Coral Sea Expedition - Project Lihou

4th December, 2009 - Anchor's Away

Duffle bags, backpacks, enormous large cases containing thousands of dollars worth of equipment, and eighteen confused people stood on the pier wondering how in the world all of this gear was going to fit on the boat. Yet, two hours later all the gear was loaded and stored, our berths were assigned and we were on our way, with the buzz that comes with the anticipation of a new adventure.

MV Eastern Voyager

5th December, 2009 - Twin cays

I awoke to a different view this morning. There was no land in sight after motoring through the night. As people wake from their slumber they stake out their various positions on the boat. Others are kept in their bunks by the rise and fall of the boat on the swell. Someone yells "dolphins on the bow" and there is a sudden surge to the front with thousands of dollars of camera equipment dangling over the side, trying to capture the playful antics of the bottlenose dolphins.

About mid-morning we start to see some more sea birds including wedge- tailed shearwaters, brown boobies, and crested turns. We are now officially within the boundary of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The light turquoise water on the horizon indicates a reef ahead and the sudden increase in bird sightings brings home to me the importance of these oases in a desert of deep blue. The birds are not the only ones who have spotted this oasis though. A charter vessel with five tenders out fishing the edge of the reef is also taking advantage.

We stop mid-afternoon at Twin Cays. The skipper tells us that Hurricane Hamish virtually destroyed this place and that it is a fraction of the size it was two years ago when he was last here. We are all anxious to get our feet wet and we all pile into the tenders for a snorkel. The bottom is strewn with coral rubble and many of the corals are covered by a layer of algae. Yet on this stage of destruction there remains a host of colourful actors: the usual suspects mainly - butterfly fish, parrotfish, wrasse, Moorish idols, anemone fish to name a few. Some squid put on a light show as they undulate past me. A rough flutemouth gives me a thorough lookover. A whitetip reef shark patrols the bottom below. Yet with less than 1% coral cover and a complete loss of staghorn coral, one can't help but wonder what it looked like only a year ago.

6th December, 2009 - Swimming with snakes

"This is an area known to have high densities of tiger sharks," the divemasters brief us. "There's also likely to be lots of sea snakes and if you get a bite from one of those, best thing you can do is call home and say your goodbyes". My heart is racing, even though I know there is more chance of getting struck by lightning.

After motoring through the night and most of the morning, we have reached Marion Reef, which is nearly 43 kilometers in length and within the Coral Sea Conservation Zone. It is apparent that there has been cyclone destruction here as there is less than 1% live coral coverage, though the damage is not as extensive nor as recent as we saw at Twin Cays yesterday. There are some young corals developing, and the water is thick with larval and juvenile fish.

Within the first 10 minutes of our dive a grey reef shark cruises by us to have a look. Then I spot my first sea snake, coiled discretely under some dead coral. My dive buddy points to another one that is swimming toward me; curious but clearly not aggressive. One feels rather uncoordinated next to these limbless swimmers. Everywhere I look there is another sea snake, every now and then popping up to the surface for a breath of air, the only reminder of a terrestrial life left long ago in its evolutionary history. Sea snakes are a truly marine reptile, no longer dependent on land for any part of their life history, unlike turtles. It is a good sign that there are so many of these apex predators here.

7th December, 2009 - East Diamond Islet

We arrive at East Diamond Islet around noon. The waters are aquamarine blue surrounding the low sand islet. Small darker patches give hints of the coral mounds below. The sky above the islet is filled with birds and confirmation of their presence wafts in on the sea breeze.

We eagerly get into the water and at 20m below the surface, the coral is like nothing I have seen yet on this trip. It is alive! Boulder, plate, soft, branching...blue, green, red, yellow...it's all here in full glory. Colourful reef fish quickly dart out of their coral shelters, and disappear just as quickly the moment I click the shutter. I could stay looking at one square meter for hours as my eyes adjust to the more intricate details of Christmas tree worms and nudibranchs. As we ascend to 12m, the coral is noticeably less healthy. There is more algae cover, more rubble and less diversity. What has caused these shallower corals to die?

