Wildlife

Seahorse Welfare and the Traditional Medicine Trade

Seahorses are traded in massive numbers for traditional medicine and the aquarium trade, with welfare impacts from collection, transport, and captivity.

Key Facts

An estimated 37 million seahorses are traded annually most dried for traditional medicine
Seahorses are highly sensitive to transport stress showing high mortality rates
They are strict carnivores requiring live prey, complicating captive care
Seahorses are monogamous and form pair bonds disrupted by collection
CITES Appendix II listing has not significantly reduced trade volumes

Welfare Considerations

Collection by trawling injures seahorses through bycatch handling. Transport in small containers without appropriate salinity and temperature causes high mortality. Seahorses in the aquarium trade that fail to receive live prey slowly starve. Pair bond disruption causes behavioral changes suggesting psychological stress in these cognitively complex fish.

What You Can Do

Avoid purchasing seahorses for aquariums unless captive-bred certified
Never purchase traditional medicine products containing seahorse derivatives
Support captive breeding programs reducing wild collection pressure
Donate to seahorse conservation and research organizations
Advocate for stronger CITES enforcement for seahorse trade