Drug equipment to conserve seahorses at Plymouth aquarium  

CONFISCATED drug paraphernalia will be used at a city aquarium to help conserve seahorses.

Devon and Cornwall Police has donated equipment previously used for growing cannabis, such as lighting and growing trays, to the National Marine Aquarium(NMA).

The items will be used as part of a three-year project to conserve native seagrass and seahorses, enabling staff to get a better understanding of marine wildlife.

Mike Clayton, property store supervisor for Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "We're very pleased to be able to assist the National Marine Aquarium with its research through donating confiscated equipment previously used for drugs manufacture.

"We always aim to work closely with our local community, and this project will see the equipment put to very good use to help with marine conservation, rather than having to be disposed of by ourselves."

Josh McCarty, marketing manager at the NMA, added: "We are very grateful to Devon and Cornwall Police for their kind donation to the Community Seagrass Initiative.

"Seagrass habitats are of vital importance to the wildlife living in and around them, so it is great to be receiving support from other members of our regional community and be working together to connect with and protect our marine environment through this new project."

Mark Parry, project development officer for the said: "Seagrass beds, and the animals that rely on them for food and shelter, face a number of threats from pollution, coastal development and disturbance by vessels, as well as natural factors including disease and storms.

"This generous donation from Devon and Cornwall Police will enable us to grow our own seagrass for further study, all contributing to our ultimate aim of protecting these threatened species."

Back in 2008 The Herald reported how lights and equipment used to help grow more than 1,500 cannabis plants at a house in the city were donated to Paington Zoo and the Eden Project.

They were used to help grow plants and warm reptiles.

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk 29/04/2014