Reef Watch

Reef Watch scores top honours At the annual event of events for coastal groups in Victoria Reef Watch was awarded the prestigious gong for excellence in education by the state's Coastal Council. More than 250 people attended this year's Victorian Coastal Awards for Excellence, which were held at the Melbourne Museum on Thursday 26 April. The Victorian National Parks Association's Reef Watch program has been short-listed for the award in previous years, but after ten years of building widespread community awareness about our spectacular marine environment and continuing to grow participation in fantastic projects such as the Great Victorian Fish Count - we finally cracked the nut.

> How do I get involved? > Buddy-up with a Blue Devil > Great Victorian Fish Count > Reef Watch fact sheet

Reef Watch is run in partnership with Museum Victoria. Divers and snorkelers help monitor Victorian waters and the information they collect provides Museum Victoria with critical data that is used to manage state waters.

Our sincere thanks to our dedicated and inspiring volunteers for making this award possible and helping to guide Reef Watch from strength to strength.

Whether you are a keen diver or amateur snorkeler, you can join Reef Watch. It's a fun, rewarding, healthy and practical way to make a real difference.

The Victorian Coastal Council is appointed under the Coastal Management Act 1995 as the peak body for the strategic planning and management of the Victorian coast, and to provide advice to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change.

 

Reef Watch's Wendy Roberts is all smiles after receiving the award for excellence in education.

 

Reef Watch, exploring a world beneath the waves

Victoria's marine environment is incredibly diverse, with more than 85% of species living in our ocean waters found nowhere else on earth.

However, this underwater world is facing mounting pressures from threats such as overfishing, pollution, climate change and invasive species.

That's why our Reef Watch program is so important!

Run by the Victorian National Parks Association in partnership with Museum Victoria, Reef Watch brings together volunteer divers from across the state to help survey and monitor important reef sites.

Equipped with underwater identification kits, their mission is to record information about 180 marine species and feed that information back to marine scientists.

By giving scientists and conservation planners access to reliable, up-to-date marine data, we are helping them make more informed decisions about protecting Victoria's marine world.

For example, our volunteer divers have been involved in efforts to identify vulnerable marine species such as the Blue Groper. They have also helped monitor damaging invasive species like the Northern Pacific Sea Star.

Reef Watch divers also take part in regular educational seminars and workshops to improve their knowledge and skills in identifying marine life.

 

How do I get involved? As a community-led volunteer program Reef Watch co-ordinates a number of marine conservation programs, including 'Feral or in Peril', the Great Victorian Fish Count. and the new Buddy-up with a Devil project. Feral or in Peril helps divers, fisherfolk, and the wider community identify which of Victoria's marine species belong in our waters but are in peril, and which are invasive species - we call them ferals! It does this through easy-to-use species identification kits that include images of introduced species, potential pests, and native marine species that are of conservation concern. This year's Great Victorian Fish Count will be held between November 16 and December 11, bringing together hundreds of volunteer divers to help keep track of 25 important reef fish species.

Blue gropers, known as 'the friendliest fish in the sea', are just some of the amazing sea creatures Reef Watch volunteers help monitor. Photo: Mark Rodrigue.

A great success, last year it was instrumental in verifying the presence of Western Blue Gropers to Port Phillip Bay.

Our new Buddy-up with a Blue Devil project will help marine scientists learn even more about Victoria's populations of Blue Devil Fish and lead to better protection of this charismatic fish.  

To get involved phone Wendy Roberts on 03 8341 7446 or email info@reefwatchvic.asn.au.

 

 

Find out more about Reef Watch and get all the latest monitoring news from Reef Watch Victoria website. Find out how to get involved in this year's Great Victorian Fish Count. Read our latest newsletter online. Reef Watch Victoria is supported by the R.E. Ross Trust and the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation.