Simon Mustoe's Blog: Wildlife in the Balance, page 12
May 1, 2024
Night snorkel at Blairgowrie Pier, Sat 27 April
A night snorkel at Blairgowrie Pier was the chance to take advantage of light winds. There are spring tides at present but the evening tide variation was only small, so currents were quite minimal. We got in at about 6PM, half an hour after sunset and got out about 7:15PM. The seagrass was pumping with animals. There was so much to see from Shorthead Worm-eels and Shorthead Seahorses to Bobtail Squid, Pygmy Squid, Seahares, Shaw’s Cowfish, Grass Clingfish, Helmetshield Slugs and nudibranchs.
Is the human population growing? No, it’s shrinking
This is a bit of a departure from my normal blogs but this came up in conversation twice yesterday. I thought it useful to link to a few of the key references on this subject. For many years we have been led to think that human population is growing. In actual fact, the rate of human reproduction has been declining since the 1960s. This is despite recently reaching 8 billion people in the world. The reason for the time difference is a lag-effect, which is quite normal in ecological systems.
April 25, 2024
Raja Ampat Trip Report, Coral Triangle Cruise, February 2024
Here’s my latest Raja Ampat trip report from our coral triangle cruises. Another wonderful trip with a lovely group of people. On this trip we were about 50:50 divers to snorkelers. We now have four zodiacs which gives us even more flexibility to accommodate everyone.
Would you like to join us next February? If you don’t know whether you think this trip would suit you, drop me a line at simon@wildiaries.com or call/text +61 (0) 405 220 830.
Night snorkel at Teahouse Reef, Dumpling Squid, Pygmy Leatherjacket, 23 Apr
The weather was just too good to ignore. Perhaps this would be the last warm day of summer? It was still 21 degrees by sunset and tomorrow’s temperature was forecast to plummet. The wind was still a brisk northerly so I chose a night snorkel at Teahouse Reef in the middle of Ricketts Point. Here the reef to the north offers shelter from any residual wind chop, which is always a pain when trying to take photos (you bounce up and down and focusing is hard).
April 23, 2024
Southern Moray, is this Melbourne’s Most Mysterious Animal?
Rarer than the Tasmanian Tiger and more mysterious, the Southern Moray has never been seen alive. A single specimen collected in Port Phillip Bay’s Half Moon Bay in 1884 is all we know about it. It wasn’t even noticed as a species among the museum archives until 2001. Where did it go? Did it use to be common? Are they still out there?
📸 The specimen went unnoticed for 150 years because it was presumed it was a Green Moray.
Continue reading Southern Moray, is this Melbourne’s Most Mysterious Anim...
April 21, 2024
Port Jackson Shark at Ricketts Point, 21 April
The sun came out this afternoon and the wind dropped off to just two knots. Eager to see if I could find a Port Jackson Shark at Ricketts Point again, I headed out in front of the yacht club past the white markers. The sea was a lovely 19 degrees once more and there were lots of snapper about. After about 40 minutes I came across this guy sitting on the seafloor. Initially I didn’t dive down as I wanted to give it time to get used to my presence.
April 20, 2024
Ricketts Point Snorkel, Leatherjackets, Port Jackson, Snake Blennie, 21 April
I was a bit unsure what it was going to be like today but it turned out to be a very enjoyable Ricketts Point snorkel. Overall the water was quite clear and surprisingly fishy. The wind got up a bit but it was quite exhilarating and the sun peeked through a little. This nice smiley Rough Leatherjacket that came in to say ‘cheese’ provided the highlight of the swim at Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. Just goes to show, there’s always the unexpected to look forward to.
April 18, 2024
Snorkelling at Sigasiga Sands in Fiji, Savu Savu
There are two reasons we chose to go snorkelling at Sigasiga Sands in Fiji. First, we were looking for a quiet self-contained place to stay that didn’t have a mandatory meal plan. Second, we wanted somewhere we could explore a diversity of snorkelling spots for a few days. Sigasiga Sands delivered far more than we expected! If you’re looking for a comfortable resort-style place where you can be as independent as you like, this is a great place.
April 13, 2024
14 April Snorkel at Beaumaris
It is definitely getting a bit cooler! According to my dive watch during my snorkel at Beaumaris today, the water today was still 19 degrees. I just bought tight-fitting long sleeve Frogskin top with a hood to go under my 5.5mm semi-dry wetsuit. From now until mid-August the temperature is going to drop about a degree every fortnight. It should still be nice for a month or so though. Usually at this time of year the weather is calming and the water clearer but last week’s heavy rains have made i...
March 31, 2024
Raja Ampat 2024 trip, mantas, birds-of-paradise, leatherback turtle
Sorry it’s been remiss of me not to send this out earlier. I’ve been a bit busy since I got back. The Raja Ampat 2024 trip was so good as usual. Yet again we had a delightful group of people. Each year the trips seem to create their own momentum as we have new faces and return visitors making friends.
Read the whole trip report here
Where we went
This year was an interesting trip for many reasons.
Wildlife in the Balance
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