Seahorses... a common sighting in Hawaii..?

[twhi]

A friend of mine found a seahorse, barely alive, that was washed up on a windward O'ahu beach. He put it in a jar of seawater and took it home.
Its condition improved and he called Sea Life Park. They told him that they had plenty of them and that he should put it back in the ocean, which he did.

It got me wondering, how common are sightings of seahorses?

I've been diving regularly for more than 20 years and have only seen two of them, one off Molokini and one off the N. Shore Oahu.

Anybody else?

 

[scottitheduck]

In 4+ years of almost daily diving I have never seen one..... one of my divers saw one at Electric Beach a few years ago. That being said I have heard that they are a little more common windward because of the sandy/grassy areas they prefer (not really on our radar as divers).

G

 

[Shaka Doug]

12 years of diving nearly daily and I have never seen one here on Maui. They are very rare as far as I'm concerned. I do have a friend who found one off of Wailea Point a few months ago. I think it's the only one he's ever seen. As Gabe mentioned, I think they live in areas that divers typically do not frequent. When I go out into the sea grass and other algae fields I look for them but have had no luck so far. Your friend was lucky to find it and I hope it was able to survive once it was put back into the sea.

 

[ChimChim75]

I seem to remember reading they are only common in K-Bay. Hammerheads being the other common fish there...

 

[AquamanKauai]

No difference of opinion here! Yes! Very - very rare!

On the island of Kauai we have been very lucky to have had a pair in one of our small boat harbors this past year in less than 8 feet of water. We also had a single specimen that was a resident at Koloa Landing for about 2 months just recently. Prior to that the only other sea horse I have seen was over 10 years ago in Maui.

If you get to see one you are very lucky!

May the ocean continue to provide more amazing experiences to you!

 

[rgbmatt]

Sea horses live in calm, shallow, murky areas, and aren't usually very common. Apparently, this past year there have been spotted frequently in Ala Wai canal, of all places.

Although they're definitely out there, they're not a fish that you should expect to see at your usual dive sites.

There's also a pelagic seahorse (Hippocampus fisheri) that lives in the open ocean and sometimes is attracted to the lights of night fishermen. Occasionally they get washed inshore and are spotted near the beach or in harbors.

 

[twhi]

"pelagic seahorse...?

is that the white one with the wings and unicorn on the forehead...?
oops. i guess i was thinking pegasus seahorse ;-)

 

[redrover]

Ocean Rider

 

[Scubaman7596]

Here is some shots from the one at Koloa Landing. Previously The only other one I have seen was from the harbor on the south shore of kauai. It was much larger than this one. And thats all that Ive seen since 99. So these darn things are pretty far and few between. Not to mention they are very good at hiding.

 

[Black_3000psi]

seen two during an out of water experience but thats it never seen one in over 400 dives (conservative number) they look to camo well so you may have seen one but you didnt see it. those are awsome shots though will have to put them on the top of my want to shoot list.