Seahorse Survey and Tagging Project :: OPCFHK (2024)

FAQs

What is the purpose of a seahorse in the ecosystem? ›

Seahorses are important predators on bottom-dwelling organisms and are, at the same time, preyed upon by invertebrates, fish, sea turtles, seabirds and marine mammals. Therefore, removing them disrupts entire ecosystems.

150 countries in the world have signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which prevents commercial trading of wild species like seahorses if their existence is under threat. The Hippocampus species are currently listed under CITES and these legislations need to be implemented.

After that, the offspring must fend for themselves. Large litters are necessary because only about 0.5 percent will survive to adulthood. Many, if not all, of the 47 known seahorse species—14 of which were identified only in the 21st century—are in decline worldwide.

Lifespan: The lifespans of wild seahorses are unknown due to a lack of data. In captivity, lifespans for seahorse species range from about one year in the smallest species to three to five years in the larger species.

Adult seahorses are presumed to have few predators due to their excellent camouflage, sedentary lifestyle, and unappetizing bony plates and spines. However, they have been found in the stomachs of large pelagic fishes such as tuna and dorado. Seahorses are also eaten by skates and rays, penguins, and other water birds.

Like most other species, both terrestrial and marine, seahorses, pipefishes, sticklebacks, and their relatives face many threats, including habitat loss, pollution, climate change, invasive species, and direct exploitation in the form of overfishing and bycatch.

Seahorse predators can include crabs, sharks, skates, and rays, and larger fish. Unlike most other species in the animal kingdom, seahorse males carry and deliver offspring.

Seahorses, a syngnathidae fish, are one of the important candidate organisms which have been used in Chinese traditional medicine from time immemorial. It is believed that seahorses have the potential to cure infertility, baldness, asthma and arthritis.

Pollution and coastal development harm seahorses, but the top threat is rampant overfishing. Commercial fishermen scoop up millions of seahorses a year as bycatch.

Are seahorses decreasing? ›

According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ in the Mediterranean, almost 15% of seahorse assessed are listed as Near Threatened, which means that if current trends continue they will be soon threatened with extinction.

Seahorse habitats are at risk

The situation is so bad that some species, including White's seahorse (Hippocampus whitei) and the Knysna or Cape seahorse (Hippocampus capensis), are now considered endangered. This means that some of these these unique fish are now at very high risk of extinction.

Pet Seahorse Tankmates

Only purchase pet seahorses from a supplier who can identify the gender appropriately. Even though seahorses are social creatures, they can only share a tank with a few other aquatic species.