Start Local for a Global Impact

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

Tallebudgera Land Based Clean Up

A group of Reef Check Australia volunteers braved the cold winter mornings we’ve had recently (despite it not technically been winter yet!) and cleaned the area around Tallebudgera Creek on the Gold Coast. The area we targeted on this occasion was around Kevin Gates Park on Saturday 27th May including the park land, the rock wall and the beaches surrounding the creek. This area is surrounded by developments, is a common park ground for recreational activities and is also a popular fishing spot, and thus prone to littering.

A lot of fishing gear (fishing line, lures, sinkers etc.) was collected along the creek. Sadly, many cigarette butts and bits of soft plastic were also collected making up a large portion of 300 items making up approximately 3kg of debris collected over a 400m2 area. Many items looked like they had been embedded in the surrounding environment for quite a while.

Overall, the most common items on the clean-up were fishing line, plastic wrappers and bits of confetti. It was concerning that we found lots of small pieces of plastic as this suggests that they have been breaking down in the environment and are potentially accumulating in the area. They can also pose a very real threat to animals and marine critters that inhabit the area.

Remember, every little bit counts. If you see rubbish on the beach, pick it up and dispose of it in the correct bins. Together, we can and will make an ocean of difference!

Reef Check Acknowledge the Yugambeh people of the Gold 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 emerging.

This project has received funding support from The City of Gold Coast's Catchment and Citizen Science Grants Program.

Goat Island West Reef Health Survey, May 2023

Another beautiful autumn day meaning another perfect day to hit the water and survey reef health as a part of our long term reef health monitoring program in Moreton Bay.

Goat Island is a coral cay in the middle of Moreton Bay, surrounded by internationally recognised Ramsar wetlands and the Moreton Bay Marine Park. It sits just off the coast of the North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) town of Dunwich (Goompie) and is a tiny, uninhabited island that supports an impressive array of native species, and provides critical habitat and roosting sites for shorebirds.

The island’s rocks in the south-west corner are known among boaties as a superb fishing spot, with a multitude of fish species gathering at the rocks to feed as the tide rises.

The Goat Island West reef health monitoring site was set up in 2014, in collaboration with Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation and Quandamooka Land & Sea Management Agency. The site sits to the southwest of the island and is impacted by the steady flow of boating traffic moving close the island. It is dominated by rocky substrate and soft coral.

The site was last monitored by Reef Check Australia in 2022, shortly after the February floods.  It was a great opportunity to check in on the health of this reef after such widespread impacts in the region last year.

A medium amount of silt was recorded covering the site. Bleached coral was recorded on every transect, however population levels were low (1-5%). Coral disease was recorded on a few coral colonies and several items of marine debris were recorded and removed from the location; fishing line and glass bottles in particular.

Reef Check acknowledges the Quandamooka people of Minjerribah, the 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 emerging.

This project has received funding support from the Queensland Government’s Community Sustainability Action grant program.

Shark Gulley, Flat Rock, Reef Health survey, June 2023

With the sun out, the water cold and the whales passing by in droves, the Reef Check Australia team soaked up all the glorious sunshine above the water, and all the amazing diversity below the water, at the Nursery at Flat Rock.

Flat Rock is a popular recreational diving and boating location offshore from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) featuring an exposed rocky ledge dropping into deeper water. This Marine National Park (Green no take) zone has a no-fishing zone and is also a Grey Nurse Shark Protection area.

This site was established in 2009. The site is made up of rocky ridges and gullies and is characterised by encrusting and branching hard corals and benthic invertebrates. Site 1 lays at 9 meters on the seaward side of the fringing reef, sitting above a common gathering area for Grey Nurse Sharks.

