Latest news with #UBC
The Province
3 days ago
- The Province
'This should raise flags': Smuggling seahorses a $29 million global industry, say UBC researchers
A UBC study found that nearly five million dried seahorses, used in traditional Chinese medicine, were seized at airports or in sea cargo. Tiffany Crawford Published May 31, 2025 • Last updated 42 minutes ago • 4 minute read A UBC study has found authorities seized nearly five million seahorses traded illegally over 10 years. Photo by Tyler Stiem/Project Seahorse Researchers at the University of B.C. have discovered that millions of seahorses are being traded illegally around the world on hidden routes, putting many species at risk of becoming endangered or extinct. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The study, published this week in the scientific journal Conservation Biology, found nearly five million seahorses, worth an estimated $29 million, were seized by authorities in 62 countries over a 10-year span at airports in passenger baggage or shipped in sea cargo. However, researchers believe the number of seahorses on the illegal trade market is significantly higher, as the data show only the shipments that were seized. They also found emerging trade routes for dried seahorses in Europe and Latin America, in addition to already known routes such as Thailand to Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. For example, researchers were surprised to learn there was poaching in European waters and that different species of seahorse are showing up in unusual trade routes, said Sarah Foster, who holds a PhD in resource management and is the program leader with Project Seahorse at UBC's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'One of the most interesting seizures that we uncovered was in Vietnam, coming from Peru. But when the Vietnamese authorities did species ID on the seahorses it turned out they were a West African seahorse species…so these seahorses had gone through West Africa, Peru, Latin America, and then on their way to Asia,' said Foster. 'This really highlights how complicated some of these trade routes can be, and reinforces the need for strong communication and collaboration between countries to try and figure this out.' The study says China was the main destination for the smuggled seahorses and they were mostly found at airports. A UBC study has found authorities seized nearly five million seahorses traded illegally over 10 years. Photo by Tami Weis/Guylian Seahorse of th Seahorses are used in traditional Chinese medicine, where are they are usually dried and added to tea as cures for pain, impotence and infertility and asthma, among other ailments. They are also sold as souvenirs and traded to aquariums. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We're not in a position of questioning the validity of traditional Chinese medicine,' said Foster. 'It's more that if they are going to be used, just like anything else, it should be sustainable.' She said her team has spoken with traditional medicine traders in Hong Kong, who agree that to ensure access to seahorses in the future there must be sustainable practices now. While there is an international legal trade, researchers found that the illegal market is much more prevalent because anyone who applies for a legal permit must prove the trade is sustainable. This is difficult to do given many species of seahorse are endangered. A UBC study has found nearly five million seahorses were traded illegally over 10 years. Photo by Tyler Stiem/ Project Seahorse The seahorse is protected under CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an agreement among 184 countries, including Canada and European Union. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency enforces CITES regulations. Rebecca Purdy, a spokesperson for CBSA, could not provide the data on illegal seahorse seizures in Canada by deadline Thursday, however she said the information would be provided at a later date. Foster said Canada didn't come up in the team's study as a concern but that doesn't mean the illegal trade isn't happening here as well. 'Not all illegal trade gets intercepted and not all that gets intercepted goes reported,' she said, adding there is a demand for the consumption of seahorse in Canada. 'This should raise flags for Canadian authorities, that they need to be paying attention to make sure that those seahorses have been imported legally and sustainably.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The team analyzed 297 seizure records from 2010 to 2021 and recorded the number of seahorses seized, the value, and trade routes. What they found was that seahorses are often seized with other illegally traded products such as elephant ivory. A UBC study has found authorities seized nearly five million seahorses traded illegally over 10 years. Photo by Gino Symus/Guylian Seahorse of t Policing the illegal trade is difficult because many of the seahorses are caught accidentally, in trawl nets that dredge the ocean floor for fish. Foster said of the 46 known species of seahorse, 14 are considered to be threatened with extinction, mostly because of trawling and trade. 'When you ask people to think of the ocean the first thing they often think about is this blue expanse or sitting on the beach. They don't picture the wildlife that's underneath,' she said. Foster hopes to change that with her research. She's a strong advocate of banning trawling, or at least banning it in sensitive seahorse habitats. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Imagine a bulldozer coming through and just taking it all down,' she said. 'The fact that bottom trawling is a massive problem isn't new, but being able to really connect people with it, I think, is going to be a game changer.' Foster said seahorses feed on zooplankton and are important predators in the ecosystem. They don't have stomachs so they have to eat a lot in order to meet their energy requirements. The study concludes that more enforcement and consequences are required in many countries to crack down on smuggling seahorses. ticrawford@ Read More News BC Lions Vancouver Whitecaps News Vancouver Canucks
