Over 350 endangered White’s Seahorses, native to Australia’s east coast, have found a new home in eight biodegradable metal “hotels” installed in Sydney’s harbor, as part of a collaboration between the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, the University of Technology Sydney, and the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries. The effort seeks to counteract a sharp population decline triggered by habitat loss.
鈥淚t was really fantastic,鈥� said marine biologist Mitchell Brennan, the project manager of the Sydney Seahorse Project. 鈥淭hese are endangered White鈥檚 Seahorses that are going out to restock the wild population here.鈥�
Installed a month before the seahorse release to allow the growth of algae and other marine fouling, the structures break down over time, leaving a semi-natural reef benefiting the broader ecosystem.According to the project’s initial results are promising, with 20% of the seahorses remaining in the hotels a year after the 2020 release in Chowder Bay, and 10% found pregnant in the wild.
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