The endangered White’s seahorse population recently received some aid from the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium in Australia.
The Sydney Seahorse Project aims to restore the population Australia’s endangered White's Seahorse. Their strategy is to install grids made of biodegradable metal that will provide a much needed habitat for the endangered species https://t.co/FWW3FJY6us pic.twitter.com/AlZ1Shd95B
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 21, 2023
According to ABC News Australia, 100 White’s seahorses were successfully bred in captivity and have now been released into a North Shore tidal pool.
Laura Simmons, regional curator at SEA LIFE, stated, “Their numbers have decreased and declined quite a bit over the past 20 years.”
She also noted, “They’re only found in Australia, nowhere else in the world.”
This comes after SEA LIFE was able to release 300 White’s seahorses at Port Stevens in May.
Since 2019, SEA LIFE has conducted careful releases of the endangered seahorses six times across various areas which include: Botany Bay, Chowder Bay in Sydney Harbour, and Little Manly Beach.
Simmons noted these projects have led to sights of pregnant males in these areas. She stated, “We know there has been a survivability and a success rate there.”
In addition, 380 White’s seahorses were bred in captivity at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) in July.
These were released in Chowder Bay and future releases are already planned for next year.
In early 2024, a release is expected to take place in Port Stephens and future releases are being planned in Balmoral for later in the year.
While Simmons noted the White’s seahorse became officially endangered in 2020, iNaturalistCL reported about the White’s seahorses’ declining numbers in 2018.
The outlet said between 50-70% of the species had declined by 2017, but some research indicated that up to 90% of the species has vanished.
The White’s seahorse is especially vulnerable to habitat loss/disruptions due to their natural inclination to remain in one area.
The furthest recorded distance traveled by a White’s seahorse remains just under 230 feet.