The White’s seahorse Hippocampus whitei was listed as an Endangered species in 2020 on Australian state and federal legislation, as a result of population declines across its range attributed to habitat loss over the past decade. A captive-bred reintroduction program has been implemented as a possible management tool for species recovery, however, the viability of such a reintroduction program for seahorses has not been assessed to date. This study implemented a pilot captive-breeding program using adult H. whitei from Sydney Harbour, Australia, as brood stock. A total of 90 captive-bred seahorses were released into the wild on two different artificial habitat types (“seahorse hotels” and protective swimming net). Following release, a monthly post-release monitoring program was implemented for 12 months that involved underwater visual census surveys of the tagged seahorses. Sightings of captive-bred seahorse numbers were found to gradually decline over the 12-month period, with fewer seahorses found on the swimming net compared to the seahorse hotels and higher resighting probability of captive-bred animals on the seahorse hotels. After 12 months, 20% of the captive-bred seahorses were detected on the seahorse hotels, whilst two individuals were still observed 18 months after release on the hotels. Only 2% of captive-bred seahorses were observed on the swimming net after 12 months, with two individuals still detected on the net after two years. Nine of the captive-bred seahorses were found to reproduce in the wild, with two individuals observed mating with the wild population. This pilot study indicates that captive-bred seahorses can survive for up to two years in the wild, as well as contribute to local population recovery through reproductive success. However, while conservation stocking shows promise as a potential management tool to assist with threatened seahorse species recovery, there are several factors such as existing threats to the species that need to be addressed before such a program is implemented.

白人的海马白海马由于过去十年栖息地丧失导致种群数量下降，2020 年被澳大利亚州和联邦立法列为濒危物种。人工繁育放归计划已作为物种恢复的一种可能的管理工具实施，然而，迄今为止尚未评估这种海马放归计划的可行性。本研究使用成人实施了一项试点圈养繁殖计划H.whitei来自澳大利亚悉尼港，作为亲本。在两种不同的人工栖息地类型（“海马旅馆”和保护性游泳网）上，共有 90 只人工繁殖的海马被释放到野外。发布后，实施了为期 12 个月的每月发布后监测计划，其中包括对标记的海马进行水下视觉普查调查。在 12 个月期间，发现圈养海马的目击数量逐渐下降，与海马酒店相比，在游泳网上发现的海马更少，而在海马酒店中圈养的动物重新定位的可能性更高。12 个月后，20% 的人工饲养海马在海马酒店被发现，而在酒店放生 18 个月后仍观察到两个人。12 个月后，只有 2% 的人工繁殖海马在游泳网上被观察到，两年后仍有两个人在网上被发现。发现九只人工繁殖的海马在野外繁殖，观察到有两只海马与野生种群交配。这项试点研究表明，人工繁殖的海马可以在野外存活长达两年，并通过繁殖成功促进当地种群的恢复。然而，虽然保护放养显示出作为一种潜在的管理工具来帮助受威胁的海马物种恢复的前景，但在实施此类计划之前，需要解决几个因素，例如对物种的现有威胁。发现九只人工繁殖的海马在野外繁殖，观察到有两只海马与野生种群交配。这项试点研究表明，人工繁殖的海马可以在野外存活长达两年，并通过繁殖成功促进当地种群的恢复。然而，虽然保护放养显示出作为一种潜在的管理工具来帮助受威胁的海马物种恢复的前景，但在实施此类计划之前，需要解决几个因素，例如对物种的现有威胁。发现九只人工繁殖的海马在野外繁殖，观察到有两只海马与野生种群交配。这项试点研究表明，人工繁殖的海马可以在野外存活长达两年，并通过繁殖成功促进当地种群的恢复。然而，虽然保护放养显示出作为一种潜在的管理工具来帮助受威胁的海马物种恢复的前景，但在实施此类计划之前，需要解决几个因素，例如对物种的现有威胁。