SEAHORSE SURPRISE FOR DIVERS

By Suzanne Pert - Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Divers were delighted to spot a seahorse off Sandown Bay, the first time the elusive creatures have been spotted in their natural habitat. Picture by Steve Trewhella.

SEAHORSES have for the first time been found living in off Sandown Bay.
Scuba divers, all volunteers with Hampshire and IW Wildlife Trust, found the species off the east coast of the Island between Bembridge and Sandown in an area where no previous records of seahorses exist.
Although the divers were taking part in Seasearch, a programme run by the trust to map local marine habitats and wildlife, they never expected to see such an elusive creature.
A spokesman for the trust said when the divers returned to the boat they were beaming.
“It’s the most amazing thing I have seen in UK seas,” said one diver. And another said it had made his diving year.
Jolyon Chesworth, Hampshire and IW Wildlife Trust’s marine officer and local Seasearch co-ordinator, who organised the dive, said: “We know seahorses live in The Solent as they have been found washed up on beaches and in fishermen’s nets but to our knowledge they have never been seen in their natural environment by scuba divers in our area.”
The wildlife trust is pressing for marine conservation zones to be established in The Solent to prevent the most important sites from being damaged and degraded.

SEAHORSE SURPRISE FOR DIVERS

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