Soft, white sands and swaying seagrass meadows filled with fishes, a multitude of crabs and cuttlefish. What might initially sound like we’re in the middle of the Bahamas (minus the prevailing temperature), actually turns out to be the United Kingdom’s south coast. We are in Studland Bay in Devon to find out more about the elusive spiny seahorse which calls this bay its home. As seahorses aren’t known to be the best swimmers, Studland Bay’s shallow seagrass beds act as a great habitat for these small fish. They hide, feed, mate and breed here, rendering the bay the most important spiny seahorse site in the United Kingdom.

The spiny seahorse, often also called thorny or long-snouted seahorse, lives in coastal waters where it clings onto seaweed and seagrass to not get swept away into deeper water columns. They feed on plankton and shrimp and are closely related to sea dragons and pipefish. The species is known to practice monogamy, but the long-established notion that they mate for life, might not any longer be true.

Sadly, the spiny seahorse is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, mainly due to its decreasing population numbers. In the UK, the species best identified by the fleshy mane on its neck and back, is a so-called Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework and protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 2008, which means that they are not allowed to be killed, injured or taken.

Neil Garrick-Maidment, founder and executive director of The Seahorse Trust, a non-profit organisation seeking to protect seahorses in the UK and beyond, says that Studland Bay is “without a doubt, the most important site for spiny seahorses in the UK and potentially throughout Europe.” He adds: “As a known breeding area, Studland Bay’s protection is critical for the future of the species.” In May of 2019, Studland Bay was designated as a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) on the basis of its seagrass meadows.