Sweetings Pond is a landlocked lagoon in Eleuthera, connected invisibly to the ocean. This unusual environment hosts distinctive populations of fabulous ocean creatures such as seahorses, octopus, giant crabs, clams, and more. Sweetings Pond is particularly known for its globally important population of seahorses, those quirky fishes in which only the males get pregnant. The threatened lined seahorse, Hippocampus erectus, is found here in numbers never discovered elsewhere. Sweetings Pond provides a vital buffer against declines in other parts of its range.

Protecting Sweetings Pond is one important step towards saving seahorses and their marine communities.

To learn more about this unique ecosystem watch this video of Specialist Group member Dr. Heather Masonjones from the University of Tampa working with the Bahamas National Trust to help protect and create a “Seahorse National Park” in Eleuthera.

Learn more about this unique gem in the Bahamas:

Photos from the field

All photographs in slide show by Heather Masonjones

We love seahorses because they are weird, wacky, charming fish. Their unique shape and unusual behavior such as couples holding tails or males giving birth, appeal to people’s hearts. We truly believe if we save seahorses, we can save the seas. We share with you some of our favorite facts in hopes that you too will be charmed to take action for these unusual fish.

Seahorse biology: weird & wonderful

• 44 different species

• Unusual shape

• Snout like a horse, tail like a monkey & males have pouches like kangaroos

• Males become pregnant and give birth to babies

• Seahorse couples ‘greet’ each other every day & hold tails

• All these unusual traits help us to expand our understanding of reproductive ecology

Seahorse ecology: strong relationships with habitat

• Live in many important coastal habitats like seagrasses, mangroves, reefs, estuaries and lagoons

• Once they find a place to call home, they become long-term residents

• Important predators of bottom-dwelling organisms

• Removing them may disrupt coastal ecosystems

• Their strong links with habitat make them representative symbols of these places and the many marine conservation issues they face. Therefore, protections for seahorses benefit many other marine species and ecosystems.

Seahorses have economic value

• Global trade for aquaria, traditional medicine, and curios

• Involves over 80 countries and 26 species

• Important source of income and food security for subsistence fishers
  

What threats do seahorses face?

From our research we know that their biology and behavior — for example, the young depend on parental survival far longer than most fish, and many species are seasonally monogamous — makes them particularly susceptible to overfishing, habitat loss, and other human pressures. We estimate tens of millions of animals are traded internationally each year. For some species, these pressures have placed their populations under threat.

Seahorse species found in Florida and their global conservation status

Hippocampus erectus, Lined seahorse, Vulnerable
Hippocampus reidi, Longsnout Seahorse, Data-Deficient
Hippocampus zosterae, Dwarf Seahorse, Data-Deficient

[Updated July 2019]