through commercial trade.

It first entered into force on 1st July 1975, and now over 160 nations ("Parties") have signed the treaty. Once signed up to it is a legally binding treaty under international law, and the country must adhere to it so long as they are a Party to the Convention.

CITES provides three levels of protection for species in international trade, called Appendix I, Appendix II, and Appendix III:

Appendix I includes species that are threatened with extinction and that are or may be affected by international trade. These species are prohibited from being traded internationally for commercial purposes (eg pet trade, food industry, jewellery or ornament making), but some trade is allowed for non-commercial purposes (eg to go to educational facilities, or for scientific purposes). Examples of Appendix I species are; Asian elephants, Mountain gorillas, humpback whales, sea turtles, Brazilian rosewood, and some orchid species.

Appendix II includes species that, although not necessarily threatened with extinction, may become so unless trade is regulated. Species may also be classified as Appendix II if their parts or products cannot be easily distinguished from those of other Appendix I or II species, this is commonly known as the "Look-a-like" listing.

Trade is allowed in Appendix II species, but is strictly regulated and only when the it has been found that it will not be detrimental to the survival of the species. Examples of Appendix II species are; American black bears, southern fur seals, iguanas, Pacific Coast mahogany, and cyclamens.

Appendix III includes species that any Party (country) has identified as being exploited and/or threatened within their country, and needs the help of other Parties to regulate international trade in it. Examples of Appendix III species are; two-toed sloth (from Costa Rica), African civets (from Botswana), and bigleaf mahogany (from Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico).

There are more than 30,000 species of animals and plants now listed on the Appendices. All other species which are abundant and not threatened in any way are not listed under CITES, eg Golden Delicious apples are grown by the million each year and therefore the species is not threatened in any way, so trade is neither restricted nor monitored by CITES.

 

[danmhippo]

Is Brazil also bound by CITES?

However, it's good to hear.

 

[dizzy]

A U.S. proposal to protect seahorses from overharvest through strict regulation of international trade was passed today by more than 150 nations attending the 12th Conference of Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Related Resources
• CITES Home
As a result of the vote, seahorses will be listed in Appendix II of the convention, which means that any international shipment must be accompanied by an export permit affirming that it is was legally harvested in a way that is not detrimental to the survival of the species.

Meanwhile, the U.S. delegation facilitated an agreement between Australia and Chile regarding conservation of the Patagonian toothfish, also known as Chilean sea bass. The resolution will improve monitoring of harvests and international trade in the species. As a result of the resolution, Australia withdrew a proposal to list the species in Appendix II.

"The United States took the lead in bringing together countries to solve difficult international marine fishery issues," said Assistant Secretary of State John Turner. "These measures will vastly improve the conservation of seahorses and toothfish by providing monitoring and regulation of trade."

Sea horses live in tropical and sub-tropical ocean waters, typically among sea grasses, kelp beds, algal and rocky reefs, mangroves and coral reefs. Their numbers have declined dramatically in recent years because of commercial trade. In particular, seahorses are harvested for use in traditional Chinese medicine and its derivatives, aquarium pets, souvenirs and curios.

At least 20 million seahorses were captured annually from the wild in the early 1990s and the trade is estimated to be growing by 8 percent to 10 percent per year.

The Patagonian toothfish is a large fish that grows up to six feet and lives for up to 50 years at depths of down to 9,000 feet in the Antarctic seas. About 20 years ago, the toothfish became a popular seafood in Europe, Japan and the United States and began to appear on the menus of many upscale restaurants.

Because of the high market value of toothfish and the difficulty in detecting and halting illegal fishing in remote Antarctic waters, illegal harvest is lucrative and relatively low-risk.

Meanwhile the United States succeeded in getting proposals it sponsored or co-sponsored passed to list a variety of highly-traded Asian turtle species in Appendix II. These include the yellow-headed temple turtle, roofed turtle, yellow pond turtle, big-headed turtle, keeled box turtle, black marsh turtle, and narrow-headed softshell turtle. These species are threatened by loss of habitat and a growing commercial trade for both food and pets.

Proposals to list the whale shark, the largest fish in the world, the humphead wrasse (a coral reef fish) and the basking shark, narrowly failed to garner the two thirds majority needed to be listed in Appendix II.

 

[dizzy]

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Five Countries Undermine International Controls
to Regulate Trade in Threatened
Sharks and Seahorses
12th May 2003




The Species Survival Network (SSN), a global coalition of 65 environment, conservation and animal protection organisations, today criticised the governments of Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Iceland and Norway for taking 'reservations' against the listing of the Whale shark and the Basking shark on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). With the exception of Iceland, these countries have also taken out reservations in relation to seahorses.



In taking this step, these governments are stating that they will not enforce import and export controls on these species or their body parts. The reservations will reduce the effectiveness of controls that were agreed by a two-thirds majority of the 161 Parties to CITES at the last Conference of the Parties in Santiago in November 2002. Parties had 90 days after the Conference to register their reservations and this week the CITES Secretariat notified Parties that Iceland, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Norway had exercised that option.



"SSN considers it irresponsible for a minority of countries to ignore the will of the international community and refuse to regulate trade in threatened seahorse and shark species. Appendix II listings do not ban trade but require controls to ensure that trade is sustainable. We cannot understand why these Governments would object to measures that may enable the trade to continue in the long term rather than come to an abrupt end when populations collapse", said Nicola Beynon, Chair of SSN's Fish Working Group.



CITES is the only multilateral body capable of effectively regulating international trade in the two sharks or the family of seahorses. The refusal of these five countries to cooperate in that regulation will make it easier to launder illegally harvested sharks and seahorses worldwide, undermining enforcement efforts by the 156 countries that stood behind the CITES decisions. .

"SSN can only assume that the reservations are symptomatic of a general reluctance to accept assistance from environmental treaties in the regulation of international trade in commercially exploited fish species," said Ms Beynon, “but at the moment, CITES is the only chance these species have got”.



Whale and Basking sharks are the world's two largest fish and both are considered vulnerable to extinction. Whale Sharks are fished at unsustainable levels for trade in their meat, while Basking Sharks are hunted primarily for their fins. Seahorses are traded in staggering numbers for use in Traditional Chinese Medicines and for sale as trinkets. In Asia alone, trade was estimated at 70 metric tonnes of dried seahorses in the year 2000. This amounts to at least 24.5 million individual seahorses without including other regions of the world or domestic consumption. The sharks and seahorses have already suffered localised population collapses.



"Countries such as China, also heavily involved in trade in sharks and seahorses, have agreed to enforce the listings and SSN congratulates them. SSN urges Iceland, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Norway to reconsider their positions," concluded Ms Beynon.




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