San Diego journalist grips seahorse; NBC publishes photo
The Pacific Seahorse is something of an elusive fantasy for most San Diego divers. Everybody seems to know someone who has seen one, but few have ever laid eyes on one themselves. Of course we’ve all seen them at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, so we’re all reasonably confident they do exist!
Well, NBC San Diego reported yesterday of a seahorse spotting in San Diego Bay. How exciting! And when we clicked through to the page, we found… this image of Neal Matthews, the snorkeler who found the seahorse, holding it in his closed fist:
It’s 2014, and everyone should know at this point that holding marine life like this is not okay. I’m horrified at the handling of the animal and at NBC’s willingness to publish the image and condone such behavior. Matthews, a journalist and photographer, lists on his website a number of “Ethics and Environment” journalistic awards. He of all people should know better. Shame on you both.