Seahorses made the most of the lockdown
A rare marine species enjoyed a comeback in a South West bay, but departed as visitor numbers increased, reports Charlie Elder
THERE is plenty of evidence that the lockdown earlier this year gave nature some beneficial breathing space free from human disturbance.
There were reports of wildlife regaining lost ground on nature reserves and across national parks and public spaces – even in urban areas free from traffic.
And it appears that, hidden from view, the same was happening around our shores, with remarkable news of a lockdown comeback for one of our rarest coastal species, which has a stronghold in the South West.
Studland Bay in Dorset, designated a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) in 2019, is a key site for seahorses found among the dense meadows of seagrass that grow in the shallow waters.
The bay is known for its resident populations of both the short-snouted seahorse and long-snouted (or spiny) seahorse, for which the sandy cove is the UK’s only known breeding site.
However, the fortunes of these protected marine creatures have been on a knife-edge for many years, with none found in the bay over the last two years. The Seahorse Trust argues that damage caused to the seagrass beds by the anchors of yachts which moor in the sheltered bay is responsible for the collapse in numbers of breeding spiny seahorses.
Seahorse Trust executive director Neil Garrick-Maidment said in the charity’s latest newsletter that a long winter followed by the lockdown created a break in human disturbance which paid dividends.
“Imagine our surprise when we did the first dive after lockdown and discovered 16 seahorses; this is after having no seahorses for a couple of years. The second dive saw 21, the third 17 and in the end we identified 46 individual spiny seahorses, which is the best we have ever had,” he said.
“Sadly, the unlocking of humans meant that suddenly harmful activity started up again, and the seahorses were under renewed and greater pressure. Because nobody could fly away on holiday, more visitors than ever visited the bay and we recorded over 400 anchors being dropped into this protected site on most days. The seahorses could not cope with this pressure and rapidly left the site, and in a very short time we were down from 46 to three seahorses. This is despite our amazing team of volunteers spending so many hours looking for them.”
Mr Garrick-Maidment said that he hoped the MCZ status would improve protection for the site, and the trust was working with partners to find solutions.
Among those to have witnessed the temporary resurgence in seahorses was naturalist Steve Backshall who visited Studland Bay post-lockdown to see the Trust’s work and tell the story of seahorses for The One Show.
To support or join the Seahorse Trust visit www.theseahorsetrust.org/