Saving White’s Seahorse

But seahorses are really bad swimmers! In fact, it is not only one of the Australian species, but one of the worldwide species recognised as the slowest swimmer in the world, and they really don't have great mechanisms to transport themselves in the ocean.

They've got these prehensile tails which can grab onto things, and that's how they live their lives - held on to something, and feeding all the time. Seagrasses are really natural anchor points for a seahorse, and because we've lost so much of that environment, the White Seahorse is one of only two seahorse species globally, which is recognised as being endangered. In Sydney Harbour, that's primarily through urbanisation and loss of habitat, and one of those key habitats is our native seagrasses.

This is all underpinned by rigorous science that we hope will inform this program to recover White’s seahorse, and possibly also providing a framework for the conservation of other threatened marine fishes.

SIMS’ Sydney Seahorse Project addresses the key issue of habitat loss through the provision of artificial habitats named “Seahorse Hotels”, and the collaborative restoration of habitats including the Endangered seagrass, Posidonia australis. The project also aims to increase wild seahorse populations through a conservation stocking project, where seahorses are bred and reared in captivity then released into the wild. The Sydney Seahorse Project has a strong focus on using rigorous scientific practice to develop the ideal conservation methodologies.