John Hooker wrote:
 
> This is very sad -- how close is this charming creature to extinction?
> I always thought that they were fairly common. Does anyone know why
> their numbers are diminishing?
 
Hello!
 
Hi,
 
The demise of the Sea Horse is inevitable. This once common creature  is dried,
ground to a fine powder and used as an "energy" supplement or stimulant in the
Far East. The habitat is very low depth intertidal grassy flats. Some of the
blame may be directed toward destruction of habitat but most is due to massive
over fishing to supply the "natural/medicinal" industry of the Far East.
 
Some shell crafters also use the whole dried animal as decoration in their
creations. Yet another contributor to the massive consumption of an endangered
species/population.
--
Later,
 
Emilio Jorge Power
 
Please visit;
"The Liguus Home Page"
http://pw1.netcom.com/~ejpower/lighompage.html