Fisheries and trade of seahorses in Brazil: historical perspective, current trends, and future directions

Seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) are globally threatened by overexploitation and habitat destruction; they are also regarded as susceptible to heavy exploitation due to some of their life-history traits. From an economic perspective, they are fishes with high monetary value and marketability. Seahorses are now listed in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), to ensure that the international trade is not detrimental to the survival of wild populations; the effectiveness evaluation of these international controls needs comparable monitoring data, including evaluation of spatial and temporal trends. This study assesses the seahorse trade in Brazil, aiming to detect trends in catch levels, volumes and prices. Our main findings were: the dried trade was unregulated, without formal records, and primarily domestic, although records of unreported exports existed; it was primarily sustained by incidental captures in trawl nets. The live seahorse trade was mainly destined for exports, and regulated through national quotas. Between 2002 and 2009, mean prices for dried seahorses ranged from US$1.06 ± 0.46 (level 1 traders) to US$1.06 ± 0.46 (level 1 traders) to US2.78 ± 0.68 (end-sellers) each, while mean prices for each live seahorse traded on the domestic market (1997–2009) ranged from US$1.13 ± 0.02 (level 1 traders) to US$1.13 ± 0.02 (level 1 traders) to US10.08 ± 1.71 (retailers). Mean declared export price (2006–2008) was 15.57 ± 10.87. Enhanced implementation of the CITES listing in Brazil will require further research, and additional measures to address both direct and indirect fishing pressure on seahorse populations.