August 17th, 2009
Seahorse Colony Threatened
The largest seahorse colony in the UK is under threat. Boats mooring and anchoring off Studland Bay, in Dorset are damaging the seagrass in which these beautiful creatures reside.
The RYA have come out in defence of the yacht owners, by stating that they are ‘normally very pro-environmental’.
None-the-less Natural England have organised for an area to be cordoned off with buoys to protect the threatened species.
This ‘anchor-free’ zone will be voluntary, but policed by wardens. The boat owners however, are concerned, that should they be caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time their boat details will be published on the internet. Natural England have denied that this is the case and explained that the wardens are only there to monitor the situation and they are confident that the cordon will be respected.
The Seahorse Trust has recently begun tagging seahorses in an effort to track and monitor their existence. Currently there are believed to be 40 in Studland Bay.
Last year, seahorses were registered as a protected species for the first time. Steve Trewhella of the Seahorse Trust, welcomed the study and said a ban on anchoring was just what was needed.
