Local Chinese-medicine traders have warned that sea-horse prices will soar if the United States succeeds in a bid to have their sale regulated worldwide.
Merchants also fear they will not be able to meet demand for the traditional-medicine ingredient if the US-backed proposal is adopted at the 12th conference of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) in Chile this November.
Citing concerns about falling sea-horse numbers due to over-fishing and habitat destruction, the US has proposed putting sea horses on Cites' protected list.
The more than 150 signatory countries to Cites are legally bound to control the trade of about 30,000 species on the current list through a stringent export and import reporting system, with some nations opting for outright bans.
If protected under Cites, sea-horse fishing and trading would be curbed globally.
Traders opposed to the proposal have instead called for self-regulation by seeking the use of only mature sea horses and enforcing a seasonal fishing ban.
