Last year I spent 3 months searching for seahorses in Thailand, but found only 8 individuals. This was surprising because Thailand is the world's largest exporter of seahorses, sourcing its seahorses from local fisheries. Why were seahorses so hard to find? Was I looking in the wrong places, using the wrong methods, or had so many seahorses been captured in fishing gear, were there none to be found? My future research will seek the answer.