Studland Seahorses - Seagrass Survey

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To be honest I cannot understand this wave of antagonism against the seahorse huggers.

[/ QUOTE ] Much of the 'antagonism' is down to the 'seahorse hugger' who came on here last year and basically said that leisure boats were 'killing' seahorses and that he was working towards getting boats banned.

He wasn't open to any other theory. The pdf at the top of this thread seems to indicate that the research is to prove that anchoring does damage the eelgrass and kills seahorses.
 
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The designated area shown on the google earth map on this thread, is i believe in an area predominantly used by small power boats.


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If those markers are correct (they should be a sqquare aligned north/south) then it's the far end of the ski lane. It's too shallow for most people to anchor, and those that do anchor there are likely to be far too small to do any damage, IMO...
 
The "seahorse hugger" was Steve Trewhella, as mentioned above. He appears to be a zealot who has appointed himself resident expert on seahorses at Studland. So far as I can tell, he has no official status beyond being a "Volunteer Diver" (whatever that means) for the Seahorse Trust.

His postings on here made it clear that leisure boaters - all of them - were the enemy. As you say, he wasn't open to any suggestion that he might be wrong or that there might be any alternative way of proceeding. My judgement is that he is a pompous, vitriolic and pig-headed imbecile. He therefore stands a very good chance of getting his way...... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
I would never be able to overnight anchor in the area marked, it just isnt deep enough.

If this study is supposed to show how resting an area can help the ell grass then this area can not possibly add anything to the so called research and appears to be just an excuse to start getting rid of boats all together.

I cant help but think The amount of time and money that will no doubt be wasted here would be better spent on laying some moorings that don't cause any damage to the ell grass, perhaps fore/aft mooring poles, alright they would no be suitable for all conditions but they could take 90% of the anchors away, who really enjoys getting their anchor mucky anyway!
 
Easily solved - Crown Estates Commissioners stop funding Sea Horse Sanctuaries and use the money to provide free permanent moorings in all those places where there might be Sea Horses.
 
Steve Trewhella would clearly like all anchoring banned in Studland Bay which I regard as a unnecessary disaster , however I cannot see the harm in a proper survey as as been said the area is little used and will be compared with an area where anchoring is permitted so there is a comparison, whilst many on here seem to know that the survey will not be scientific I cannot know that so am prepared to wait to examine the results which I agree should be carefully scrutinized.

I know there are reasonable people on both sides, but if we refuse any effort to protect the eelgrass, we will be categorized as uncaring of the environment and I fear will face a total ban.

You only have to look at some of the comments made by the non boating public for instance on the Bournemouth Echo site to realize we would be on a sticky wicket with public opinion.
 
There is public opinion and informed public opinion. Volume is irrelevant.

I wonder if there will be the same support for measures to protect the shark population which is under threat. It made the BBC news a couple of weeks ago, but did not trigger celebrity hysteria in the same way that sea horses did - not so cuddly and photogenic maybe!

As was pointed out ad nauseum on the original thread Steve comes from the scientific school that says he has the answer now lets look for some evidence to confirm it. Nowhere has he been able to explain why the seahorses seem to have arrived recently in Studland and are thriving - because he has a closed mind and never asks that question! Even the "serious" scientists from the Seahorse Trust who have asked this question do not have a satisfactory explanation.

Unless one understands how the creature interacts with its environment it is pointless monitoring the environment in a random way which is what the survey is.
 
if anchors uproot seagrass as reported, it seems likely to me that when the up rooted bits a chucked overboard by the yottie, they will simply settle somewhere else & regrow. This may explain the way that seagrass is spreading in the area.

So anchoring may be good for seagrass (and provide wider areas for seahorses to hide).
 
pig headed imbercile ??
Feel free to come up and call me that to my face, I'm down there most days....photographing and filming the anchor damage .
Look foward to meeting you.
 
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pig headed imbercile ??
Feel free to come up and call me that to my face, I'm down there most days....photographing and filming the anchor damage .
Look foward to meeting you.

