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News from the field

Stories and updates from our teams out & about. 

South East Queensland

Hancocks Shoal - Reef Health Survey

After months of watching the weather, planning and replanning due to high seas, high winds and average conditions, the Reef Check Australia team finally managed to find a small pocket of reprieve and took the opportunity to visit a site they haven’t managed to get to for a few years; Hancock Shoal. This shallow reef sits at about 9m deep, off the coast of Coolum (out from Stumers Creek) and was monitored in 2009, and had not been visited since due to its location. We were excited to be able to have the opportunity to check out this site and all it had to offer!

The surface ocean temperature was warm; warmer than we have previously recorded on the Sunshine Coast. Around the world, the Earth’s oceans are having their warmest start to a year on record as El Niño and climate change combine to produce unrivalled January-February sea surface temperatures.

Last year was the warmest year on record for Earth’s global oceans, with sea surface temperatures running at record high levels from mid-March until the end of the year. This unprecedented global ocean heat was caused in part by the warming effects of climate change and El Niño. What does this mean for local reefs? For Hancock Shoal; read on.

This site is an interesting site; similar in many ways to much of the patchy reef that makes up the wider Sunshine Coast reef areas. A mix of hard and soft corals, rocky substrate and small gulleys, offering ample habitats for all types of fish and invertebrates. Being so far away from large river mouths also allowed for clearer water, a lovely surprise!

It has been a while since we were able to survey this site, however it is nice to know that the coral population has been thriving. Hard and soft coral populations have increased, as well as sponges. A small amount of bleaching was recorded, with just one percent of the overall population being bleached; although individual corals were bleached completely. Drupella snails (a coral eating snail) and Drupella scars were recorded, some fishing line and a few unknown scars. Two anemones were the only other invertebrates recorded on the transect. Butterfly fish, sweetlip, snapper and a moray eel were recorded on the fish survey.

Thank you to Blue Tortuga Adventures for getting us to site. These vital reef health surveys are not possible without our amazing volunteers, so thankyou for all that you do!

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 Councils Environment Levy Partnerships Grant.

Wavebreak Island - Reef Health Survey

Known locally as Wavebreak Island just across from the Gold Coast Seaway, what a surprising gem of a site! Established in 2019 by Reef Check Australia in collaboration with Gold Coast City Council, this spot boasts a rocky scree starting at 5m and plunging down to 12m.

We were expecting another routine survey dive, but oh, the wonders that awaited! We encountered a bustling ecosystem teeming with life. From barracudas to elusive moray eels and even a daring stonefish or two (ouch!), each section of our transect revealed a new surprise. A school of almost 20 butterfly fish came to check our team out and who could forget the majestic lion's mane jellyfish gracefully drifting by? Our encounter with a little rock lobster added a pinch of excitement to the dive but not as much excitement as the encrusting sponge between the rock, rubble sand and algae.

A few Drupella snails were recorded, along with plenty of debris, however no other target invertebrates or impacts were recorded.

Massive shoutout to our amazing team and a heartfelt thank you to Skipper Harry of Gold Coast Dive Adventures for getting us to site, for looking out for us on the surface and for taking care of the boat 🙌🚤

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.

Gold Coast Seaway - Reef Health Survey

Today’s survey expedition took us to our site at Gold Coast Seaway Pipeline established in 2015 by Reef Check Australia after initially conducting a clean-up dive and discovering the diversity of organisms and substrates at this site, and the potential for change over time. Exposed daily to heavy boat traffic and very popular with local snorkellers, fishers and divers alike, this site faces unique challenges from anthropogenic activities.

Our team were treated to lovely clear conditions giving them the best chance of documenting reef health and local impacts. This year we observed a similar abundance of target fish species, in particular butterflyfish and snapper compared to previous years and increased snapper.  We also saw three moray eels, and some very large stonefish along the transect. This site has a lot to offer and whilst we didn’t see any banded coral shrimp, lobster or collector urchins near our transect line this year, we did document a few drupella snails; a small coral eating snail; on rocks and other substrate.

Shoutout to our rock-solid dive team and legendary surface watch for making today both safe, and a real treat!

Thank you to Aqua Adventures for hiring us tanks, and to all our amazing volunteers who volunteered their time to help out. Your assistance is much appreciated as always.

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.

Clean Up Australia Day - Stradbroke Island

Reef Check Australia volunteers from the SEQ region joined Clean Up Straddie Day (CUSD) as part of Clean Up Australia Day (CUAD) 2024. We joined forces with the Marine Society UQ students and cleaned up South Gorge and Main Beach on Minjerribah/North Stradbroke Island. Our team collected over 4 kg of litter and found an overwhelming amount of microplastics around the South Gorge area.

It would seem that plastics are being retained on the South Gorge beach which could cause harm to native fauna as well as continue to pollute the ocean. We encourage anyone visiting this area to be mindful of their waste disposal and support efforts to keep our beaches clean.

Keep an eye out for future cleanups in the area to work towards a cleaner, healthier, and more pristine environment for us all to enjoy! Thank you to the Stradbroke Brewing Co. for facilitating the CUSD event, and all the other partners who participated in the cleanup.

We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians and Elders of the land and their continued cultural and spiritual practices.

This project is supported by the Port of Brisbane as a part of their environmental monitoring program.

Great Barrier Reef

John Brewer Reef - Reef Health Survey

Finally getting a break in the weather our small team jumped onboard Adrenalin Dive and headed out to John Brewer Reef. This reef is approximately 70km offshore and is the location of the Museum of Underwater Art, but our survey sites are located on the reef on the northern side of the structures. The day started out rainy and stayed that way, but at least the seas were calm which made for a comfortable and speedy trip to site. Our team completed Reef Check Australia Reef Health Surveys on two sites. Site 1 is located at around 6m deep and follows the reef wall to the ocean side. Site 1 sits on top of the reef and depending on the tide can be between 0.5m to 3m deep.

Whilst there was plenty of very healthy coral and lots of fish were observed, the reef has sustained a fair amount of damage from Cyclone Kirrily. Significant amounts of damage and bleaching were observed but we also recorded a couple of giant clams, observed anemones with fish and a school of squid and a number of nudibranchs (much to the delight of the team).

Thanks to Adrenalin Dive and their crew for getting us to site. These surveys were conducted on the traditional lands and sea country of the Manbarra People. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians and their Elders past, present and emerging.

Offshore Townsville Surveys are part of Reef Ecologic’s Integrated Coral Reef Citizen Science 2.0 Program, funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation

Books and podcasts

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Current Coral Affairs

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Find out in this interview with ABC News.

Places in this amazing program are still available so check out Homeward Bound.

Get with the Program

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