The Asian medical market serves as a significant driving force behind global wildlife trade and consumption. As a prominent species in the traditional Asian medicinal materials market, seahorses have always had a substantial trade volume. However, a systematic assessment of the global seahorse trade pattern is currently lacking, which is of crucial importance for seahorse conservation. This study constructed a global seahorse trade database, encompassing both legal and illegal records, and evaluated the international trade pattern of seahorses on a global scale for the first time. (1) Globally, seahorses mainly form an international trade pattern through dried materials. Illegal smuggling is the predominant form of current global wild seahorse trade, far exceeding existing legal statistics. (2) Dried seahorses mainly flow from developing countries in regions such as Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America into the Asian medicinal materials market. Additionally, by comprehensively considering factors such as resources, fishing, trade, and the environment, priority areas for seahorse protection were identified. We recommend strengthening protection against the damage to seahorse populations and their habitats caused by bottom trawling operations in existing marine protected areas, especially in Europe, and establishing more new marine protected areas in seahorse conservation priority areas, particularly in Southeast Asia. Finally, given that traditional Asian medical culture is unlikely to change in the short term, it is proposed to conduct reasonable seahorse farming in Asia, which is expected to help achieve a balance among seahorse protection, regional development, and market demand.
 

marine conservation,ilegal trade,fishing,seahorse