Dear {{recipient.first_name_or_friend}}
Our teams have been busy up and down the coast, doing what we do best - surveys, clean ups and community events and even trialing drone mapping. It is hard to believe it is October already and we still have so much to do. We have completed the online component of our most recent surveyor training course and hope to finish off the in-water component soon so that we have many more hands to help us get the work done!
This months email includes:
- Action of the Month: Do something that scares you!
- News from the Field
- Brain Food
- Current Coral Affairs
- Get With the Program
Do something that scares you!
Its October! Its warming up (well, in between bouts of rain and cold that is) and already there are Christmas decorations as far as the eye can see. But before we get well on our way to the silly season its time to get a little bit spooky!! I know, I know, not everyone celebrates Halloween, but in the spirit (see what I did there) of our action of the month… lets go with it. Because this months Action of the Month is to find something that scares you… and do it on purpose.
This year has been a heavy one. And for many of us, it has pushed us to stay inside, to play small, to be safe. So we want to shake things up. After all, doing things that scare you help you grow! What is something you have wanted to do for ages, but have been putting off due to some sort of fear? Maybe its as simple as going outside! Going to a festival! Meeting new people, getting close to a spider, or jumping out of a plane. Who knows. The world is your oyster, so push your boundaries, get a little scared, and enjoy this life!
News from the field
Stories and updates from our teams out & about. Check out some of these regional stories on our website!
South East Queensland
Inner Gneerings Surveys
Watching the weather has become an avid pastime of all Reef Check Australia volunteers over the past few months, as conditions continue to challenge scheduled activities. With the promise of sunshine and decent ocean conditions, the tiny but mighty team headed out to the Inner Gneerings for annual reef health monitoring.
Reef Check Australia has been monitoring the Inner Gneering sites since 2007, when we first established our long term reef health monitoring program in the region.
The conditions were not as great as we are used to in the region, with visibility around 5-6m. The red macroalgae, Asparagopsis, was found, but in lower number than usually recorded. Nudibranchs were in high number, with a variety of species found. Drupella; a small coral eating snail, was the only target invertebrate recorded on the transect. Of interest, the water temperature was 18 degrees, and although we could not see any whales we certainly did hear them whilst underwater.
Thankyou to Subsurface Scuba for getting us to our reef health monitoring site. We appreciate that many of the sites we visit are not regularly on the tourist circuit, although we believe they should be!
Reef Check Acknowledge the Kabi Kabi people of the Sunshine Coast, Traditional Custodians of the land and sea country on which these activities took place and we pay our respects to their elders past, present and future.
This project is supported by the Sunshine Coast Council’s Environmental Levy Partnerships Grant.
Mudjimba Island Survey
Waiting with baited breath, we heard that the sun was out, and the water was calm. . so the team jumped at the chance to spend the day on the water, monitoring local Sunshine Coast reefs as a part of our long term reef health monitoring program.
Reef Check Australia has been monitoring Mudjimba Island sites since 2007, when we first established our long-term reef health monitoring program in the region.
The conditions were not as great as we are used to in the region, with visibility of 3-8m. Plenty of turtles were found along the transect, wondering what we were up to.
There were a number of coral damage examples seen, and a small amount of coral bleaching and disease, however marine debris was low. Of interest, no target fish species were recorded on transect, a large drop from previous years. The number of coral eating snails, Drupella, increased substantially (from 29 recorded last year around the same time, to 182 this year). No nutrient indicator algae was recorded on transect either; a decrease from almost 32% to zero. The water temperature was 17 degrees; the coldest we have ever dived the island in, and although we could not see any whales we certainly did hear them whilst underwater.
Thankyou to Subsurface Scuba for getting us to our reef health monitoring site. We appreciate that many of the sites we visit are not regularly on the tourist circuit, although we believe they should be!
Reef Check Acknowledge the Kabi Kabi people of the Sunshine Coast, Traditional Custodians of the land and sea country on which these activities took place and we pay our respects to their elders past, present and future.
This project is supported by the Sunshine Coast Council’s Environmental Levy Partnerships Grant.
St Helena Island Clean Up
The winds calmed down and despite the threat of rain, and the chill in the air, the calm seas meant our tiny but mighty Reef Check Australia team was able to make the trip to St Helena Island to do a land based clean up to monitor the ongoing affects the February floods has had on our local marine environments.
St Helena Island is located 5km from the mouth of the Brisbane River, making it a prime position to capture debris making its way out of the river.
The island has an interesting history. From 1867 it operated as a high security colonial prison, operating for 65 years as a self sufficient set up, complete with lime kiln, sugar refinery, a sugar cane plantation, and almost no native vegetation due to its removal early on.
