It was a special moment at Nelson Bay during the week as 132 baby White’s Seahorses were released off Little Beach.

The numbers of the iconic endangered species have dwindled recently due to a loss of natural habitats.

Their coastal estuaries and embayments, in which they live, are subject to human population pressure and extreme weather events, with shallow water seagrass, sponges and soft corals all experiencing massive declines.

The floods in 2021 and 2022 haven’t helped either.

So, to lend a helping hand, more than 400 primary students, from 15 schools across the Hunter, joined Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty and Port Stephens MP Kate Washington on Friday 6 September to deploy an additional 15 “seahorse hotels” they had made as part of the NSW Government’s Seahorse Saviours initiative.

“It’s very special to be releasing baby seahorses to make their home in seahorse hotels in Port Stephens,” Ms Washington said.

“This program highlights the NSW Government’s commitment to preserving the region’s unique marine life and restoring our important ecosystems.

“I’m delighted to see local students getting first-hand experience in marine conservation, by building and installing seahorse hotels.

“The successful breeding of these baby White’s Seahorses is a testament to the dedicated staff at the Port Stephens Fisheries Institute.”

There are now 60 seahorse hotels installed in Port Stephens by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) team at The Pipeline and Little Beach dive sites.

They start as artificial habitats and rapidly become covered in algae, sponges and corals that, over time, cause the artificial structure to collapse, creating a new natural habitat that is perfect for seahorses.

The initiative was not only supported by the NSW Government, but federally as well through the Native Species grants program.

“On 7 September we acknowledge National Threatened Species Day,” Ms Moriarty said.

“So, what better way to respond than to deploy 132 captive-bred White’s Seahorse into Port Stephens to help this iconic species recover?

“While they have significantly declined over the past decade, the implementation of the government’s new captive-breeding program and installation of seahorse hotels are positive steps towards their recovery.”

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