The divers emerged from the water smiling with satisfaction. They had found what they were looking for in the undersea meadows off the south coast of England.
“Seahorses are tricky to spot,” said Mark Fox. “The seagrass sways and they blend into it pretty well. It helps if it’s sunny and not too choppy but you have to get your eye in. When you see them, it’s brilliant.”
Fox is one of a band of volunteers (he is a semi-retired painter and decorator) helping survey the creatures that live in Studland Bay.
Over the last two decades, conservationists have worked hard to make conditions in the Dorset bay better for the seagrass – and thus the seahorses – including introducing almost 100 “eco moorings” that do not harm the habitat.
Coming across a seahorse here used to be a rare event but this summer the divers have seen a surge in numbers, with 33 seahorses counted in one survey.
“It’s spectacular to see so many seahorses here,” said Ken Collins, an emeritus fellow at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton.
Collins has worked on globally important projects such as helping protect the water around the Galápagos Islands but is now a key member of the volunteer team monitoring the seahorses for the charity the Seahorse Trust.
Studland Bay is a key spot in the UK for two species, the spiny seahorse and the short-snouted seahorse. The trust launched the Studland Seahorse Project in 2008 to try to boost numbers and in 2019 the bay was designated a marine conservation zone.
A problem for the seagrass and seahorses is that the bay is also a fine area for boats to shelter in. “And anchors tear out the roots of seagrass”, said Collins. “It takes years to grow back.”
Collins said there had been tension over the years with “anti-conservationists”, some with “Trump-like views”, who seemed to think the champions of the seahorses were intent on driving the boaters away.
Relations have improved since the Studland Bay Marine Partnership was created in 2021, consisting of the Seahorse Trust, academics, boating organisations, community groups and local businesses.
Funds were provided from the UK government and a Hampshire company that runs marinas, Boatfolk, to help set up 87 eco moorings, which are attached to the Studland Bay seabed without scouring it. Bare patches in the seagrass are starting to grow back. “It’s a long process but we’re getting there,” said Collins.
This week, the survey team set up camp on a picnic bench at Joe’s Cafe on South Beach before their dive. Volunteers, including a builder, a student and a usually desk-bound marine habitat project manager, hauled on wetsuits and scuba gear. Collins, not as young as he was, was not too proud to ask one of the younger divers to help zip him into his wetsuit.
Jenny Mallinson, who used to run the aquarium at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, briefed the divers: when you spot a seahorse, don’t take your eye off it or you will lose it; take a picture of the whole body so that the team can later try to identify if it is male or female; most importantly, don’t distress the seahorses – if their colour darkens or they turn away, it’s a sign that they are not happy and you should move away.
Over the next three and half hours, three pairs of divers combed the seagrass, which lies about 100 metres out and 2 metres down and reported back to Mallinson. The total was not as dramatic as earlier this month but they saw seven, all spiny seahorses.
Neil Garrick-Maidment, the executive director and founder of the Seahorse Trust, said they used to be pleased to spot one or two seahorses and often found none. “Seven is brilliant. It is fantastic to start seeing seahorses back in Studland Bay. It has been an incredible team effort.”
