Simon Mustoe's Blog: Wildlife in the Balance, page 8

Blairgowrie Pier with Tassled Anglerfish, New Year 2025

I have a confession to make. We are rather enjoying using Blu3 dive compressors at the moment … colloquially called ‘hookahs’ (just don’t blurt that out in public that you are taking yours for a swim). They offer a nice compromise to snorkelling as we can choose to either stay at the surface and trail them as a swim marker, or dive to 3m and use the regulator. It works out as a compromise between diving and snorkelling.

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Christmas Snorkel at Fossil Beach

A Christmas snorkel at Fossil Beach was nice and quiet. Not a single boat around and the water was nice and clear. While my partner headed off to find fossil shark teeth (she found nine of varying sizes), I swam along the reef. This area can appear a bit dirty but I find it to be quite productive for critters. It’s a settlement zone for nutrients and sediment behind a countercurrent that runs north from Mentone.

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Blairgowrie Pier snorkel, day and night, 21 December 2025

Hi everyone, sorry I have not posted for a while. After I went for some minor nasal surgery (nothing drastic) but it has put me out of action for the last few weeks. Today was my first attempt getting back into the water with a Blairgowrie Pier snorkel. Pinching my nose to equalise turned out not to be too difficult. Thankfully it won’t stop me swimming over Christmas! As the weather forecast for next week looks crazy good.

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An elephant never forgets, making them formidable allies for nature

You might be familiar with the phrase ‘an elephant never forgets’. Stuart McClaren in ‘Guardian Notes‘ says that Plutarch (1st century AD) repeated a story of Hagnon of Tarsus (2nd century BC) about an elephant who exposed a cheat. Whatever the origin, humans and elephants have had a long history together. Hidden behind a dazzling orange eye is true intelligence. In captivity they show a propensity for guile, reason and intimidation. In the wild, they are able to recall ancient pathways, meander...

Protected: Talking with Alister Scott of the Global Rewilding Alliance

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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Is this the largest coral on Earth? Perhaps since a week ago last Wednesday

A week ago last Wednesday scientists reported discovering the largest coral on Earth in the Solomon Islands. Is this the largest coral on Earth though? Isn’t it more likely that they had only just discovered the biggest example they had ever seen? In the week that the scientists’ media release went viral online I reviewed photos I took of the same species in Indonesia. I am here to tell you that I reckon I’ve seen bigger … but that’s not the point.

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Snorkelling in Bayside Nov 23: Blue-ringed Octopus and Pregnant Seahorses

We spent most of the morning snorkelling in Bayside today. The major highlight was wonderful views of a Blue-ringed Octopus. What an amazing animal! We don’t seem them too often and they are quite shy. This one didn’t want to hang around but it made its way off quite slowly with enough time to take photos. Despite being highly venomous they are really quite harmless. The blue rings say ‘don’t touch’, which is wise with all marine life.

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Snorkel at Ricketts Point 22 Nov, Blenniful plus rare Red Gurnard

Dropped in a couple of times today to snorkel at Ricketts Point as the weather was hot. It’s amazing what difference a few days makes. I checked all the Port Jackon Shark caves that were filled with males the other day and found none today. It was only after about a total of three hours of swimming in the afternoon that I stumbled across a cave full of females. There was the usual smattering of Zebrafish and juvenile Snapper.

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Port Jackson Sharks at Ricketts Point, Saturday 16 Nov

It’s been a while since I’ve snorkelled locally. I got a bit of an ear infection for a short while – reminder to thoroughly use Aquaear between swims – and a combination of bad weather and overseas trips hasn’t helped. It was lovely to hit the sea today in a balmy 19 degrees. The forecast was for light winds increasing to strong northerly mid-morning. Direct northerly isn’t great at Ricketts, since it blows down the bay (fine if it’s got a bit of easterly in it) so we went out early.

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Banda Sea Expedition Report, amazing snorkelling & diving

Finally I’m back and rested after an exhilerating couple of weeks with guests in the Banda Sea. I’ve now had time to complete the Banda Sea Expedition Report for October 2024 and present it to you here to read in full (see below). As you may already know (as I have been mentioned it quite a bit) the next trip is in mid-February to the incredible Raja Ampat. On 1 December, I’m also doing an online presentation and Q&A about the region.

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