Dozens of seadragons wash up on NSW beaches
Pictures of colourful weedy seadragons washed up across multiple beaches in NSW have emerged, pointing to a bigger problem.
Images of dead weedy seadragons strewn across NSW beaches have emerged after weeks of record rains.
Dozens of the colourful marine fish have been found across the the city’s northern beaches, Cronulla, Malabar and the Central Coast.
Dr David Booth, professor of marine ecology at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), thought it was about 10 times the number of regular wash-ups.
“Clearly it’s a result of some combination of the shocking weather, pollutants being washed into the ocean and big surf,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Weedy seadragons, also known as common seadragons, are mainly found in Australian waters.
It is unusual to see the creatures so far from their home. The lead investigator from UTS’s Fish Ecology Laboratory, Dr Selma Klanten, said that adults might only move 50-500 metres away from where they were born in their lifetime.
“This can make them susceptible to loss of habitat and changing environmental factors.”
A favourite among divers, due to their striking yellow and purple colours, the weedy seadragon can grow to up to 45cm long. They live along reefs with plenty of kelp and are a close relation of the seahorse.
In 2016 the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species downgraded the creatures from ‘threatened species’ to ‘least concern’.
The species is protected in NSW and it is an offence to collect or harvest the seadragon without a permit.
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