We head to the islet in the evening. As I walk along the beach, masked boobies, red-footed boobies, brown boobies and frigate birds dance on the wind sometimes coming so close I could reach out and touch them.

Red footed booby chick at East Diamond Islet

8th December, 2009 - Kathy Cay, Lihou Reef

It is our fourth day out and we have been travelling almost non-stop.

With the exception of last night, we have travelled through the nights also. It is at this point that it becomes quite understandable that we have only explored 5% of our oceans. This sounds terribly naïve, but it's a big place!

As our ship steams through the crystal blue waters, flying fish and flying squid take to the air in front of us. A feeding frenzy off the bow with hundreds of birds plunging into the ocean indicates a pelagic hub of activity. As we come closer we can see tuna coming to the surface, attacking the smaller fish from below. A bigger splash off the starboard side is evidence of something larger below...a sailfin perhaps? It is a moment of excitement in this vast blue world; and then it passes.

We anchor off Kathy Cay, part of Lihou Reef, just after lunch. I didn't know water could be this clear. We can watch the anchor drop to the sand 20metres below and it is as clear as if it were 1 metre. I spot the familiar shape of some sharks circling below, curious about this new intrusion. We jump into the water and explore the depths below. Five grey reef sharks (Carcaharhinus amblyrhynchos) pace back and forth, curious. I like to know where they are, but I don't feel the least bit concerned by their presence.

In the afternoon, three of us head to the Cay to film an interview being aired with the World Wildlife Fund in Copenhagen. We are trying to link what we are seeing to Global Climate Change and of course the decisions being made there. This is easy as we have seen cyclone damage and coral bleaching on every dive, both of which are expected to increase with climate change trends. Out here at Lihou Reef, a National Nature Reserve since 1982, remote from the coast, the water is so much clearer, the corals comparably so much healthier. It is a snapshot of what we stand to lose, or put in a different perspective, what we have the potential to save. It is protected areas like this that build the resilience of coral reef ecosystems for the future.

9th December, 2009 - Going Deeper

We are off Lorna Cay on Lihou Reef and one of the scientists on board spends the day putting together a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to allow us to explore a little deeper. It is a terribly complicated operation that can be best described as flying a kite underwater, but from a moving platform. Ocean currents take the ROV in one direction, the boat drifts in another and the two are tethered by 110m of cable.

The second coordinated effort is successful and we all wait with baited breath to see what lies 100m below us.

It isn't perhaps as exciting as a giant squid rising from the depths to wrestle with the ROV camera, but what we see is rather awesome nonetheless. There are soft corals here, more than we have seen while diving, as well as sponges and whip corals. Then we see a gorgonian fan, a type of soft coral, more than three metres in diameter. I ask how old it might be, but no guesses are offered, except to say that they pulled up some off the coast of Tasmania recently that were 2,000 years old. Could what we are seeing be that old?

We head to the Cay for a walk late in the afternoon. A group that had been out earlier spotted dozens of tawny nurse sharks basking in the shallow waters and I'm hoping they are still there. I cross the island and see five right away. They are still in the shallows, their fins out of the water. Something draws my attention up the beach. I catch sight of a fin thrashing about on the beach. At first I think it is a turtle coming to nest, but then I realize it is a shark. It has come up with a wave onto the beach after a crab and finds itself stranded.

I race over for a closer look but a big wave draws the 1.5metre animal back into the water before I can pull my camera out. Perhaps the sharks will give me another opportunity tomorrow.

 Lorna Cay, Lihou Reef

 Shark cruising above the reef

12th December, 2009 - Starting the journey home

We are back on Marion Reef today. We anchor off a tiny sand cay with room for only one person to stand. It's unclear whether it is the beginning of a new cay, or the end of an old one. It is a very dynamic world out here; things are always shifting.

The scientists continue to collect data on our journey. They are conducting bird counts, noting bird species that have never before been recorded in the region, and doing underwater transects to estimate coral cover and the overall health and diversity of the reef. There is poor baseline information for the Coral Sea and so every bit of information we gather will give us a better understanding of what is here.

Juvenile fish in coral