Image: Peruvian Production Authority
Authorities in Peru have seized an estimated 8 million illegally trafficked seahorses on a ship bound for Asia. Officials said that the dried seahorses are worth nearly $4 million.
The seahorses were found in the hold of the ship while at port in Callao on June 7. The captain of the Chinese vessel has been arrested.
Peru banned all catches of seahorses over a decade ago in 2004 amidst concerns that they were being overfished to fuel the Chinese market.
Seahorses are used in traditional Chinese medicine, and according to Norah Saarman of UC Berkeley, seahorses are thought to treat “many symptoms including impotence, urinary incontinence, wheezing, abdominal pain, toxic swelling and debility in the elderly.”
You don’t have to go all the way to China to find them, though. Saarman reported that dried seahorses can be found in the United States in places like Chinatown, San Francisco. On one trip to Chinatown, she found “large jars and trays of seahorses available in almost every herbal supply shop..”
The Seahorse Trust estimated that over 150 million seahorses are used in the traditional medicine trade every year, despite the fact that there is no scientific research backing their ability to cure ailments.
If only the world could appreciate the value of a species over a dollar.
Image: Gaby Av
