{"id":50039826,"date":"2021-02-10T15:46:15","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T15:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.dialogochino.net\/?p=39826"},"modified":"2022-10-21T19:57:49","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T18:57:49","slug":"39826-impunity-and-incompetence-fuel-illegal-mexico-china-seahorse-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/39826-impunity-and-incompetence-fuel-illegal-mexico-china-seahorse-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Impunity and incompetence fuel illegal Mexico-China seahorse trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 19 July 201<\/span>8 <\/span>Daquan Zhen boarded a flight in Belize bound for Shanghai, passing through Mexico City. When Zhen checked his luggage at Mexico City International Airport, customs agents noticed a strong smell of fresh fish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On searching Zhen\u2019s suitcase officials found six black bags containing <\/span>81 <\/span>seahorses, sea cucumbers<\/a>, and swim bladders<\/a> belonging to unidentified fish. The majority of these marine species that leave Mexico are used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), owing to their supposed aphrodisiac properties. Seahorses are crushed and ingested in soups or in wine to improve kidney function, to balance the Yin-Yang and to treat male impotence and female infertility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Did you know\u2026<\/p>\n

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\nSeahorses, sea dragons and pipefish are the only species of fish that swim upright
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Mainland <\/span>China<\/span><\/a> is the world\u2019s top consumer of seahorse, buying some 500 tonnes per year.<\/span>\u00a0 Although the export of seahorses from Mexico without the proper permits carries up to nine years in prison, trafficking to Asia has escalated in recent years, enabled by incompetence and impunity on both sides of the trade. <\/span>There have been no dried seahorses imported legally from Mexico since a ban came into effect in 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n

Between 2001 and 2019, traffickers attempted to smuggle 95,589 seahorses out of Mexico, according to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (Profepa). However,<\/span> it is likely that the real figure is much higher given that there is considerable underreporting from Mexican authorities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of this total, 64% were destined for Hong Kong<\/span>, <\/span>Beijing and Shanghai. The rest went to the local Mexican market<\/span>, <\/span>records of Profepa seizures obtained by <\/span>Di\u00e1logo Chino<\/span><\/i> under Mexico\u2019s Transparency Law show.<\/span><\/p>\n

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