The sea of Taranto has 160 ‘Genoese’ more

The specimens were born at the Genoa Aquarium and were released into the Mar Piccolo to combat extinction

GENOA – From today, in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto there are 160 more small seahorses. The specimens of Hippocampus guttulatus, approximately six-seven months old, were born and bred in the Aquarium of Genoa, as part of the conservation project which also involves the Municipality of Taranto, the University of Bari and the Cnr of Palermo.

The release operations, which started from the former Idroscalo Bologna pier managed by the Air Force Volunteer School, took placein one of the three new micro-reserves created within the Mar Piccolo Regional Park precisely for the protection of seahorses. Here small “hotels” have been installed for seahorses, to help them in predation activities.

Since 2016, the population of Hippocampus guttulatus in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto has decreased by 90%. In addition to global warming and heat waves, the collapse has also been caused by bycatch from artisanal fishing, habitat fragmentation and illegal trade for use in traditional Chinese medicine . To combat extinction, last June the staff of the Genoa Aquarium took some pairs of seahorses to stimulate their reproduction in a controlled environment. To raise public awareness of the project, a dedicated exhibition room has been set up.