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Daka did not call you any names, and the guy who did managed to spell it correctly. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

As an outside observer, your response seems to support the original comment. May I suggest that you stick to the confirmable facts if you want to influence a discussion. You have probably just lost an opportunity to influence people who could be useful supporters. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
How many seahorses lived there 25 years ago, and 50 years ago ? Without that data, you cannot make judgements on the future deveopement. Yesterday is no use, it only tells you what your actions have done to the seahorse.

Seahores are now moving into marinas, to them it's a large rock pool. Twice a day the tide comes in with new food, it's sheltered and safe. But also in the marina are lots of props stirring the water each time a boat moves into or out of it's berth. Yet the seahorses move in and increase numbers, so why should a few anchors worry them. Perhaps we should close one half of the marinas to study them now, when they have only just moved in and a known base.

Brian
 
Area is at bottom of chart marked with 4 green markers - South of where most boats anchor

seagrass-1.jpg
 
Why are seahorses thriving at Studland? That's easy. Because 300+ boats stop there every Sunday and deposit tonnes of very rich fertiliser into the water. It will be interesting to see how the scientists explain how it is that the areas where anchoring is allowed have an increase in numbers and the prohibited zone has a decrease.

If Steve has his way and gets boats banned from Studland it will actually be as a direct consequence of his actions that seahorses start to decline there again.

All IMHO of course!
 
Hi Steve

Welcome back to the forum!

This gives you an opportunity to explain what you hope to achieve by this voluntary ban on anchoring in the designated part of the Bay?

And please do not talk about boat anchors pulling up Eel Grass and its roots. This is a well established fact and therefore not an issue for debate.

What I would like to know, along with many others, I suspect, is the answer to some basic questions.

1 Is the future of the seahorse population in Studland (or anywhere else for that matter) solely dependent on the Eel Grass beds?

2 Is there any evidence that the extent of the Eel Grass beds in Studland is changing as a result of yachts anchoring in the Bay

And 3 does the population of Seahorses rise and fall directly in relation to the extent of the Eel Grass beds?

I think many on here would like to see answers to these very basic questions supported by fact and published sources, not opinion and speculation.

Look forward to hearing from you.
 
re boats depositing tons of fertiliser into the water, on a busy tourist beach ?, nice.
Maybe some water tests are needed on the next bank hoilday.
That would be an interesting twist if something turned up.
 
Eelgrass is the favoured habitat for spiney seahorses.
They can be found at other locations, but when you see them in the eelgrass you understand why they live there.
There are other locations in europe where the spiney seahorse 'hippocampus guttulatus' can be found in eelgrass.
The short snout seahorse 'hippocampus hippocampus' can live in many habitats including eelgrass. out of the 40 animals I saw last year only 4 where short snouts.
As for evidence of change to the eelgrass bed, these are questions that seastar should be able to answer.
There is talk that eelgrass scars recover in the winter.
After diving the site for many years I don't belive this is the case.
There is a lot of talk about eelgrass being kicked from anchors and re growing on the seabed.
That would be like pulling a tree up with its roots and expecting it to grow again.
Eelgrass is a flowering plant not seaweed, when its roots are pulled up it dies, leaving a hole on the seabed vulnerable to erosion.
We have no idea if the seahorse population will change in relation to the extent of the eelgrass beds, there is little base line data on these animals.
Our concern is that it will and precautions need to be taken.
Seahorses and thier habitat are now a protected species on the wildlife and country side act.
There are many papers on boat impact on eelgrass, the R.Y.A green blue even produce one.
I am tired of people telling me I am some sort of eco warrior with nothing better to do.
I do not get paid to do this , studland is my local beach, and I am concerned .
The other conservation organizations are sitting firmly on the fence.
Not wanting to upset anyone....most of thier funding comes from crown estate or natural england.
This is the reason my name comes up so often.
 
We have no idea how many seahorses lived there 50yrs ago.
Nobody was looking for them.
But they are now a protected species.
We are trying to find out as much as possible about them.
Last year I spent in excess of 50hrs in the water with them.
This year the seahorse trust have started a tagging project under licence from natural england to try and get more data.
Already the project has been a huge success , and the pair we tagged in may are now breeding, and have only moved a few meters from the location where they were found.
 
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