Life below water Super seahorses signal hope for survival of iconic species

Project summary

White’s Seahorses (commonly called Sydney Seahorses) are native to the Australian East coast and were the second species of seahorse globally to be listed as endangered. Their population decline has largely been due to habitat loss and pollution of the waters they live in. This has made them the focus of conservation efforts, and while there have been instances of White’s Seahorses being nurtured to release, successfully rearing them has remained a significant barrier.  

The Sydney Seahorse Project is a collaboration between the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS), the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, and UTS researchers aiming to conserve White’s Seahorse populations. Starting in 2023, the project saw researchers collect pregnant male seahorses and experiment with husbandry techniques to find the optimal rearing environment. The ideal temperatures and food requirements resulted in seahorses bigger and stronger than they otherwise would be, called super seahorses. 380 of these were then released into Chowder Bay, onto existing swimming nets and newly installed ‘seahorse hotels’, artificial habitats that emulate the disrupted habitats of seahorses, giving them the best possible chance of survival.  

Beyond their nurture and release, the Sydney Seahorse Project also represented an innovation in the collection of data on these seahorses. Researchers are limited in the frequency that they can dive to monitor the progress of populations in Chowder Bay. However, there are other divers regularly in the bay, which prompted researchers to set up an online portal encouraging divers to upload photos of seahorses spotted in the bay to help track their progress through release. Conservation efforts like these are vital to the survival of vulnerable species like the White’s Seahorse.

Find out more about the Sydney Seahorse Project on Instagram at @sydney_seahorse_project or on the Think: Sustainability podcast. 

Project timeline

2021 — 2024

SDG targets addressed by this project

Life below water:

14.2 - By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans.

 

Back to SDG 14 Life below water