Australia: Mesmerising seahorses released into 'seahorse hotels'

In a momentous event, the world's largest release of baby seahorses into the wild took place in Sydney Harbour. The feat involved approximately 380 juvenile White seahorses that were carefully bred and nurtured in captivity.

The conservation operation was carried out by Sydney Institute of Marine Science.

When were seahorses released?

The seahorses were released at the Chowder Bay in Mosman on Tuesday, July 21.

The release was organisedwith the seahorses finding refuge in swimming nets and specially designed artificial habitats known as "seahorse hotels".

These structures, adorned with algae and sponges, were strategically chosen to provide the seahorses with the best chances of survival.

The Sydney Seahorse Project

The Sydney Seahorse Project came into being when the White's Seahorse species was officially recognised as the world's second endangered seahorse species in 2020.

The decline of these seahorses has been mainly attributed to the loss of their natural habitats, including sea grasses, soft corals, and algae along Australia's eastern coast.

The devastating effects of this loss were evident as once-thriving populations, like those in Port Stephens on the New South Wales mid-north coast, witnessed a drastic decline of 95 per cent or more in recent years.

Effort to save seahorses in Australia

The team members of the Sydney Seahorse Project, collected three pregnant male White's seahorses in January earlier this year. These seahorses found safety within the Sydney Institute of Marine Science aquarium, where they gave birth to the precious seahorse fry that were joyously released into Sydney Harbour.

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The landmark event represents a significant step towards preserving and reviving the White's seahorse population for generations to come.

Scientists react

The scientists involved in the project reacted with joy to the landmark development

Scientist Mitch Brennan, who helped rear the baby seahorses over the past five months, told ABC Radio Sydney it was exciting to let them go.

"The seahorses that we released today were amazing," Brennan said.

"[They were] nice and healthy and large, ready to go out in the world and hopefully contribute to restocking those wild populations."

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