The plan was to sail from Gladstone out to the southern Coral Sea. We had a narrow weather window so, after a quick stop at Lady Musgrave to get me up to speed with the RLS protocol, we sailed 36 hours straight to Cato Island. Our crew of three included my partner Bruce, Graham Edgar, and myself. It was the first time we had been to the southern Coral Sea...
A recent RLS survey trip to South Australia included training new divers and assisting with Marine Park monitoring of the area. The group of 12 divers teamed up with South Australia Marine Parks and the Department of Environment Water and Natural Resources to complete 28 surveys over three days.
For most, Port Douglas is the end of the road to the North, a comfortable, if dull, collection of resorts, restaurants, bars and boutiques. For RLS, though, it is the starting point for journeys into a region that is at once remote and the centre of trade routes, teeming with marine life and threatened with danger, a meeting place of ancient cultures of Australia and the Pacific and the scene of historical and political drama.
Last year Derek "Dusty" Shields received the prestigious Scoresby Shepherd award for outstanding contributions to the Reef Life Survey program. Learn all about this outstanding RLS contributor.
A Reef Life Survey team of nine divers (including two new trainees) descended on Port Phillip Bay for the 8th year in February 2017. They completed 40 surveys from 18 sites around the Bay. Overall, 64 species of fish and 84 species of invertebrates and cryptic fishes were recorded during the the 4-day diving expedition.
