Animal and conservation lovers are invited to adopt and name their very own baby seahorse.
Following its most successful breeding year to date, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium will release over 700 juvenile White’s seahorses into Sydney Harbour and Port Stephens waters, where they’ll continue to repopulate the waters as part of a major breeding recovery project.
The SEA LIFE TRUST fundraising initiative will help the expert aquarists at the Darling Harbour attraction continue their successful work, birthing and raising seahorse fry in their onsite nursery facilities before releasing them into ‘seahorse hotels’ in the ocean.
The species, also known as the Sydney Seahorse, has seen a dramatic population decline over the past decade and has been listed as ‘Endangered’ in NSW. It is now Australia’s only threatened seahorse and the second endangered seahorse species worldwide.
The new adoption package consists of a $45 contribution to the SEA LIFE TRUST and, as well as the knowledge that adopters are making a real difference in saving an Endangered animal, they will receive:
- A digital adoption certificate for themselves or to gift to a loved one
- Inclusion of the seahorse’s and the adoptee’s name online and in the in-attraction honour roll
- 12 months of regular updates on the seahorse program and other SEA LIFE TRUST initiatives
Teagan Pyne, Aquarist and seahorse expert at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, said, “The team at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium has been successful in critical work saving the White’s Seahorse. We are delighted to invite the public to contribute to the recovery of a species that needs help, in our backyard.”
Aquarists paired adult seahorse for the fourth annual breeding season in October 2022. Their offspring have been raised to a releasable size over the last several months. These juveniles will be released in stages in Sydney Harbour and Port Stephens.
Guests can see the enchanting creatures firsthand on the Behind-the-Scenes tour, joining an expert guide in the custom-built breeding facilities for the seahorses and the Endangered Australian soft cauliflower coral.
