Discovery Channel and WWF are giving away a great trip to the Coral Sea to research and dive with sharks alongside Aussie shark investigator Richard Fitzpatrick and Discovery prize packs for six lucky runners up.
Go here to win!
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If you fancy taking a virtual trip to the Coral Sea to see for yourself exactly why and how WWF is working hard to protect it, please tune in to Discovery Channel to watch ‘Mysteries of the Sharks Coast’ 7.30pm Sunday January 18th.
‘Mysteries of the Shark Coast’ was filmed almost entirely in Australia’s Coral Sea and follows a team of marine scientists as they undertake one of the largest shark tagging expedition in Australian history. Their mission: to try and understand the mysterious decline in shark populations in our tropical seas and what can be done to prevent it. The documentary provides an exciting and entertaining opportunity to gain an insight into some of the scientific research WWF-Australia has been supporting as part its campaign to Save the Coral Sea.
One of the key scientists featured in the movie is world renowned shark researcher Richard Fitzpatrick. Since the launch of the Coral Sea campaign in 2007, Richard’s research has been invaluable. Through the deployment of satellite, telemetry tags and underwater cameras we now know just how important the Coral Sea is in terms of providing at least one last stronghold for viable shark populations, such as endangered hammerheads, galapagos sharks and vulnerable grey and white tip reef sharks.
Alarmingly, we also now know just know how vulnerable these populations are to human impacts. For example, white tip and grey reef sharks are shown to be homebodies, never veering much further than 2nm nautical miles from their favorite reef - Osprey reef. This restricted movement makes them particularly vulnerable to the threats of overfishing- an illegal raid could literally wipe out the population overnight.
Watching the documentary will give you a real sense of the highs and lows of shark research and the patience required to get great results. You’ll also be amazed at the some of the new research that goes against the grain of what scientists thought they knew about our oceans top predators, showing just how important it is for conservationists, policymakers and decision makers to understand the movements and behaviors of these large and mobile species, particularly when it comes to designating and implementing effective marine protected areas. Just one of the reasons why WWF-Australia (with the kind support of Discovery Channel) hosted the movie premiere of ‘Mysteries of Shark Coast’ in Parliament house in November last year.
Unfortunately though the Coral Sea and its sharks still remain largely unprotected. In light of the ever increasing threats sharks face from overfishing, the shark fin trade and climate change it has never been so important to protect their habitat.
Watch the movie and it speaks for itself - We need the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Arts, Peter Garrett, to act quickly and declare the Coral Sea a Marine Protected Area, before it is too late.
Oct
30
A Tern for the Better? Rare Bird Found Breeding in the Coral Sea.
Simon Mustoe, Director Applied Ecology Solutions.
An expedition to the crystal clear waters of the Coral Sea in 2006 found a new breeding bird for Australia (see http://www.ecology-solutions.com.au/trip_reports.html). The New Caledonian Fairy Tern is a little known and threatened bird which breeds on remote Pacific islands. In Australia, we usually associate Fairy Terns with a different form which nests on southern coast beaches.
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Oct
09
Day 3 - Ancient Green Mariners and Missing Minkes
Given that we had such an amazing encounter with the Minke whales, we anchored at night in the shelter of Challenger bay. Challenger Bay is located at the southern tip of Ribbon Reef #10. The site is composed of a back reef slope with an outstanding diversity of corals and a sandy slope with patches of corals, which drops to approximately 35m. This bay is well renowned dive site given its stunning coral gardens and abundant fish life.
At 7.30am, John Rumney took us out on The White Knight a small little rib used predominately for shark research, for a morning snorkel. As we immersed ourselves in the water we were unexpectedly greeted by a school of thirty Bumphead parrot fish. It is the largest of the parrot fish family and can grow wup to 1.3 metres in length and can live up to 40 years.
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Can you imagine what would happen if Australian scientists discovered a hundred new species of whales and dolphins in our seas? The wires would be buzzing with the news.