A total of 15kg and 3 bags of debris was removed from a 809m stretch of beach. Large pieces of polystyrene were located amongst rocks, whilst thousands of smaller pieces of polystyrene was caught up amongst the high tide mark, amongst the grass roots. Plastic bags, building supplies, plastic wrappers, bottles and other lightweight fragments carried by the winds and waters over the past few weeks were found amongst the rocks. Metal chunks, processed timber, broken glass, clothing and shoes, ceramic pieces, kids toys and several pieces of rope and foam were also collected and removed.
Large polystyrene chunks are breaking into smaller pieces, making them harder to remove as they become imbedded in the grasses along the shoreline. If you are out on the beach, take a strainer and see how many pieces you can remove.
Remember, every little bit counts. Together, we can and will make an ocean of difference.
Reef Check Acknowledge the Quandamooka people, Traditional Custodians of the land and sea country on which these activities took place and we pay our respects to their elders past, present and future.
This project has received funding support from the Queensland Government’s Community Sustainability Action grant program.
Peel Island Clean Up
A small but determined Reef Check Australia team headed out onto a beautiful calm Moreton Bay and over to Peel Island to assess if the volume of flood debris had reduced since our last visit in June.
The team collected 16.5kgs of rubbish in three hours from a 1000m stretch of beach (an increase from our last visit). The debris collected included 174 polystyrene pieces and 285 pieces of hard plastic, but both of these are less than our last clean up. We also collected plastic and glass drink bottles and, again, numerous small pieces of poly pipe and little plastic baskets similar to those used in hydroponics. A big thanks to Tony from Wet Boat Hire who not only got us there and back safely but helped out with the clean-up.
This project has received funding support from the Queensland Government’s Community Sustainability Action grant program.
Kings Beach Survey
After numerous false starts caused by too much swell, a small but determined team dived beneath the surface at Kings Beach to complete our annual survey. This site is adjacent the rock pools and relatively shallow so good surface conditions are important. The site hosts scattered hard and soft corals, bryozoans, sponges, urchins, acsicidians and hydroids. Fortunately the cooler water temperatures meant that there was very little asparagopsis algae which makes the survey so much more enjoyable.
This survey is made possible thanks to the support of the Sunshine Coast Council's Environmental Levy Partnership Grant.
Great Barrier Reef
Community Engagement at Magnetic Island
Early in September on a lovely sunny Sunday morning Reef Check Australia had the pleasure of hosting another community engagement stall at the Horseshoe Bay community markets at Magnetic Island. Reef Ambassador, Chris, spoke to a range of visitors to our stall about our reef monitoring efforts at Magnetic Island, the latest Dry Tropics Partnership for Healthy Waters report card (check it out to learn about the Townsville region’s waterway health) and upcoming training opportunities. Thanks to the MICDA community for organising and hosting these markets every Sunday of the month, Ash for providing transport for our staff and our long term sponsors Townsville City Council through their Creek to Coral program. See you at the next event!
Daydream Island Surveys
On Saturday 24th September the Reef Check team visited Daydream Island in the Whitsundays to survey Mermaids Cove and Lovers Cove. These sites were first surveyed in 2013, with the reefs at this time dominated by soft and hard corals. However, Cyclone Debbie hit the region in 2017, resulting in a huge loss of coral cover at these sites. Rock, rubble and algae currently dominate these sites, however the positive is the reef is beginning to recover with many small coral recruits observed.
In addition to our usual 100m snorkel survey, noting substrate, fish, invertebrates and any impacts to the corals, we also conducted some drone mapping! As a collaboration with Geonadir we are trialing shallow water drone mapping to investigate its effectiveness in assessing benthic cover at our sites.
Thank you to our dedicated team of volunteers for all your efforts, and Daydream Island Resort and Cruise Whitsundays for assisting us in accessing these sites!
This project was made possible by support from the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
Reef Check Acknowledge the Ngaro people of the Whitsundays as the Traditional Owners of the land and sea country where these activities took place and we pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
Brain Food
Reviews and details on books, documentaries, and podcasts that we have come across, & wanted to share.
The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson
Want to know more about the life of lobsters? Check out this book by Trevor Corson as he takes you on a journey on fishing boats, scuba diving and into the water in the Gulf of Maine.
Current Coral Affairs
Check out some of the latest news and research about our ocean
Did coral reef fish really start out on coral reefs?
Get with the Program
Here's what we've got coming up in the next few weeks, keep checking the website for more updates.
Tuesday 18 October | Coast to Corals - head to our website to register
Saturday 22 October | SUP & Beach Clean Up - contact [email protected]
Sunday 20 November | Raffles at Your Mates Brewery
If you missed any of our Coast to Coral online events, remember you can always catch-up by taking a look at our YouTube Channel here 
Thanks for reading! If you want to help our work to empower more people to protect Australian reefs, please consider making a monthly tax-deductible donation.
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