In pictures: the seahorse fry found in English waters

Thought to be about eight weeks old
September 2011: These charming images were captured by a quick-thinking fisherman who found a baby spiny seahorse - fry - off the coast of West Sussex. It is only the second time seahorse fry have been found in England.

Fisherman Graham Andrews was four miles out to sea found the tiny creature while trying to clear his line. He had reeled in his line to clear snagged thong weed, but found the spiny seahorse curled up tightly on the weight at the end. Graham took a few pictures of the tiny creature before putting it back into the water, where it would have drifted back down to the depths to hide amongst the weed again, hoping not to be found.

Graham contacted The Seahorse Trust who run the British Seahorse Survey and reported his find so it could be added to the organisation's National Seahorse Database. Experts at the Seahorse trust think the creature was female, and about eight weeks old.

Without fishermen, divers and others submitting sightings to the database the trust would not be able to protect seahorses in the wild here in England and Wales.

Thanks to volunteers and others submitting their sightings, The Seahorse Trust had both British seahorses - the spiny seahorse and the short-snouted seahorse - added to the Wildlife and Countryside Act where they have the same protection as otters, great crested newts and water voles.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/seahorse-fry.html