1 .
In the islands of Japan’s Ryukyu
Archipelago sea kraits are very
common, and form the basis of
several exploitative businesses. The
snakes are regarded as a delicacy,
with a number of health benefits,
especially for men. The male
snake’s hemipenes, in particular,
are used in traditional medicine and
are also said to be powerful
aphrodisiacs. In addition, there was
a significant market for sea krait
skins, and this trade continues at a
reduced rate. Sea kraits often
emerge from the water just on dusk
and for an hour or so afterwards,
presumably to avoid diurnal
predators. Their emergence is
frequently concentrated at particular
places where both sea and onshore
conditions make for the easiest
landing sites. Local hunters, often with lamps or
torches which are said to attract the snakes, perch
on the rocks above such sites to collect the snakes
as they emerge. In the past, these sites were often
used to establish smokehouses, where the snakes
were hung up, smoked and dried prior to sale.
On many Pacific islands, where sea kraits are
abundant, they are virtually ignored by local people
unless they wander into huts or houses by accident.
In Fiji, for example, we have collected hundreds of
snakes for venom milking from rocky foreshores
2 .
1 . Laticauda frontalis, Santo, Vanuatu. This species
was previously only known from a single specimen
said to be from New Britain.
2 .
The author engaged in sea snake field work.
Kia Island, Fiji, July 1994. Image by T. Tamiya.