Tejo Estuary seahorses receive artificial habitats via shopping carts

Nine supermarket shopping carts have been placed in the waters of the Tejo Estuary near Trafaria Bay in Almada to serve as artificial shelters for a significant population of seahorses. This intervention is part of the ‘D-EVOLUÇÃO’ initiative, an ecological restoration project led by WWF Portugal in collaboration with partners such as MARDIVE, Lidl Portugal, Solvena, and Pastéis de Belém.

The project aims to protect and monitor two species found in the area: the common seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) and the long-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus). Researchers noted that since 2019, these species have demonstrated an ability to adapt to marine debris, using abandoned shopping carts as makeshift habitats due to a scarcity of natural structures to cling to.

The installation of these nine carts across three different zones in the bay is intended to bolster biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Scientific monitoring of the population is being supported by the CavALMar project, a partnership involving MARE, ISPA, and the Almada Municipality.