Man arrested over 90 smuggled seahorses in India

The dried fish were of a protected species

Seahorses are endangered due to habitat loss and overfishing. AP

Police in India have arrested a man who allegedly smuggled 90 dried seahorses.

The specimens, of a protected species, were seized in Devipatnam in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The suspect, Naganathan, 57, was arrested after forest department officials found him carrying a bag on a bicycle on Tuesday.

He was held under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act.

“It was revealed that he was Naganathan from the North Street area of Devipatnam and he was regularly smuggling seahorses. Following this, 90 sea horses and a two-wheeler were also seized,” a forest department official said.

French customs seized 2,000 dried seahorses smuggled into the country from Guinea, en route to Vietnam. AP

Seahorses are endangered due to habitat loss and overfishing.

They fall under India’s Wildlife Protection Act as protected marine species. It is illegal to hunt them and there has been a ban on their trade for the past two decades. The punishment of defying it is three years in prison.

The catching and smuggling of seahorses is rampant in the coastal state due to a thriving illegal industry. There is growing demand for it in traditional Asian medicine, aquariums and as an aphrodisiac.

Ten of the world’s 41 seahorse species are found in Indian waters, in mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass.

In 2021, about 13 million seahorses were caught off the coast of India. Most were trapped by non-selective fishing gear on the sea bottom, according to Project Seahorse, a marine conservation organisation.