Keep your eyes peeled when you take a dip at Clontarf Beach this summer – you might just catch a glimpse of a baby seahorse galloping by.

Endangered White’s Seahorses have once again returned to the calm and sheltered waters of Clontarf tidal pool.

The previous colony at Clontarf was relocated to a Council-built ‘Seahorse hotel’ at Brady’s Point while the tidal pool was being upgraded. 

Now that sufficient marine life has returned to the new pool, more than 100 baby seahorses have been released at Clontarf Beach to repopulate the colony.

The new babies are between 7-9 months old and measure just 5-6cm. 

Netting on the expanded new Clontarf tidal pool provides an extra 200m2 of new habitat for the White’s Seahorses. 

Council has also installed ‘Seahorse hotels’ at the rear of the tidal pool to provide a safe place for these precious little creatures to stay while the pool net undergoes cleaning and maintenance. 

The baby seahorses were bred at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and released in partnership with NSW Department of Industries (Fisheries).

The Clontarf release was the sixth major wild release by SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, which has resulted in more than 800 White Seahorses being released into the wild over the past five years.

As a threatened species, it is illegal to catch or harm White’s Seahorse (or any other threatened species in NSW) – so feel free to admire them but not touch them.

The new pool and net was fully funded by the NSW State Government under the NSW Public Spaces Legacy Program.