Seahorses face a grave threat. Almost every species of these delicate and exotic animals is endangered. That said, you can join your efforts with The Seahorse Trust, and other organizations in order to solve this problem.  Even if you choose to work with just one threat to seahorses, it will be better than doing nothing at all. 

Habitat Destruction 

Seahorse habitats usually includes corals, sea grass, and small marine fish.   Almost every single coral reef in the world is blanching, and showing other signs of dieing.  This, in turn, is putting an enormous strain on seahorse populations.  Even if you exclude other factors, the loss of habitat from pollution and construction is every bit as dangerous to seahorses as more direct threats. 

Today, there is a volunteer program in Malaysia called “Save Our Seahorses. They are dedicated to preserving the Pulai River Estuary in order to ensure the survival of seahorses in that area.  While they are working hard to bring together members of the community and the government, the building of ports and oil refineries in this area is rapidly leading to the extinction of the Spotted Seahorse.   Similar types of development are robbing seahorses of their habitats all over the world.  Even though there are groups in most areas trying to prevent seahorse extinction, they do not have the money or clout of organization such as Greenpeace and HSUS. 

Seahorse Souvenirs 

Would you  leave a kitten or puppy out in the sun, and then mount it on a keychain or toilet seat like a common trophy?   Souvenir traders routinely gather millions of wild seahorses from coastal waters, and then dump them in fields to boil alive in the sun.   If you walk into your local department store, you amy even find  seahorse “souvenirs” for less than a dollar.   Chances are, those animals suffered an unspeakable horrible death for the sake of the money sitting in your wallet. 

Chinese Folk Remedies 

Across time, the Chinese people have used seahorses to cure everything from impotence to heart problems.  Even though there is no scientific evidence to support using seahorses for medicine, over 20 million wild animals are captured each year for this purpose.  Regardless of whether or not seahorses are effective for medicinal purposes, the wild populations cannot sustain this type of extensive harvesting.    

Aquarium Pets 

If you decide to buy seahorses, you may be told that they will only live for a few weeks.   Most wild seahorses captured for home aquariums  never even make it that far.  While there are ways to ensure captive bred seahorses live a long life, it is best to make sure you do not buy wild ones.   Among other things, you will not know if a mated pair were separated during the capture and selling processes.  As with many species of angel fish, when one mate gets separated from the other, they will simply waste away and die from grief.  Therefore, when seahorses are captured for ornamental purposes, it will most often result in two lives destroyed, not just one. 

What You Can Do 

Even though there are a few organizations working to end the seahorse souvenir and medicine trades, consumers are the only people that can really make it stop.  When you alert a store manager that you refuse to buy from them because they carry seahorse merchandise, it will send a clear message.  If enough people stop shopping in that store for the same reason, the manager will be forced to stop buying products that include seahorses.  From there, the people that harvest them will have to look for other ways to make money. 

Regardless of where you live, you can help educate others about the ruthless decimation of seahorses.  For example, if you build a website, or write a blog, you can focus on seahorses used in Chinese Folk medicine. Once you are able to debunk claims about the efficacy of seahorse treatments, you may be able to sway potential customers away from buying them.  If you do some additional research, you can also recommend less harmful alternatives that work  better. 

When you educate others, you can always look for meaningful ways to reduce the demand for wild seahorse products.  This will eliminate some of the main reasons for slaughtering them.  While all of this may be a challenge, you will find it worth the effort each time you look at a seahorse, and know that you are helping to save its relatives.