The Hidden World of Wildlife Trade

Whilst poaching may be more synonymous with terrestrial animals such as elephants and tigers, our marine species unfortunately haven’t escaped the eye of poachers with many ocean critters being sold illegally around the world. With wildlife trade being a billion dollar industry, many individuals are drawn to this lucrative business whilst conservationists are having to fight harder than ever to save some of our most unique species.

Much like drugs or arms, animals, both dead and alive, are trafficked around the world in large international networks which often involve dangerous gangs and groups of people. Global trade in live marine animals is massive, with an estimated 30 million fish traded every year. These live fish are commonly taken from South East Asia and shipped to USA and Europe where the demand for exotic fish to fill aquariums and home tanks is growing. Live corals are unfortunately also taken, undermining the very basis of some of our magnificent reefs. Often, unsustainable practices are used to obtain these wild species, such as taking young growing corals or using dangerous cyanide to collect fish, all of which leave the local ecosystem one step closer to crumbling.

Around the world, there are various different laws governing which species can be harvested and exported and with so many different regulations in place, poachers are often able to find loopholes through which to continue their business. Let’s take a look at sea cucumbers, a seemingly unlikely popular product in comparison to furs and ivory.

Sea cucumbers are currently being overfished, particularly in the waters surrounding India and Sri Lanka, due to demand rising in South East Asia where these animals are considered a culinary delicacy, an aphrodisiac and a traditional medicine. In Sri Lanka, sea cucumbers can be caught by local fishermen with licences and exported, however in neighbouring India, all trade is banned. Therefore, many fishermen are now operating illegally by sneaking across borders and smuggling sea cucumbers in order to make a healthy profit. In the 1980s, sea cucumbers were priced at £50 a kilo but now this price has risen to a mighty £200! Poachers now follow two options; they either catch sea cucumbers illegally in India and smuggle them into Sri Lanka where they are allowed to be exported to Asia or they catch these leathery creatures in India and ship them straight to Asia under false labelling. Whilst arrests and seizures of stock are on the rise, poachers are simply spreading to new coastal locations to catch their fill, leaving local fishermen with licences unable to making a living due to the decimation of sea cucumber populations. Not only is the community impacted but the ecosystem is too, as sea cucumbers perform the key role of recycling nutrients, such as nitrogen and calcium carbonate, in the ocean which are key ingredients for coral growth; without them, other species struggle to thrive as they once did. In a bid to resolve this growing issue, India created the world’s first sea cucumber conservation reserve in 2020 whilst also creating a protection force of 350 people who manage anti-poaching camps across 10 islands. These groups regularly patrol coastal areas in search of illegal activity and also monitor the population of local marine species to assess the level of danger they are under.

Another creature in high demand is often one of people’s favourites; the unique seahorse. Demand for seahorses comes partly from aquariums but largely from countries such as China where they are dried and used in traditional medicine to treat infertility and arthritis amongst other issues. Sometimes, seahorses are caught as bycatch by fishermen and kept in order to sell later rather than being released back into the ocean whilst other times they are caught specifically to sell illegally. Some of the top exporters of seahorses are Thailand and Senegal, however Italy is increasingly becoming a hotspot for poachers too. Mar Piccolo is a saltwater lagoon on the Italian coast, home to long-snouted seahorses as well as turtles, mussels and rare seaweeds. Sailing in under the cover of darkness, fishermen use nets, cage traps and even homemade bombs to capture this prized species. In 2016-2017, the seahorse population in the lagoon saw a massive collapse, with poaching being the only obvious answer found by researchers. With no demand for seahorse products in the country, it is thought that these products are being picked up by Asian ships as they travel through the Mediterranean.

Turtles are another creature who you may not realise are under threat from poachers in several countries around the world. Whilst international trade of all species of turtle is banned in 160 countries, it doesn’t mean the selling of both live and dead turtles has ceased. Hawksbill turtles in particular are sold for their distinctly marked shells which are turned into jewellery or combs and are perceived as being as valuable as ivory and gold. Due to this demand, the hawksbill turtle has declined by a devastating 90%. Eggs are also collected from the beaches and whilst this was once only carried out by local communities looking to feed themselves, turtle eggs are now seen as a delicacy by multiple countries. The collection of eggs has a massive impact on the size of the population and in Malaysia, it caused an almost total extinction of leatherback turtles on the Terengganu beaches as so many eggs were taken, leaving hardly any young to carry on the next generation.

Shark fins may be the most famous marine product on the black market but with demand for fins declining in countries such as China due to educational campaigns, adventurous eaters are now turning to fish maw, also known as swim bladders. Here, swim bladders are removed from various species of fish and sold as medicine promising to boost the immune system. These fish are supposed to be taken from dedicated aquaculture farms but many wild fish are illegally taken, with totoaba, a rare fish found only in the Gulf of California, being one of the most prized and valuable species. As a result, this unique species is being hunted to extinction and consequently, the local ecosystem is being thrown off balance.

In an astonishing story, seabirds are actually now believed to be able to help some of their fellow marine species by aiding conservationists in their anti-poaching measures. Scientists conducted a study where GPS trackers were attached to albatrosses. These birds cover vast distances of open ocean and are often attracted to fishing boats due to the amount of food that surrounds them. Using the GPS trackers, the researchers were able to identify which vessels the birds approached using an automatic information system (AIS) which is a satellite network allowing anyone with an internet connection to see information about a ship’s location and function. Frequently, the scientists were finding that the albatrosses were flocking to locations with no AIS transmission, leaving them to hypothesise that these dead spots represented poaching vessels who turned off the AIS to avoid detection. The albatrosses were then also tagged with the same radar detectors that boats use to navigate and were released once more. In six months, 335 ships were detected by the radar system which had no AIS, most of which are assumed to be fishing vessels operating illegally. In this time, the 169 birds travelled 47 million square kilometres of ocean, an area which would be massively expensive and time consuming to cover by boat or plane. Yet now, these incredible birds are helping us pinpoint the exact location of possible poaching vessels, allowing authorities to direct resources more efficiently and take action, such as seizing stock, equipment or carrying out arrests.

There are, of course, many other slightly more conventional solutions which are being used to tackle wildlife trade which include poaching patrols and closing known hot spot areas and trafficking routes. Education is also high on the list as it is hoped that by educating people on the value of these species alive, the importance they play in the natural environment and how this will affect their children that demand will fall. In many cases however, regulation is the greatest barrier to be overcome as governments struggle to enforce laws due to a lack of resources.

Yet there are things we can do as individuals to ensure we don’t support any form of illegal wildlife trade. The greatest thing we can do is become savvy shoppers, especially whilst on holiday. Be aware of which products may have been sourced from poached animals, such as hawksbill turtle shell earrings and also don’t go too exotic with the items we order off the menu as they could contain ingredients such as shark fins, dried sea cucumbers or swim bladders. Also consider whether wildlife experiences are ethical, for example, have the dolphins at a marine life centre been captured and taken away from their pod in the wild? Where possible, it is best to buy responsibly sourced products which have a transparent supply chain and this also goes for buying pets such as fish. If looking to have an at home aquarium, we should make sure we are buying from captive bred certified stock to ensure we are not taking wild species out of the ocean.

By Neve McCracken-Heywood