Chinese myth of sex aids sees seahorses killed by the millions
The 60kg of dried seahorses that two Chinese were attempting to smuggle out of Sri Lanka last week were intended to satisfy the myth of aphrodisiacal benefits that seals the fate of 150 million wild seahorses a year globally.
The species cannot sustain such a casualty toll, conservationists say.
The hundreds of slaughtered seahorses were concealed in the baggage of two Chinese nationals bound for Shanghai from Bandaranaike International Airport and were valued at Rs. 2.3 million. After a Customs inquiry the culprits were fined Rs. 50,000 each.
Customs media spokesman Leslie Gamini said this was one of the largest consignments of seahorses being smuggled through the airport although there had been foiled attempts to send larger consignments by sea.
Seahorses have horse-like heads, monkey-like tails that can be used to grasp sea grass to anchor themselves, eyes that can independently move like those of chameleons and a kangaroo-like pouch that acts as a womb, helping the male to gestate eggs deposited by the female. They are, however, a species of fish that breathes through gills, and can range in size from 2cm to 30cm depending on the species.
There are four species found in Sri Lankan waters and potential for the presence of more, said researcher Nishan Perera.He said the seas in the north and northwest are preferred habitats given the areas’ shallow, calm waters with rubble and seagrass habitats.
Seahorses face a threat in Sri Lanka because they are caught as by-catch and because their habitat, the seagrass beds in shallow areas, is mostly being destroyed. Even worse, seahorses are very sensitive to environmental changes, so pollution that first hits the shallow seas around the coast can adversely affect them.
Mr. Samantha Gunasekera, who established the Customs Biodiversity Protection Unit, said because India banned seahorse fishery some years ago dried seahorses caught there are smuggled into Sri Lanka by sea and re-exported because there was weaker protection in this country for these creatures.
Mr. Gunasekara said he suspects the consignment caught last week could consist of seahorses from India considering their bigger size; the same species found in Sri Lankan waters are smaller.
Sri Lanka’s failure to incorporate into national law the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is hampering its efforts to fight wildlife crimes, conservationists say.
CITES is the main UN mechanism that monitors and prevents the illegal trade in wildlife. Sri Lanka is a signatory to the convention since 1979 but is yet to fully adopt CITES regulations in the national legal framework though the country’s. Seahorses are listed in the CITES Appendix 2 and their export requires a permit from a local authority that has powers to monitor the trade of wild seahorses.
Lack of such a permit would give Customs officers the authority to stop the illegal shipments easily, the former head of the Customs Biodiversity Unit, Samantha Gunasekera, said.
In some cases, racketeers declare the dried seahorses to be karawala, (edible dried fish) which puts Customs officers in a difficult position in legal battles. It is important that Sri Lanka adopt CITES legislation as soon as possible, Mr. Gunasekera said.The Department of Wild- life Conservation (DWC), which has responsibility for enforcing CITES locally, said the necessary laws have been drawn up and are with the Legal Draughtsman.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the CITES Secretariat this week announced a collaborative initiative to help developing countries enhance such legislation.
They will offer targeted technical support to countries to meet CITES legislative requirements, so Sri Lanka can avail itself of this opportunity to expedite the passage of legislation against trafficking in wildlife.
Environment lawyer Jagath Gunawardena pointed out that the provisions of the Flora and Fauna Ordinance could be used to stop trade in wildlife as they explicitly state the export of any animal or part of it for any trade is not permitted. He wanted the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act too to be amended to specifically ban the trade in seahorses.