On Fri, 8 Feb 2001 David Strike <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Today's, Daily Telegraph (the Sydney one!) had a piece entitled: "New pet
>trend gallops in".
>
>I ain't going to type it out in it's entirety, but it relates to a new
>'trend' in keeping seahorses as pets!!!!!
>
>Details can be seen at: http://www.oceanoddities.com/
>
>Snippets from the article reveal that certain cultures regard the
>seahorse as, "a cure-all for almost everything from headaches to
>cancer, and also believed .. (to be) .. an aphrodisiac. The Chinese
>use between 20 million and 40 million a year."

Boy, I knew what they *believed* the seahorse could cure ... but that
number, even if it is only half that amount in reality,  is bloody
shocking :-(

Thankfully some places have started breeding seahorses in captivity to
provide stock for so-called medicinal purposes ... and others have learnt
how much they can earn breeding for aquariums instead of raping the oceans
taking out everything, including the breeding stock.

>And
>"It is estimated that between half and a third of all the seahorses in the
>world are found in Australia."
>
>They must be dying out judging by the number that we haven't seen at Shelly
>Beach!  :-)

We apparantly have quite a bit on this side of the island .. but as I am
such an impatient sod I rarely slow down long enough to notice them.
One dive spot that has a few deliberately sunk junk - washing machine hull,
a couple of small barges, etc ... are covered in seahorses.  I can spot
those but its the ones that hide in the seaweed that I can't see unless one
is right in front of my nose .. well not quite that bad but they are damn
hard to see if you lose your place in the weed ;-)

And, its leafy breeding time here so I assume it would be the same your
neck of the woods Strike .. so keep ya eyes peeled :-)
Viv
>
>Strike