As of: April 2, 2024, 8:00 p.m
By: Sophie Kluß
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For several years now, rare animals have been found on the North Sea coast, especially seahorses. Are the fish back after almost 100 years?
Sea turtles, a leatherback turtle, a nail ray, blue sharks, a tuna - sightings of rare animals washing up on North Sea beaches have been increasing for several years. In particular, the increasing number of seahorse discoveries in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, the Netherlands and Denmark, as well as on the open North Sea, pose a puzzle for scientists. As early as 2022, two seahorses, more precisely two short-snouted seahorses (Hippocampus hippocampus), had the researchers excited. The two small animals were found lifeless on the North Sea coast in Wangerooge, Lower Saxony.
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Seahorses disappeared from the North Sea for almost 100 years
Seahorse discoveries along the picturesque North Sea coast are puzzling scientists. (Symbolic image) © Zoonar.com/Nando Lardi/Imago
After a fungal infection in the 1930s, the seahorses disappeared from the German Wadden Sea - now they could be back. “The finds show that seahorses are becoming more common in the flushing areas of the Wadden Sea,” said Hans-Ulrich Rösner, head of the WWF Wadden Sea office, to the German Press Agency. The researchers cannot yet say with certainty whether it is a permanent population in the North Sea or just washed-up animals from the English Channel or the Dutch coast. “We don’t yet know (…) whether the seahorses have already settled in our Wadden Sea or whether they are driven by storms from other coasts,” says Rösner. Genetic studies at the University of Kiel and other seahorse finds should provide information.
Short-snouted seahorse
The short-snouted seahorse is a fish and remains loyal to its partner for life. In these animals, it is not the females but the males who incubate the offspring. They occur at depths of up to 80 meters. According to
the WWF,
the seahorse grows to around 15 centimeters long. Colors range from dark brown to gray.
Seahorses are acutely threatened by the destruction of their preferred habitats and by fishing - several million are caught as bycatch every year. In Asia they are caught as medicine and sold as powder. Their popularity among tourists as souvenirs is also increasingly becoming a downfall for the little animals.
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Help with a walk on the beach – people should report seahorse finds
Two lifeless short-snouted seahorses (Hippocampus hippocampus) lie in the hand of a nature conservation warden. Increasing discoveries of washed-up animals are causing a stir on the North Sea coast. While only seven finds were reported within 50 years before 2000, 38 animals were reported in 2022, a further 23 animals in 2023 and nine seahorses have already been found this year. © picture alliance/dpa | Peter Kuchenbuch-Hanken
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Walkers and beach visitors traveling along the North Sea coast are asked to help. According to the German Press Agency, reporting finds in the Beach Explorer app or on www.beachexplorer.org helps to solve the mystery of the washed-up seahorses. Dead animals can also be handed in at national park houses in Lower Saxony.
In Schleswig-Holstein, however, seahorses that have been washed up should be left lying around. A report in
Beach Explorer
or to the WWF with a photo (ideally with a euro coin next to it to determine the size) as well as the exact location and time of discovery helps the scientists to collect valuable data about the rare fish. By the way, you are not allowed to take the animals home as a souvenir - they are protected.