Editing Seahorse (section)

==Consumption==
[[File:Seahorse Skeleton Macro 8 - edit.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Dried seahorse]]

[[File:Seahorses scorpions skewer.jpg|thumb|Seahorse and [[scorpion]] skewers as [[street food]]]]
Seahorse populations are thought to be [[endangered species|endangered]] as a result of [[overfishing]] and [[habitat destruction]]. Despite a lack of scientific studies or clinical trials,<ref name="Quackwatch">{{cite web |url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/acu.html |author=Stephen Barrett, M.D. |title=Be Wary of Acupuncture, Qigong, and "Chinese Medicine" |date=12 January 2011 |access-date=11 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0965-2299(03)00055-4 |pmid=12801499 |title=Use of animal products in traditional Chinese medicine: Environmental impact and health hazards |journal=Complementary Therapies in Medicine |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=118–22 |year=2003 |last1=Still |first1=J.}}</ref> the consumption of seahorses is widespread in [[traditional Chinese medicine]], primarily in connection with [[impotence]], wheezing, [[nocturnal enuresis]], and pain, as well as [[labor induction]].<ref name=Bensky>Bensky, D., Clavey, S., Stoger, E. (2004) [http://www.eastlandpress.com/preview/ht.pdf ''Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica'']. Eastland Press, Inc.  Seattle, 3rd ed. {{ISBN|0939616424}}. p. 815</ref>  Up to 20 million seahorses may be caught each year to be sold for such uses.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/seahorse/vincent.html "Seahorse Crusader Amanda Vincent"] on ''Nova'' television show</ref> Preferred species of seahorses include ''[[Great seahorse|H.&nbsp;kellogii]], [[Hippocampus histrix|H.&nbsp;histrix]], [[Hippocampus kuda|H.&nbsp;kuda]], [[Hippocampus trimaculatus|H.&nbsp;trimaculatus]],'' and ''[[Japanese seahorse|H.&nbsp;mohnikei]]''.<ref name=Bensky /> Seahorses are also consumed by [[Indonesia]]ns, central [[Filipino people|Filipinos]], and many other ethnic groups.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019|reason=Please cite reliable ethnographic sources for this claim.}}

Import and export of seahorses has been controlled under [[Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna|CITES]] since 15 May 2004. However, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, and South Korea have chosen to opt out of the trade rules set by CITES.<!--dead <ref>
[http://seahorse.fisheries.ubc.ca/reservations.html Fisheries.UBC.ca], A new hurdle for seahorses – Project Seahorse{{Dead link|date=November 2009}}</ref>-->

The problem may be exacerbated by the growth of pills and capsules as the preferred method of ingesting seahorses. Pills are cheaper and more available than traditional, individually tailored prescriptions of whole seahorses, but the contents are harder to track. Seahorses once had to be of a certain size and quality before they were accepted by [[Traditional Chinese medicine|TCM]] practitioners and consumers. Declining availability of the preferred large, pale, and smooth seahorses has been offset by the shift towards prepackaged preparations, which makes it possible for TCM merchants to sell previously unused, or otherwise undesirable juvenile, spiny, and dark-coloured animals. Dried seahorse retails from US$600 to $3000 per kilogram, with larger, paler, and smoother animals commanding the highest prices. In terms of value based on weight, seahorses retail for more than the price of silver and almost that of gold in Asia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saveourseahorses.org/the-seahorse-dilemma.php |title=Save Our Seahorses |publisher=Save Our Seahorses |access-date=13 May 2014}}</ref>