In June 2025, Ecuadorian police made a disturbing discovery at a bus terminal in Tulcán: a package shipped from Guayaquil containing nearly 3,000 dead seahorses. Authorities believe the shipment was bound for Colombia and ultimately Southeast Asia, where demand for seahorses in traditional medicine, souvenirs, and aquariums continues to fuel a booming black market.

Valued at up to $3,000 per kilo, the haul highlights the scale of an industry that threatens Ecuador’s Pacific seahorse (Hippocampus ingens) and other species worldwide. Despite Ecuador banning seahorse capture entirely, trafficking persists—often fueled by industrial fishing bycatch, where massive shrimp trawlers indiscriminately sweep up marine life. Many seahorses suffer brutal deaths, boiled, salted, or dried to preserve them for sale.

Globally, an estimated 70 million seahorses are caught each year, and Latin America is a major source. Peru has become a hotspot, acting as a transit hub for smuggling networks that link South America to Asia. Studies show that between 2010 and 2021, nearly 5 million seahorses were seized worldwide, though researchers believe that represents only “the tip of the iceberg.”

Conservationists warn that the illegal wildlife trade, a multi-billion-dollar, low-risk industry, is pushing these fragile creatures closer to extinction. As seahorses vanish, so too does their ecological role: they keep crustacean populations in check and serve as indicators of healthy marine ecosystems.

Marine biologists stress the urgency of stronger enforcement and protections. As Ecuador faces mounting scrutiny under CITES (the international wildlife trade treaty), the fight to save its seahorses is becoming a test case in how well the world can confront wildlife trafficking before it’s too late.