A seahorse sighting has been made in Studland Bay by a Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) marine awareness officer. The sighting confirms that seahorses are alive, well and breeding in Studland Bay this summer.
Over recent years the sightings of these enigmatic animals have been few and far between. This could possibly be as a result of several harsh winters, maybe because fewer people have been surveying for them or it might also be that the population follows a boom and bust cycle. We simply don’t know enough about them to say for sure.
Seahorses favour the rich seagrass meadows found in the shallow, sheltered waters of Studland Bay, along with a host of other marine species that make up the specialised and important community of wildlife there.
This summer a magnificent male seahorse was spotted by DWT’s marine awareness officer, Julie Hatcher, when she accidentally stumbled across it while diving. A female seahorse was also found nearby. “Both seahorses were large and in tip-top condition. It’s good news for the Studland Bay seahorses and good news for Dorset’s wildlife lovers. It also gives us further reason to continue our campaign for protection of Studland Bay as a Marine Conservation Zone.”
Studland Bay has twice been held back from designation as the government seeks to create a network of Marine Conservation Zones around England and Wales. To counter the misinformation about what designation would mean to the people who visit the Bay, Dorset Wildlife Trust has published its vision of how the Bay could look if it were protected in this way.
DWT believes that with the right management in place, both people and wildlife would benefit.
To see DWT’s Vision for Studland Bay MCZ please visit
www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/Studland