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Missing UBC student found dead at SkyTrain station
Missing man Matthew Hutchings is seen in this image handed out by the VPD. The nearly week-long search for a missing University of British Columbia student has ended in tragedy. Matthew Hutchings, 20, was found dead next to the tracks at Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station on Thursday morning. Police say his death does not appear to be the result of a crime. Hutchings was last seen in the early hours of Saturday, May 24, leaving the UBC area on the B-Line bus just after 2 a.m. About an hour later he was captured on surveillance video near the Safeway at Commercial Drive and Broadway. Read more: Vancouver SkyTrain stations reopen after body found next to tracks
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Police renew plea for help finding missing UBC student
Missing man Matthew Hutchings is seen in this image handed out by the VPD. Vancouver police are asking for the public's help to find a University of British Columbia student who went missing nearly a week ago. Matthew Hutchings, 20, was last seen in the early hours of Saturday, May 24. He left the UBC area on the B-Line bus just after 2 a.m. and has not returned home. In a renewed plea for information, the VPD released a surveillance still of Hutchings neat the Safeway at Commercial Drive and Broadway. It was captured around 3 a.m., an hour after he left campus. Matthew Hutchings Missing man Matthew Hutchings is seen in this image handed out by the VPD. Police have searched on the ground and with drones, checking backyards, parks, rail lines, and obtained video from homes, businesses and public transit, Const. Tania Visintin said in a social media video. She said police have spoken with dozens of witnesses and checked local hospitals for any signs of Hutchings. 'We really need your help to find Matthew; we really want to bring him home,' she said. He was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, dark grey jeans, and black sneakers. Hutchings is described as an Indigenous man with a 'slim build' weighing 140 pounds and standing 5'10' tall. He has shoulder-length black curly hair and a short beard. Police ask anyone who sees Hutchings to call 911 and stay with him until first responders arrive. Anyone with information can email
Vancouver Sun
5 days ago
- Health
- Vancouver Sun
Ridge Meadows triathlete takes on unpredictable, disabling disease one race at a time
When Michelle Taschereau was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 39, she says it was actually a relief. The alternative explanation for the various ailments afflicting her over the decades was a brain tumour, before an MRI came up with the answer. 'Nobody could decipher what was going on with me,' she said, until she developed optic neuritis and the MRI was ordered. 'My perception of a brain tumour then was that it was terminal, so I was really relieved at that point because I had an answer. And once I had an answer, I could move forward.' Discover the best of B.C.'s recipes, restaurants and wine. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of West Coast Table will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. That was in 2012. She has had many relapses since, but one in particular was severe. Five years ago she couldn't move off her right side because of vertigo, was hospitalized for a couple of weeks in Burnaby, and when she was released she could not walk on her own for months. Today, she is running full and half marathons, as well as triathlons. 'After about four months of being dependent on others for my mobility, I decided to try and go for a walk,' she said from her Ridge Meadows home. 'I felt stable enough for a walk by myself and I just went around the block. 'It felt remarkable. I couldn't believe I was walking by myself again.' It took her a year to regain her full mobility independence, and it was then that she decided to live life to the fullest and, far from being an extreme athlete previously, she chose the gruelling 'thons.' In the past three years, she has run one marathon, three half-marathons, three triathlons, as well as multiple 5-, 8- and 10-km races. She is scheduled to do a half-marathon in June, and another full marathon in October. Friday is World MS Day , and Taschereau is hoping to raise awareness. 'So many people don't know about MS,' she said. 'They don't know what the symptoms are. 'And I want people to understand it's not just a physical ailment, it's also mental, it's emotional, it's psychological. 'It affects every single component of your life and, chances are, there is somebody out there you know who has MS and doesn't realize it because it can be an invisible disease, as well.' Her determination to embrace every day is the perfect non-drug prescription, Dr. Tony Traboulsee , a professor of neurology in the faculty of medicine at UBC, said from Arizona, where he is speaking at an MS conference. 