At least 20 million and maybe as many as 60 million seahorses are taken from the wild for the oriental medicine trade each year.
Millions more die to end up as tourist trinkets.
Our team are helping to save seahorses through a project aimed at breeding and rearing them in captivity. So far we have succeeded with seven species - more than any other aquarium in the United Kingdom. Working with colleagues at University of Plymouth, we are beginning to understand the diets of the different seahorses and the way they change as the fish grow larger. Careful observation is helping us to understand the complex conditions necessary to encourage courtship and mating.