Seahorse in 2004: Minimum size advice
[218] [desk-seahorse-0] In 2004, the field log for Seahorse is headed “Minimum size advice.” The figure kept beside that heading is 10. It is a count or a date from the work, not a rank of the species’ worth. A zoo birthday card does not replace the log. Many Hippocampus species are Vulnerable; dried traditional-medicine and curio trades are the documented offtake.
Documented international trade in dried and live animals met a genus that is sparse, site-faithful and easy to over-collect. Is the aquarium trade the main take? By volume, dried medicine and curio shipments plus trawl bycatch outweigh hobby live fish in most analyses. Can seahorses be farmed out of the problem?
Some live-hobby demand is captive-bred. Dried-trade volume and trawl bycatch are not solved by a hatchery SKU. A rigid bony plate body and a dorsal fin that buzzes rather than a caudal fluke. Camouflage replaces flight. Many pair; some do not. Daily greeting dances are real in several species and over-generalised in documentaries.
Seagrass die-off, mangrove fill and coral damage remove holdfasts. A CITES permit cannot grow a meadow. Seahorse is one of 24 types in this animals atlas. The pages treat it as a full system -- history, anatomy, operating principles, culture, icons, future pressure and market shape -- not a ranking of a best species.
Keep 2004, “Minimum size advice,” and 10 together or the note on Seahorse stops being that year’s record.2004
Figures to keep
- Year of the note
- 2004
- Figure to keep
- 10
- Species
- Seahorse
- Line in the log
- Minimum size advice
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