'Things that Michelle is doing — exercise, activity, a strong, positive attitude to fight the disease — are essential in terms of driving the body to repair, rebalance the immune system,' he said. 'Those are really important strategies.' Drugs are still necessary too, of course. Like psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's, MS is an autoimmune disease — the immune system attacks the body, instead of defending it. It is not something you are born with, it is acquired, Traboulsee said. 'It comes out of the blue,' he said, and there are competing theories about what causes it: A mix of genetic, environmental and lifestyle risk factors. MS attacks the central nervous system — the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves — and is a continuous process that progresses through different stages over time. It also tends to be a young person's disease (ages 20-49), and is more common in women than men by a factor of 3:1. The best way to treat it is to have it diagnosed early, Traboulsee said. 'The biggest difference I've seen in 20 years in this field is it's considerably more treatable today, and much more treatable than diseases such as ALS and Parkinson's in the sense of preventing future damage. 'Treatments have come from 30-per-cent effective when I started two decades ago, to 90-per-cent effective at preventing new problems today.' One contributing factor to getting MS seems to be vitamin D deficiency. Canada, with its long, dark winters, has one of the highest rates of MS in the world with an estimated 90,000 Canadians living with the disease, according to MS Canada . Everyone who has MS experiences it differently, but it's unpredictable. Its most common symptoms include fatigue, loss of balance, tingling or numbness, vision problems, bladder and bowel complications, and cognitive and mood changes. Almost anything, seemingly, can set off Taschereau's, including cold, heat, and stress, causing chronic pain and discomfort. 'And when you have a relapse, when you come out of your relapse however long that might be, you still have residual effects,' she said. Some of those become permanent, some heal, some heal partially. 'Everybody is different.' Her disease makes her more grateful for what she has, and what she gets to do. 'I am living every day to the fullest, I am fighting every day for my wellness, and I appreciate everything far more,' she said. gordmcintyre@
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
This UBC-developed website educates youth on when period pain is too much
Researchers at the University of B.C. have created a new website and social media campaign they hope will empower young people to take the experience of period pain more seriously. The website Period Pain is Real Pain, which was created with the input of youth partners, includes resources about period pain, related conditions like endometriosis, and pain relief. It also features a free quiz that helps youth determine whether they should speak to a health-care provider about their pain. UBC PhD student and campaign developer Zeba Khan, who studies period pain care in Canada, said period pain is a very common experience, one that affects more than 60 per cent of females of reproductive age. "Despite being so common, there is this narrative that period pain is normal and 'it's just part of being a woman,'" Khan said. "And that narrative is harmful because it makes it difficult to talk about period pain and get the right support." Khan said period pain can be most intense during adolescence. "We want young people to know that their pain is valid. So we hope that this tool, the website, the campaign will help young people recognize what the options are for them." She added that young people should speak with their health-care providers if their pain is so severe that it stops them from participating in day-to-day activities like going to school or playing sports. Dr. Paul Yong, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UBC, said untreated recurring period pain in adolescence could be a risk factor for chronic pain in the future. "We really think that prevention is really key, in terms of chronic pain, so that's why we have such interest in the adolescence time … not only to help the lives right now of adolescents, but also to prevent that pain from worsening in the future." Endometriosis, a condition in which tissue similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, is one of the most common underlying causes of period pain, according to Yong. It affects about one in 10 females of reproductive age. Vancouver-based endometriosis advocate Lux Perry, CEO and founder of Somedays, a natural period-pain relief company, said a resource website like Period Pain is Real Pain can help people decipher their experiences in a tangible way. "Any resource … is just so pivotal to someone's ability to be able to advocate for themselves and communicate with doctors." Her experience as a young teen with endometriosis was "extremely painful." "I was unable to go to school; I was unable to participate in sports. It completely disrupted my ability to go about my normal life," Perry said. Cally Wesson, president and CEO of B.C. Women's Health Foundation, which provided funding for the research project, praised the website. She said women's pain experiences can often be dismissed by health-care professionals. "So getting information out about period pain is really important because it validates the symptoms that women are going through."