The survey team was treated to 16 whales in the vicinity of our dive boat before heading under water to see what we could find. The site sits along a benthically diverse wall. Hard coral percentage was less than when the site was last surveyed, with soft coral taking up a much larger footprint than in previous years. Rock made up the majority of the benthos, with ascidians, sponges and nutrient indicator algae making up the remainder. Minimal impacts were recorded, and a couple of sea urchins, a clam and drupella snails were the only target invertebrates recorded, however a calcareous tube worm was recorded which is a fascinating organism and an absolute highlight of the dive (besides the whales of course).

Thanks to all the volunteers and organisers who made this trip a success, and to Manta Lodge for getting us to site.

Reef Check acknowledges the Quandamooka people of Minjerribah, the 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 emerging.

This project has received funding support from the Queensland Government’s Community Sustainability Action grant program.

Narrowneck Artificial Reef; Reef Health Survey, August 2023

A minimal tide, clear calm waters and sunshine meant all systems go for the Reef Check Australia in water research team as they headed out on the early morning to visit Narrowneck Artificial Reef as a part of their annual reef health surveys for the Gold Coast region.

Reef Check Australia has been monitoring Southeast Queensland reefs since 2007, and Narrowneck Artificial Reef since 2007, as part of a partnership with City of Gold Coast to monitor the health of reefs in the area, and the growth of this artificial reef structure.

Narrowneck reef (sometimes called “Gold Coast Reef”) is an artificial reef (made from geotextile) that was constructed in 1999. At 70,000 cubic meters, it holds the title for the largest multi-purpose reef ever constructed. The reef was designed primarily as a shoreline stabilisation structure. Creating better surfing waves was a secondary concern. However, it’s generally accepted that it did improve the quality of surf during its earlier years by improving the shape and frequency of rideable waves.

Due to degradation, the reef was refurbished in 2017 and 2018, providing improved shoreline stabilisation and an increase in waves. However anecdotal information suggests the reef is seldom surfed.

The site supports a large variety of algae and seaweed with sponges and ascidians. This year, a small amount of soft coral was also spotted; big hoorah! We were lucky enough to also find several wobbegongs, plenty of fish and a small shark as well.

A small amount of debris was also found on site.

This site is very dependant on calm conditions, so we were very lucky to have gorgeous conditions enabling us to visit this site.

Big thanks to Gold Coast Dive Adventures for getting us to the site!

Reef Check Acknowledge the people of the Yugambeh language region of the Gold 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 emerging.

This project has received funding support from The City of Gold Coasts Catchment and Citizen Science Grants Program.

Kings Beach, Reef Health Survey, September 2023

Utilising local surveyors who used quick action to let us know the time was NOW to check out the glorious Kings Beach boat ramp for our annual reef health monitoring site meant the A team activating their inner MacGyver to come up with a plan quickly and effectively. With visiting superstars of Reef Check Australia GBR team Julie and Terry, the team was ready to jump in the spring water and see what we could find!

Sunny conditions and clear waters before the storm came rolling in and swell picked up was a glorious start to this survey. Kings Beach is a surprising fringing reef located approximately 100m offshore, adjacent to a frequently utilized boat ramp and near to Caloundra's popular beachfront area. Site 1 is situated at a depth of 3 meters. This site was added to the Reef Check Australia reef health survey list in 2009, to gain a better understanding of reefs off the southern Sunshine Coast.

The site was heavily impacted by the 2011 SEQ flood, and again in the 2022 flood. The area has a diverse array of corals and critters found at the site, and despite consistently being impacted by increased flooding, the coral populations are slowly increasing after being almost completely decimated in 2011.

The site was again covered in the macro algae Asparagopsis (see previous posts and ongoing research on this algae) which makes surveying that extra bit of fun! Plenty of Halimeda (a reef building algae) and sea stars were found amongst patchy encrusting hard corals, and a few soft corals making their way through the algal carpet. Ascidians (commonly called sea squirts) were found across the entire site in a variety of forms. Non target sea cucumbers, one collector urchin and a couple of long spined sea urchins were also recorded on transect.

No target fish were recorded on this site, however only two pieces of rubbish was found here, which is a great sign! If you haven’t checked out Kings Beach you should grab a snorkel and get down there!

