Sea life researchers from the CSIC, including Miquel Planas, warn that seahorses are under threat from climate shifts, overexploitation, and illegal harvesting. Each year, millions of seahorses are captured for traditional medicinal use in parts of Asia, presenting a serious conservation challenge for these delicate species.
Planas, who leads the Ecology and Marine Resources group at CSIC, notes that some seahorse species may be confined to pockets of Europe, with warming ocean waters pushing populations further north. The message is clear: move to cooler habitats as temperatures rise and habitats shift with the climate. Planas emphasizes a need for ongoing monitoring and adaptable protection strategies to keep these species from slipping away across national borders.
Experts from the Supreme Council for Scientific Research reiterate that the threat mix includes seahorses themselves along with a range of traditional Chinese medicine recipes attributed with health benefits. Some of these remedies have supporting evidence, while others do not, underscoring the importance of robust science in guiding conservation decisions.
action of the mafia
Fisheries and wildlife crime networks operate in areas with dense seahorse populations. In places like Peru and Southern Portugal, illegal sampling and trafficking disrupt wild populations and complicate conservation efforts.
Thousands of seahorses are reported stolen in Spain, particularly along the coast near Malaga. The trade feeds illegal poaching networks and transportation routes that move specimens toward markets that value traditional medicinal use.
Habitat destruction compounds these pressures. Anthropogenic impacts erode critical environments such as macroalgae beds, posidonia seagrass meadows, and other underwater plant communities that seahorses rely on for food and camouflage.
Thousands of illegally caught seahorses seized in Spain, especially in Malaga
Planas points out that habitat degradation translates into a loss of plant communities the size of a football field roughly every half hour, illustrating the accelerating pace of change in coastal ecosystems. Oceansides organizations like Oceanidas work to shield seahorse populations through protection projects and the Sea Vigilantes Network, which includes more than 2,000 divers who contribute knowledge and vigilance on the ground and underwater.
The Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines
In Andalusia and Galicia, the Mediterranean region shows particular vulnerability to earlier disturbances that affect seahorses. Researchers note that multiple colonies are being observed by Oceanidas along the Andalusian coast and across the western Atlantic in Galicia.
Photographs and field notes reveal a vivid tapestry of seahorses, including Hippocampus guttulatus. Yet ongoing data collection remains essential. Planas stresses the need for continued research to map seahorse distributions and movements, especially around the Bay of Biscay, where observations are sparse and conservation decisions depend on solid data.
Spain currently does not list seahorses as threatened in its official catalog due to data gaps and ongoing studies. However, evidence suggests declines in certain populations over the past five decades, highlighting the urgency of better monitoring and reporting.
Two species in Spain; Hippocampus hippocampus and Hippocampus guttulatus
Although the global tally includes more than 50 seahorse species, only two are commonly found in Spanish coastal waters, primarily in regions associated with the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Hippocampus hippocampus and Hippocampus guttulatus are typically found in shallow waters up to 10 meters deep, though some populations can be seen as deep as 100 meters in other regions of the world.
A fascinating feature of these syngnathids is that the male takes care of the eggs and embryos. While the female lays a fresh batch of eggs, the male incubates the previous clutch, and this unusual parental care is a hallmark of their reproductive biology.
These creatures usually live four to five years. Reproduction tends to be seasonal, with cycles occurring in spring and autumn, and each brood may yield around 350 eggs. They swim upright or vertically, a distinctive trait that aids in concealment within seagrass beds. This vertical orientation is part of their evolutionary strategy to evade predators and blend into their underwater surroundings.
Conservationists emphasize the need to protect critical habitats and support ongoing research to better understand how seahorses use their environments. The goal is to keep populations stable and resilient in the face of climate change, fishing pressures, and habitat loss.
Endnote: The environmental agencies continue to monitor seahorse populations and habitat integrity, seeking practical steps that mitigate the impact of illegal fishing and improve data collection for better protection planning.