The Brandis family, Scharver sisters, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation rescued 10 seahorses stranded on Chic’s Beach in Hampton Roads. It began when the family and babysitter Megan Flynn discovered a fishing net washed up on the beach covered in seaweed, barnacles, oysters. Upon closer inspection, they found 10 adult seahorses tangled in the net and gasping on the surface.
They quickly transferred the seahorses to buckets of water with small pieces of the seaweed (see video below). The ten seahorses became 50 or more as one of the males gave birth in the bucket. The group called Chesapeake Bay Foundation staff, who helped transfer them to a safe location in their natural habitat—the grasses of the nearby Lynnhaven River.
In order to thrive, seahorses need healthy habitat such as underwater grasses and oyster reefs. We know that both grasses and oyster reefs are expanding in the Bay. The numerous seahorse sightings in Hampton Roads recently are a great sign that there is healthy habitat nearby.
Read more about the Chesapeake's lined seahorse in the Fall 2012 issue of our Save the Bay magazine.
Slideshow
Click yellow plus-sign for captions
