Seahorses in the Thames!!

According to PFK magazine scientists working for the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have found a population of seahorses in the Thames, between Esses and Kent. The seahorses are Short snouted seahorses, Hippocampus hippocampus.

The species is now protected under the Wildlife and Conservation Act of 1981.

It is thought that the presence of the seahorses is a continued sign that water quality in the River Thames is improving, after being declared biologically dead only 50 years ago.

ZSL’s Marine and Freshwater Conservation Programme Manager, Alison Shaw, is quoted as saying on the ZSL website:

“These amazing creatures have been found in the Thames on a number of occasions in the last 18 months during our regular wildlife monitoring work. It demonstrates that the Thames is becoming a sustainable biodiverse habitat for aquatic life.

“It is not clear how endangered Short-snouted seahorses are because there is little data known, particularly in the UK, so every scrap of information is valuable. Now they are protected conservationists are more relaxed about telling the world they are there.”

The Short-snouted seahorse is usually found in the coastal areas of France, Spain, the Med and Africa, but recently have been discovered around the Channel Isles, near Sussex and around the south coast of Ireland too.

They are now protected by the Wildlife and Conservation Act which means that it will be illegal to take short and long snouted seahorses from the wild, to possess them or to damage or obstruct their habitat or place of shelter.


(sourced from online PFK magazine)

How cool is that? Well if they can survive in the Thames, how difficult can it be to keep them in captivity??

Theyd be fine as long as you dont put them in the BiOrb Mary :lol:

lmao

how strange though

It does just seem incredible that these little creatures are living in the Thames. I wonde if they took a wrong turning somewhere?

Theyre probably swimming around wondering where all the coral and warm blue water is :lol:

Diana wrote:

I wonder if they took a wrong turning somewhere?

Theyre probably swimming around wondering where all the coral and warm blue water is :lol:

Probably male... saying "Battersea power station? We must be nearly there now"

With all the other new locales they are being spotted in, I wonder if they aren't expanding their range? A food shortage, warmer seas due to climate change or something like that? It certainly makes sense that it's an indication of good water quality. All around, it's a happy bit of news.
Jackie

just shows how much cleaner the Thames is, and also it muct be warmer mustnt it for them to survive through a British winter.

Global warming is certainly kicking in now - pass the sunscreen please :lol: