2012. Review of Significant Trade - Cites

Hippocampus spinosissimus
(T. M. Vuong, pers. comm. to CITES Secretariat, 2011).
Threats: The CITES MA of Viet Nam (T. M. Vuong, in litt. to UNEP-WCMC, 2011) listed
habitat destruction, pollution and climate changes as major threats, with by-catch and
localised over-harvest also being considered major threats.
Non-selective trawling was considered to pose the greatest threat to Hippocampus spp. in
Viet Nam. H. spinosissimus was noted to be one of the most widely encountered species in
trade (Giles et al., 2006). The majority of Hippocampus spp. was thought to be sourced from
trawl by-catch, which was estimated at about 6.5 tonnes (2.3 million specimens) annually
over five coastal provinces (Giles et al., 2006).
Hippocampus spp. were also reported to be collected via compressor diving (K.S. Truong
pers. comm., undated, cited in Morgan and Panes, 2008), however only in small numbers
and mainly H. kuda (Giles et al., 2006).
Vincent (1996) considered the destruction of habitat a possibly larger threat than trade.
Trade: According to data in the CITES Trade Database, trade from Viet Nam 2004-2010
consisted entirely of wild-sourced live specimens directly exported to the United States for
commercial purposes. Viet Nam reported the export of 1377 kg of live specimens in 2005,
with the United States reporting the import of 1164 kg in 2005 and a further 220 kg in 2006.
All annual reports have been received from Viet Nam for this period.
Viet Nam was reported to be one of the top five producers of dried Hippocampus spp.
(Project Seahorse, unpubl. data, cited in Giles et al., 2006) and H. spinosissimus was reported
to be amongst the species most widely encountered in trade (Giles et al., 2006). Vincent
(1996) estimated the annual exports of dried Hippocampus spp. from Viet Nam to be five
tonnes. While internal trade was reported to occur (CoP12 Prop. 37), the majority of
specimens were reported to be exported to China, “generally through unofficial and
unregulated channels” (Giles et al., 2006). However, information on the nature and size of
the trade was considered insufficient (Giles et al., 2006).
Management: The CITES MA of Viet Nam (T.M. Vuong, in litt. to UNEP-WCMC, 2011)
noted that non-detriment findings had not been conducted and that no species specific
monitoring program was in place other than those on the monitoring of biodiversity in
general. Harvest of Hippocampus spp. within the core zones of the five Marine Protected
Areas was reported to be prohibited, with plans to increase the number of MPA’s existing
(T. M. Vuong, in litt. to UNEP-WCMC, 2011).
H. spinosissimus was reported to be successfully bred in captivity in Viet Nam, with breeding
farms considered to be in line with Conf. Res. 10.16 by the Vietnamese CITES Scientific
Authority (T. M. Vuong, pers. comm. to CITES Secretariat, 2011); export of seahorses taken
from the wild is not permitted until non-detriment findings have been conducted
(T.M. Vuong, pers. comm. to UNEP-WCMC, 2011).
Further information on legislation and other management measures, as provided by the
Viet Nam Management Authority (T. M. Vuong, in litt. to UNEP-WCMC, 2011), can be
found in the management section for Viet Nam in the review of H. kelloggi.
146