Create a Sustainable Christmas

News from the field

Stories and updates from our teams out & about. 

South East Queensland

🌿🌊 Ray of Sunshine, St Helena Reef Health Survey - August 2024 ❄️✨

By Team Leader, Jodi Salmond

In early August, we conducted a reef health survey at Ray of Sunshine, located off St Helena Island in Moreton Bay. The weather was perfect for our work, with clear skies and calm waters. The water temperature remained brisk at 15°C, but the excellent visibility allowed us to carry out a thorough examination of the site.

During this survey, we observed a small amount of coral bleaching, with an estimated 2-10% of the population affected, and individual colonies showing bleaching levels between 10% and 45%. Interestingly, we noted a significant increase in nutrient indicator algae compared to our summer surveys, but there was a noticeable decrease in silt, making the substrate clearer overall. The hard coral coverage remained steady at just over 5%.

Unfortunately, no target fish species were recorded at this site, continuing a pattern we’ve observed in the winter surveys at all the shallow inshore sites except for one.

Three drupella shells were the only target invertebrates recorded, although a high number of nudibranchs were recorded; much higher than commonly recorded on these sites. These observations underscore the dynamic changes occurring in our marine environments, and the importance of ongoing monitoring to inform conservation strategies. Our work at these inshore Moreton Bay sites, supported by the Port of Brisbane, is crucial for understanding these ecosystems and guiding efforts to protect them.

We extend our thanks to Wet Boat Hire for their support in transporting us to our survey sites and to our dedicated team of volunteers who continue to show incredible commitment to this vital work. We also thank the Port of Brisbane for their ongoing support in making these surveys possible.

We acknowledge the Quandamooka people of Quandamooka Country, Traditional Custodians of the land and sea country on which these activities took place. We pay our respects to their elders past, present, and future.

🌿🌊 Green Island North, Winter Survey - July 2024 ❄️✨

On our recent winter survey of Green Island North, we were once again blessed with incredible weather—beautiful sunshine and calm seas. The water was slightly warmer compared to our previous site, ranging between 14 and 15°C. The visibility was excellent, showcasing the stunning underwater landscape, despite the chilly conditions.

This site presented a higher amount of silt compared to others, and we encountered marine debris, including an old net that we successfully removed. Unfortunately, as with the previous site, we found no target fish species, which is a rare occurrence and a point of interest for our monitoring efforts. However, we did spot a few nudibranchs and a variety of nutrient indicator algae, indicating the ongoing changes in this ecosystem.

We observed a small amount of coral bleaching, affecting an estimated 5% of the coral population, with individual colonies showing varying degrees of bleaching from approximately 5% to 60%. It was a stark reminder of the delicate balance within these marine habitats. A notable sighting was a lone wobbegong, adding a touch of excitement to our survey.

These observations are crucial for understanding the impacts of sedimentation and other stressors on the reef. Our work, supported by the Port of Brisbane, aims to shed light on these dynamic ecosystems and guide conservation efforts.

We extend our gratitude to Wet Boat Hire for their support in getting us to our survey sites and to our dedicated team of volunteers who braved the cold waters to contribute to this important work.

We acknowledge the Quandamooka people of Danggar (Green Island), Traditional Custodians of the land and sea country on which these activities took place. We pay our respects to their elders past, present, and future.

Mudjimba Island Northwest Wall, Reef Health Survey, September 2024

Our Reef Check Australia team had an amazing day back at one of our absolute favourite sites; Mudjimba Island. Our first dive of the day was at our site on the north west side. It was the first survey we have conducted since the installation of no-anchor marker buoys around the island. This site, monitored by Reef Check Australia since 2013, continues to host a unique array of marine life and shows promising reef health!

Visibility was stunning, revealing rocky substrates with turf algae, soft corals, and a scattering of hard corals. We spotted various sea stars, nudibranchs, and spider conch shells. Coral bleaching was low, observed at just 2% on our transects. On our way out, we were greeted by playful whales and could hear their songs while underwater—always an unforgettable experience!

A massive thank you to Blue Tortuga Adventures for getting us out to the site and to our incredible volunteers who make these vital reef surveys possible.

We acknowledge the Kabi Kabi people of the Sunshine Coast, Traditional Custodians of this land and sea country, and we pay our respects to elders past, present, and emerging.

This survey is supported by the Sunshine Coast Councils Environment Levy Partnership Grant.

Checking up on corals; October 2024,

written by Charlie Bennett, RCA Reef Ambassador.

On the morning of October 14th our passionate team of four met in Cleveland, just outside of Brisbane, around 7:45am to set up for the day! The Team consisted of Tony, our skipper, Jodi, the Reef Check Australia General Manager, me, and José a Reef Check Australia Volunteer like myself. Jodi, José and I donned our wetsuits and set up our SCUBA gear, and headed out to our Peel Island Coral Restoration Site.

We were lucky enough to even spot some dolphins on the way over, while carefully going through all the safety protocols and each of our individual roles for the dive. Over the 45 minute dive, our trio carefully executed each of our individual jobs incredibly well. Jodi went around and filmed each of the 4 structures and their corals. José was charged with measuring the amount of silt that had accumulated in the bay underneath the structures. My role was to follow behind and measure the growth of each of the attached corals, and confirm if they were alive, dead, diseased or missing. To finish off, after we had completed all our separate tasks we scrubbed the silt off the structures themselves, to give the corals the best chance at survival.

After finishing our dive and returning to the boat, we decided to take the opportunity to check out Peel Island, and do a beach clean up, considering the holidays were over, and the amount of rain the region has recently received, we wanted to see how much debris had washed up, and/or had being left behind. After completely loading the boat up with trash we headed back to the Cleveland boat ramp to unload and head our separate ways. On the way there we were lucky enough to spot 3 Humpback whales heading out of the bay into the ocean. It was an absolutely magical experience to top off an incredible day with the RCA Team!

Thankyou to everyone who contributed to the day, and big thanks to Tony from Wet Boat Hire for getting us to where we needed to get to.

Sunshine Coast Biosphere 2024 – Exploring Active Conservation

Reef Check Australia was pleased to be invited to participate as a panel member for this session of the NExT Forums around Creating Connections: Exploring the Sunshine Coast Biosphere with our Community Conversation Series -focusing on each of the biosphere objectives. Panel guests also included representatives of Hinterland Bush Links and the University of the Sunshine Coast. The audience was able to ask questions of the panel which were answered from the perspective of each panel member and their associated organisation, which included terrestrial activities, marine activities and new technology around using sound recordings for biodiversity monitoring.

It was great to see such interest in not only what conservation groups are doing on the coast but also people’s commitment to the outcomes of the biosphere objectives and how they can get involved.

Our attendance at this event was made possible by funding support from the Sunshine Coast Council’s Environment Levy Partnership Grant. Reef Check Acknowledges the Kabi Kabi peoples of the Sunshine Coast, 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.

Photos kindly supplied by Roslyn Potter – Sunshine Coast Council.

Books and podcasts

Have you read or listened to something lately that you would like to share? Let us know and we can feature it here

Current Coral Affairs

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

Great Southern Reef Port Jackson Sharks

Girls slumber party?

Watch and Read now in: Great Southern Reef Foundation

Mightier than the Saw!

You might remember our Coast to Corals talk on Sawfish. Check out the latest information.

Read now in: Australian Geographic

Get with the Program

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