However, it’s not whales and dolphins that have been under the scrutiny of scientists of late, but more the ancient and mysterious predators of the ocean - sharks and their close relatives, rays. Read more…
Sep
08
(If you missed it, start from part 1)
Day 2 - Dancing Minkes and Tall Tales of The Sea
Waking up was slightly surreal, the engine was roaring, the boat was rocking – I couldn’t believe it we had been travelling all night – we were now 9 hours away from the mainland. We had arrived at a place called Light House – years of data collection from tourism boats and scientific research has shown that this is the hotspot for Minke whale activity. Expectations were running high – we were all to look out for a fin slicing the surface of the water or that signature blow as the whale exhales a lung full of air into the atmosphere.
11.00am and the doctor shouts Minke! The rope is deployed, I am literally bursting at the seams to jump into the water.
That’s it, I’m in, I move to the end of the rope and then out of the corner of my eye I see it – a minke whale! My heart skips a beat! This is something I have dreamed about since I was a little girl.
And it’s coming closer, I stop still in sheer amazement, this whale is about 6 metres long with at least 6 cookie cutter marks on its back - a sign that these whales are regular visitors of the Coral Sea.
It’s is not long before the whales seem to have called in their comrades to look at the strange spectacle of six humans hanging on a rope. At one point there is up to 10 whales coming at us from every which way – it utterly amazing. After each pass their confidence appears to build and the closer, more magical the encounters are.
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Aug
29
Eye to Eye Encounter - 3
The Dwarf Minke Whale Experience
(If you missed it, start from part 1)
Day 1 – Dreams Come True
5.00pm – After an all day trip from Sydney to Cairns, and Cairns to Port Douglas – I finally boarded what was to be my home for the next six days – a gorgeous little boat called the Phoenix.
The boat crew were warm and welcoming, including Pete the skipper, Michelle the dive instructor with more qualifications than you could count and Charlie the chef. Soon enough the guests started to arrive, among them was Richard Fitzpatrick – an Emmy nominated filmmaker and world renowned shark scientist along with his sidekick - Dr Dean Miller. Dean, also a marine scientist, has worked with Richard on a number projects, on this trip he was here to film the underwater world of the Minke whale. Then there was of course the wonderful John Rumney - a well-loved raconteur and champion for the environment.
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Aug
23
Eye to Eye Encounter - 2
The Dwarf Minke Whale Experience
(If you missed it, start from part 1)
An Adventure to Behold
The trip was organised by John Rumney founder of Eye to Eye Marine Encounters, an ecotourism venture which teams up with world-class marine scientists to offer the ultimate in adventure diving on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea.
John Rumney has joined WWF-Australia’s campaign calling for the Coral Sea to be declared a Marine Protected Area - with the aim to unite tourism with research to help people understand the ‘the necessity of marine conservation now and into the future’. That’s John’s mission, and ours too.
The scientific research carried out aboard the boat is part of the Minke Whale Project. A joint initiative of researchers from James Cook University, the Museum of Tropical Queensland and Undersea Explorer. This is its 12th successive year of dwarf minke whales field studies, focusing on their behaviour, biology and interactions with divers and snorkellers in the northern Great Barrier Reef.
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Aug
19
The Coral Sea is one of the world’s last remaining pristine tropical marine environments, a vast wilderness comprised of diverse habitats that play host to a wide range of our ocean’s top predators including whales, sharks and turtles.
Last month I was fortunate enough to join a team of marine scientists, professional photographers and filmmakers on a boat trip that combined a once in a life time experience – to swim with a whale - with hands on scientific research to help understand the biology, ecology and behaviour of these extra ordinary animals that we still know so little about.
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Jun
26
Hi – I’m Lydia, WWF Australia’s Tropical Marine and Coastal Policy Manager and I am so excited to be part of WWF’s campaign to Save the Coral Sea.
I just spent the last few days in Port Douglas meeting with the some wonderful scientists from James Cook University to learn more about the beautiful Dwarf MinkeWhale. These magnificent creatures are a regular visitor of the Northern Great Barrier Reef between June and July and are known to inhabit the Coral Sea. It was fascinating to learn about these research that James Cook University are doing in collaboration Museum of tropical Queensland and Undersea Explorer – apparently the whales have been shown to exhibit a behavior called pirouetting where they spin vertically in water like a ballerina - amazing!
