Important information about your seahorse

Thank you for adopting an endangered juvenile White's seahorse.

For adopting an endangered White's seahorse fry.

By adopting one of our seahorses for yourself or a friend, you will be making a real conservation difference - helping to secure the future of our local marine creatures and supporting the continuation of the program into future years. Your one-off adoption payment will last 12 months. Download and fill out your e-adoption certificate in the button above, and fill out the form below to name your seahorse, and see where and when your seahorse fry will be released!

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The timeline of our program

To help recover declining populations, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium began implementing an exciting new breeding and conservation project in collaboration with a suite of organisations including the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Fisheries and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) who are their two main partners. The project aims to successfully breed, raise, and release White’s Seahorse back into the wild and monitor their success in helping reverse the decline of this iconic Endangered species.

One Of The Baby White's Seahorses Surviving After Release In The Wild

The primary cause for the White’s Seahorse decline is the loss of natural habitat across their range. To help recover populations, suitable habitat must be available for the seahorses to live on. The sheltered bay at Clifton Gardens provided an ideal location to install seahorse hotels, and simulate the natural habitats which have been lost.

Inspired by lost crab traps, these seahorse hotels start as artificial structures then grow into natural habitats once they are placed in the marine environment. Over time they are grown over by sponges and algae, making them the perfect home for seahorses.

In a landmark event ten months in the making, a group of aquarium-bred White’s Seahorses have been released into Sydney Harbour as part of a critical conservation project aimed at helping recover this iconic Endangered species.

Babies born into a custom-built seahorse breeding facility at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium were released in Clifton Gardens in Mosman in May and have since been observed weekly by a special team of divers under the guidance of a UTS Masters Research Student.

Robbie McCracken, a SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium Aquarist and seahorse expert said the babies are growing well in their new natural environment so-much-so that we are hoping they will begin pairing off and taking part in the upcoming summer breeding season.

A herd of babies each smaller than a grain of rice emerged from their dads’ pouches in the final months of 2020, with a few dozen arriving just two days before the new year rolled around. Their arrival marks a successful start to the second year of the White’s Seahorse Conservation Breeding Program initiated by SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, Fisheries NSW and the University of Technology Sydney.

In March our team here at SEA LIFE Sydney began building seahorse hotels to continue the restoration of the local seahorse habitat.

Seahorse Hotels start as artificial habitats that grow into natural habitats once they are placed in the marine environment. Over time they are grown over by corals, sponges and algae that colonize these structures providing protection from predators and a ready supply of food and making them the perfect home for seahorses.

Some members of the local community and a range of staff from all areas of the business even come along and helped out!

Boat Going Under The Harbour Bridge In Sydney

In time for World Oceans Day in June 2021, the team at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium placed 18 new seahorse hotels in Delwood Beach and Little Manly to provide vital housing for the next colony of baby endangered White's Seahorses.

In a few months' time, these hotels will begin to grow into natural habitats for seahorse populations around the harbour.

David Hirasti, Senior Research Scientist Prepares To Dive To Release Captive Bred White's Seahorse 3

In September 2021, over 140 aquarium-bred, baby White’s seahorses were been released into the wild across two Sydney Harbour locations as this threatened species recovery project gains yet more momentum in its hugely successful second year.

Commenting on the release of over 140 seahorses to Delwood Beach and Little Manly today, Laura Simmons, Curator at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, said, “We’re now in year two of a multi-year project that aims to recover the Endangered White’s seahorse. I’m extremely proud that today we saw over 140 tagged White’s seahorses released into the wild, where we hope they’ll go on to breed all around Sydney Harbour and the East Coast of Australia to help White’s seahorse flourish. Today was a major milestone in the long-term, collaborative effort to recover and eventually de-list this species.”