A white seahorse feeds at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science Aquarium on June 22, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. Photo Credit: Reuters
Nestled beneath the surface of Sydney’s harbor, more than 350 newly released White Seahorses make themselves at home in their Seahorse Hotels.
Made from biodegradable metal, the eight new hotels set to provide much-needed homes for endangered seahorses.
“It was really spectacular,” said marine biologist Michelle Brennan, project manager for the Sydney Seahorse Project.
“These are endangered white seahorses that are going out to repopulate the wild population here.”
The Sydney Seahorse Project is a collaboration between the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, the University of Technology Sydney and the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Primary Industries, focused on the conservation of the species.
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White seahorses are endemic to the waters around Australia’s east coast and were classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2017 due to habitat loss. Population monitoring by Australian scientists shows that between 2008 and 2015 the population in Sydney Harbor almost halved, while the population on the north coast of NSW fell by almost 95%.
“Seahorses are often considered a flagship species for conservation,” Brennan said.
“We have seen dramatic population loss which means we need to act now to help these individuals survive into the future.”
Designed to mimic discarded crab traps, a common home for seahorses, the hotels are set up at least a month before release, to allow for the accumulation of algae, sponges and other marine debris.
Over the years, the metal breaks down and disappears, leaving behind a semi-natural reef, which benefits not only the seahorses but the wider ecosystem of the harbour.
The results of the first release look promising for the future of the species. One year after the 2020 release at Chowder Bay, 20% of the released population remained in hotels and 10% were pregnant in the wild.
“It’s a really positive first sign,” Brennan said.