The White’s seahorse recovery program has marked another milestone with more than 140 babies, bred at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, swimming into the wild at two Sydney Harbour locations.
Baby White’s seahorses are ready for their release into the wild. Photo courtesy of SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium
The White’s seahorse, also known as the Sydney seahorse, is Australia’s only threatened seahorse species, with populations declining due to habitat loss and degradation of their harbour home.
The recovery program is now in its second year and has seen more than 200 seahorses bred and released.
In 2019, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium built a dedicated seahorse breeding facility and together with NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Fisheries, placed the first of 27 seahorse hotels in Sydney Harbour. In June 2021, the team tripled the number of seahorse hotels in Sydney Harbour, locating nine each at Delwood Beach and Little Manly.
A diver carries babies to the site of Sydney Harbour’s seahorse hotels. Photo courtesy of SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium
The hotels have been successful in attracting and protecting the first release of aquarium-bred seahorse babies in 2020 and the even more significant release of more than 140 seahorses, in September 2021.
The breeding and recovery project is collaboration between SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, DPI Fisheries, Ocean Youth, the Gamay Rangers, UTS (led by Professor David Booth), the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) and Taylors Wines.
Laura Simmons, Curator at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, said she was extremely proud of the project’s success, culminating in the latest release.
A baby White’s seahorse swims towards a hotel after its release. Photo courtesy of SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium
“Today we saw over 140 tagged White’s seahorses released into the wild, where we hope they’ll go on to breed all around Sydney Harbour and the east coast of Australia to help White’s seahorse flourish. Today was a major milestone in the long-term, collaborative effort to recover and eventually de-list this species,” Simmons said.
Dr David Harasti, senior marine scientist with DPI Fisheries, said, “Just last year the White’s seahorse was listed as an endangered species in NSW and this collaborative project is helping provide artificial homes for seahorses to live on in Sydney Harbour. The captive breeding program and seahorse hotels initiative is providing hope for this iconic and mythical marine species and will hopefully contribute to their numbers increasing in the wild.”
To find out more about the White’s seahorse, visit the NSW DPI website.