350 Endangered White's Seahorses Reintroduced into Australia Waters

350 critically endangered White's seahorses have been restored by Australian authorities into their coastal waterways.

Marine researchers working to restore seahorse populations off the east coast of Australia are thrilled with the best results so far.

The only seahorse or seadragon species on Australia's national endangered species list, White's seahorses, were released in large numbers into the waters north of Newcastle in specially constructed "hotels."

The Department of Primary Industries (DPI), an organization in charge of managing forestry, agriculture, fishing, and hunting, and the Sydney Aquarium, collaborated on the project.

350 Baby Seahorses Reintroduced to Australia Waters

A refuge named Port Stephens outside Sydney Harbor used to be a place where divers could occasionally observe two dozen White's seahorses, but coastal development and boat moorings have destroyed their habitat.

The species has a very productive breeding program at Sydney Aquarium that includes Port Stephens residents as broodstock. The next generation's eggs are raised by the fathers in a belly pouch, a trait that is exclusive to the animal kingdom, and are later gathered in big bags of seawater.

Then they are brought to the refuges and placed in their hotels. In essence, the hotels are cages designed for much larger creatures. The cages make a lot of niches and crevices that act as habitat for them as well as their crustacean prey species.

Dr. David Harasti, a department scientist, recently released 350 newborn seahorses at once from a DPI boat off Nelson Bay.

According to Harasti, this specific release was the best work his team had ever produced. According to ABC News, 350 newborn seahorses are lounging around in their new habitat.

Harasti remarked that it was wonderful to see and that he couldn't wait to return in a few weeks to check on the seahorses.

This coming October, Harasti intends to check in on his charges to see how they're doing, Good News Network reports.

Endangered White's Seahorses

Australia's east coast is home to the White's Seahorse. One of four kinds of seahorses known to exist in NSW waters, the species bears the name John White in honor of the First Fleet's Surgeon General. It is now known to exist in eight estuaries throughout the NSW Coast and prefers shallow-water estuary settings, however, it is most prevalent in Sydney Harbour, Port Stephens, and Port Hacking. Hervey Bay in Queensland serves as its northernmost point, and St Georges Basin in New South Wales has previously been noted as its southernmost point.

The degradation of natural habitats throughout their range in eastern Australia, according to the Department of Primary Industries, is the main factor contributing to the White's Seahorse's fall in population abundance. The seahorses can be found in coastal estuaries and embayments, which are populated regions.

At locations where the seahorse used to be common, more than 90% of the sponge and soft coral habitats have disappeared within Port Stephens. The construction of boat moorings, the use of boat anchors, and habitat flooding due to sand migration have all degraded habitat in Port Stephens.