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 emerging.

This project is supported by the Sunshine Coast Council’s Environmental Levy Partnerships Grant.

Great Barrier Reef

Nelly Bay Land Clean Up

In September Reef Check Australia was joined by Our World Heritage Island and Co-Exist Australia for our biannual clean up as part of Tangaroa Blue's ReefClean project. Unfortunately, due to unfavourable conditions the in-water part of the clean-up was postponed, however we were still able to conduct the beachcombing component on September 16^th as planned.

This beach combing event was a great way for locals to become involved in protecting their beautiful island. We were joined by 37 participants, including local families, Townsville residents and tourists to clean up what first appears to be a reasonably clean beach. We were all surprised by the number of debris collected, which totalled 1612 debris weighing 14.5kg! The most common items collected were hard plastic pieces (630), soft plastic remnants (140) and cigarette butts (134). The team was very disappointed to see such a large number of cigarette butts, however we are happy we managed to collect so many so they are no longer posing a threat to local marine life.

We would like to say a massive thank you to all who took part in this event, it was great to see people of all ages becoming involved and excited to do their part to keep our oceans and beaches clean! Thank you to Our World Heritage Island and Co-Exist Australia for collaborating with us on this event, we hope to work with you again soon! Check out these two organisations on social media to learn more about what they each do to help protect our beautiful earth.

This project is supported by Tangaroa Blue through ReefClean; a project funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust. Reef Clean is a project to remove and reduce marine debris impacting the Great Barrier Reef. All debris form this event were sorted and the data added to the Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on where these activities take place, the Wulgurukaba people. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in our community today.

Alma Bay Underwater Clean Up

The conditions around Magnetic Island have been very windy and swelly over the last couple of months, so as soon as our Townsville team found a break in these conditions, we quickly headed to Alma Bay to conduct our biannual beach and underwater clean up as part of Tangaroa Blue's ReefClean project. Being school holidays, we weren’t surprised to see this beach full of people when we arrived, nor were we surprised to find items such as sunglasses, hats and hair clips during the 40 minute scuba dive, however we did only fall a small amount of eight debris underwater.  

As for the beach clean up, we had a very different outcome with a total of 566 pieces of marine debris collected along the beach which is les than 200m long. The most common debris as expected was hard plastic remnants, accounting for 397 of the 566 pieces of debris. As microplastic surveys throughout Australia have identified this location to have the highest concentration of microplastic of any surveyed beach in the country, we decided to separate microplastics (those less than 5mm in diameter) from larger pieces. We collected 192 microplastics from within the seaweed along the high tide line! On a positive note, this time around we found much less glass from smashed alcoholic beverage bottles compared to last clean up at this location in May – only 6 pieces of glass this time compared to the 465 we collected last time.  

This project is supported by Tangaroa Blue through ReefClean; a project funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust. ReefClean is a project to remove and reduce marine debris impacting the Great Barrier Reef. All debris form this event were sorted and the data added to the Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on where these activities take place, the Wulgurukaba people. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in our community today.

Brain Food

Reviews and details on books, documentaries, and podcasts that we have come across, & wanted to share.

Current Coral Affairs

Check out some of the latest news and research about our ocean

Jurassic era fish fossil found to have died from eating an overly large ammonite
A pair of paleontologists at Universität Hohenheim's Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart has found a fossilized Jurassic-era fish that appears to have died after swallowing an overly large ammonite. Samuel Cooper and Erin Maxwell report their study of the fossil in the journal Geological Magazine.

Read now in: phys.org

Scientists uncover the secret of the deep-sea ‘octopus garden’
After three years of monitoring the area, researchers found the site is a popular mating and nesting ground for pearl octopuses, where hot springs help embryos develop twice as fast than expected at this depth.

Read now: CNN

Get with the Program

Here's what we've got coming up in the next few weeks, keep checking the website for more updates.