Coral Sea Champions

Australians from all walks of life support a fully protected marine park in Australia's Coral Sea.

Our Coral Sea Champions include:

David Hannan

"In the last 50 years we’ve lost over 50% of the world’s coral reefs and many of the remainder are stressed and dying. But right now we have a priceless opportunity to protect one of the world’s healthiest and largest tropical coral reef areas and to try to properly safeguard it for future generations.

The Swain’s Reefs complex in the Coral Sea occupies an area of over 10,000 square miles. Lihou Reef in the Coral Sea is 500 miles offshore and has a lagoon that is over 50 miles wide and rimmed by sandy cays that provide nesting grounds for immense numbers of seabirds and turtles.

The amount and variety of marine life that lives on Coral Sea reefs like these, is staggering, but it is also both precious and vulnerable. Many species found in the Coral Sea are critically endangered elsewhere. The Coral Sea needs your protection."

David Hannan is a cinematographer and producer who has won international acclaim for his marine imagery. Visit http://coralseadreaming.com for more information about David's latest masterpiece, Coral Sea Dreaming - Awaken.

Lucy Trippett

"There are so few areas where sea creatures can swim safely. Pelagic fish traversing the Coral Sea, on the way to their spawning grounds, are scooped up in nets or caught by long-liners; and with them, the next generation is also harvested. All animals have a right to a refuge and they also need sanctuaries to survive as a species. Protecting the Coral Sea would provide such a refuge. Humans need fish to survive. We need to do this for the fish and for us."

Lucy Trippett wears many hats; an environmental scientist, diver, photographer, and writer, among many others. Some of her photos are exhibited on our website here.

Dirk Werner-Lutrop

"As Dive Travel Wholesaler I had the fortune to dive many of the most beautiful reefs around the world. Over the past 20 year I saw first hand the impacts of multiple pressures from population, agriculture, fisheries and now climate change have on those fragile ecosystems.  In many countries, including Australia, many reefs have lost their vibrancy and are a pale shadow of what they were 20 years ago. The Reefs in the Coral Sea region are still almost untouched and support a healthy population of large to micro marine critters. There are hardly any places left like this on the planet. It is worth all our efforts to maintain it."

Dirk runs Diversion Dive Travel in Cairns (http://diversionOZ.com)

Colin Le Breton

"How many times throughout  life  have you heard the saying “do you remember when”, referring to lost opportunities no longer available to our children and their children in the foreseeable future. There is no mystery, no hard science required to justify protection of the Coral Sea, just facts that support your quest for a marine conservation zone to be established now."

Colin is the National Sales Manager for Tweed Bait in NSW.

Elizabeth Long

"As a young scientist, I am well aware of the challenges that our planet and therefore ourselves, face in the near future. Climate change and the other impacts caused by our exploding population are terrifying. Our ocean is the great driver of Earth's climate and chemistry, yet less than 0.1% is highly protected; endangering many marine ecosystems around the world. Marine parks protect the integrity of the ecosystems, provide refuge for endangered species, and are an important component of sustainable fisheries. Australia has a wonderful opportunity to protect one of the most beautiful and diverse aquatic ecosystems, the Coral Sea, and Australians should be fighting to do so."

Elizabeth Long, Young Scientists of Australia, Brisbane Chapter Inc.

Tania Rose

"There is a fine balance in life on Earth. Symbiotic relationships ebb and flow in a harmonic symphony. Relationships change and grow over time, and new roles emerge, such as humanity’s relatively new role as Caretaker of The Earth.

Though we would like to take our time to get to know what is expected of us in this new undertaking, time is running out. As our oceans perish, the world as we know it will change so dramatically, that mankind may miss a fundamental opportunity to rise up and forge it’s greatest feat…preserving our home. As we take steps towards marine preservation, we speak less of fear of the unknown, and more of a brighter future."

Tania is an amazing music composer who wrote the music for Coral Sea Dreaming: Awaken.