Shelter Island Teams Up with CCE to Build Seahorse Hotels
by Jeanne Marie Merkel & Beth Young
On an afternoon in late May, just after school let out, Shelter Island Middle and High School students embarked on a rare experience on the lawn of the neighboring Community Center — becoming the first students on the East End to build “seahorse hotels,” an experimental new habitat restoration project made from recycled aquaculture gear.
Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program’s new “Seahorse Hotel Project” is designed to give students an overview of the threats facing the northern lined seahorse, which is native to Long Island.
The seahorses are known for their ability to camouflage themselves in eelgrass beds. But their habitat has been dwindling for years, and efforts to regenerate eelgrass beds have met with mixed success.
“From the “dads” having the babies, to the daily romantic courtship that seahorse parents perform for each other, these animals deserve our attention and protection,” according to Cornell Cooperative Extension. “Luckily the State of New York has taken a progressive stance, passing legislation protecting seahorses from being collected from the wild, but these animals are not out of the woods yet. The primary concern for seahorses in New York is that they have very limited habitat left.”
The seahorse hotel program, led by Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program educators Kimberly Manzo and Kate Rossi-Snook, provides students with an overview of the life cycle and needs of native seahorses, followed by a hands-on opportunity to build them homes, constructed of aquaculture cages, weighed down with bricks, with an open top to ensure other marine creatures don’t get entangled.
The program, which is designed to give students experience in experiential learning, repurposing materials, conservation, monitoring and research, is expected to expand shortly to schools in Sag Harbor and Southold, after which the seahorse hotels are expected to be placed on the bay bed in areas where crab pots are allowed.
It’s part of CCE’s larger Habitat Restoration Program, which has been working to restore eelgrass beds for more than 30 years.
“Through this initiative, people will have a chance to play an important role in understanding and protecting seahorses by conducting seining surveys, reporting sightings through snorkeling or SCUBA encounters, and helping to increase habitat for them through eelgrass restoration workshops and helping to install seahorse hotels” made out of repurposed fishing gear,” according to CCE.
For more information on CCE’s Marine Program work, visit backtothebays.org.
