Palma Aquarium works on a plan to restock the population of seahorses at the Mediterranean.

Palma Aquarium and Banca March have put in motion a project that has in mind to restock the population of seahorses at the mediterranean sea, facilitating the reproduction and survival of these vulnerable animals in an artificial environment controlled, so that later on to reintroduce them to their natural habitats.

The seahorses are extremely vulnerable and authentic animals that indicate the health of the marine ecosystems. Its main threats are of anthropogenic character, meaning that it is caused by humans, like the loss and degradation of the habitat, trawl fishing and contamination. Its population last year has been reduced between 25-30%.

For this reason, the objective of the so called project “Cavallets de mar balears” is to collaborate with the preservation of the biodiversity of the Mediterranean with the reproduction of the seahorse species and its future reintroduction in its natural habitat, Palma Aquarium has indicated.

The principal objective of the project is to raise a new generation of seahorses at a reproductive age to reinforce the existing populations and to allow an increase of its numbers in the natural environment. For this, they have selected a couple of common seahorses (Hippocampus Hippocampus) and another couple of seahorse of the Mediterranean ( Hippocampus Guttulatus).

The seahorses or hippocampus are a group of marine fish belonging to the Syngnathidae family, and seasonally mate, when the temperatures rise in the water. Normally they are found in tropical water not very deep and at warm temperatures. They live between corals, macroalgae, marine phanerogams and mangrove forests.

This project, of two years of duration, is being carried out thanks to the commitment with sustainability and the preservation of both of the oceans' entities. Banca March has dedicated part of its annual management fee of the sustainable ‘Mediterranean Fund’ for the development of this initiative. This solidarity fund invests 10% of its management fee in projects related to the conservation of marine ecosystems.