Seadragons & their Friends

A guide to Seadragons and other Syngnathidae (seahorse relatives) will be launched in South Australia this week. 

It will showcase the amazing and delightful diversity of seahorse relatives in South Australia.
You may not live there but you will be enchanted with this publication anyway.

For more information contact the Conservation Council of SA here


www.ausmepa.org.au

Global Ocean Commission present "A Rescue Package for the Ocean"

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AUSMEPA takes time to look at what information is available across the world that will help inform teachers and students about matters concerning the ocean. This presentation is a very thorough and broad scope view of what is happening in the ocean, why and what the authors believe is the way forward.

Find the Global Ocean Commission website here


www.ausmepa.org.au

GHOST NETS; act, engage and educate

Across the northern part of Australia there is an organisation called Ghost Nets Australia. 

For some years now they have been working with Indigenous Rangers, northern Indigenous Communities, as well as scientists and other partners on a variety of actions and activities to remove the wandering death traps known as ghost nets. These silent predators continue to entangle and kill long after the are discarded or lost by fishing vessels. The nets are often found washed on shore, deposited by currents enmass into estuaries and onto beaches and rock, often with creatures still entangled. 

Just in time! This beautiful turtle was found barely alive during patrol by Dhimurru Rangers. Photo by Jane Dermer.

If the nets haven't reached shore they may lie unseen near the surface and can damage boats traveling across the water. To get some perspective on the problem an example is sited of a six tonne gill net extracted from the coast of North East Arnhem Land in 2006. It required a partnership effort from several organisations to get the heavy cumbersome net off the beach.

Collection of tonnes these of nets by Indigenous Rangers and volunteers has continued over many years. One outcome has been the re-use of nets through art workshops and exhibitions. This active innovation has resulted in a wider public understanding of the nature of the ghost net threat and greater community engagement.

Workshop participants at St Pauls Village on Moa Island, Torres Strait. Picture by Dennis Newie.

Well known ghost net artist Nancy Nawwi (pictured in red) from Darnley Island very graciously devoted a lot of time to working on the fish. Photo by Greg Adams

For more information click here and to request an electronic copy of their newsletter here

'Art and the walls of death' (click here) is another article with great photos about the Ghost Nets project.

www.ausmepa.org.au

Mystery object at Coogee Beach

How exciting is it to discover some new strange thing as we walk along our amazing Aussie beaches on hot summer days.  

AUSMEPA was recently contacted about this magnificent specimen found on Coogee Beach, NSW. 

Looking at this mysterious object it would be hard to guess that it is egg of a shark! So many things to think about, questions to ask. What kind egg is it and did it wash up prematurely with an embryo inside? Why does it look like this? What are the long stringy bits?

The first thing we can observe is the shape of the egg case. It has raised edges like a screw or something twirly. It is brown and although you can't see it in the photo one end has an opening.

A google search can help to find the right one. 

A screw shaped egg case tells us that it one of the horn shark family (Heterodontidae). Australian horn sharks are Port Jackson Sharks however there is more than one species.

This particular egg case belongs to the slightly smaller duller coloured Crested Horn Shark. It is a Port Jackson shark with a twist, it has raised ridges over the eyes. 

The two small sharks look much the same and yet they differ in how they secure their eggs when they lay them. Both have brown egg cases to blend in with their surroundings. However the Port Jackson Shark takes its egg in its mouth and gently screws its egg into cracks and crevices between rocks. The Crested Horn Shark uses the tendrils of its egg case to tangle up and secure in seaweed. (Notice in the photo above the amount of seaweed washed up on the beach where the egg case was found.)

Well, we've solved the mystery of this egg case except for one thing. Was there a baby inside? I guess we'll never know however the family who found it took great care to take the egg back out into the water and to secure it as well as possible just in case.

To find out more about about the differences between Port Jackson and Crested Horn Sharks click here

What will you find on your next trip to the beach?

www.ausmepa.org.au

VNPA Reef Watch; inspiring volunteers

Over the last 12 years Wendy Roberts has been the primary liaison for the Victorian National Parks Association’s Reef Watch program. Although she is moving on she recently reflected on "a wonderful journey, filled with incredible discoveries" by volunteers surveying their local reefs along Victoria's coastline. Wendy has been an inspiration to volunteers wanting to get their hands wet and an invaluable resource for the wider community and we wish her well into the future. 

Some of the accomplishments during her tenure?

• More than 24,000 species records from 126 locations, which, with the assistance of Museum Victoria, being uploaded to the CSIRO’s Atlas of Living Australia database.  
• The successful running of ten Great Victorian Fish Counts involving hundreds of divers across the state that helped build greater awareness of our precious temperate marine species and reef habitats (a report will be completed in 2015).
• The confirmation of the Western Blue Groper in Victorian waters and the ultimate protection of both species.
• Two Victorian Coastal Council Awards for Innovation and Education.
• Successful partnerships with Museum Victoria, Parks Victoria, Port Phillip and Westernport CMA, Coastcare, Melbourne Aquarium and the diving industry, all of which supported and enriched the program immensely.

Is it time for you to join in the fun and discovery of citizen science in your neighbourhood? There are many volunteer programs that make an incredible difference to our body of knowledge and Reef Watch is one of them.

Reef Watch Victoria   http://www.reefwatchvic.asn.au/Home.htm

Reef Watch is also active in South Australia   http://www.conservationsa.org.au/reefwatch-home.html

www.ausmepa.org.au

Ocean Spiral; can we live under the sea?

Shimizu Corp is a company that is planning for the future and it is looking to the ocean floor. They are visualising people living in an eco-friendly undersea city within 15 yrs while capitalising on the 'infinite possibilities of the deep sea'.

The city would consist of a floating sphere (500 metres in diameter) just under the surface, housing business and residential zones and hotels. The structure would connected to the seabed 3-4km below by a spiral pathway. Energy resources at the seabed will bring the three section of the city to life using ocean thermal energy conversion .

More information at these websites

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/20/ocean-spiral-japan-underwater-city
https://www.techinasia.com/underwater-house-shimizu/
http://www.shimz.co.jp/theme/dream/oceanspiral.html for further artist rendering




www.ausmepa.org.au

Sustainable Seafood Guide, do you have yours yet?

Aussies, you can get an app for your phone here

The Monterey Aquarium has developed this great video clip about sustainable seafood and also have a phone app suitable for the northern hemisphere.




www.ausmepa.org.au