Slightly off the photography topic, but important nonetheless.  Protect our Coral Sea Ambassador, actress Isabel Lucas, and her musician boyfriend Angus Stone have made a fantastic short video ‘Coral Sea Love’ asking people to show their Love for the Coral Sea by sending off a submission for the draft Coral Sea Marine Reserve this Valentine’s Day. Julia Stone’s beautiful song In the City of Lights features on the video.

The Coral Sea marine park draft plan, put forth by Environmental Minister Tony Burke, will be open for public submissions until February 24th 2012.  I have been working hard on the Protect Our Coral Sea Campaign to create more environmental protection of the area. Currently only 2 of the 25 reefs are protected from fishing pressure under the new plan.  One of the amazing things about this proposal is that with up to 90% of the large fish taken from our oceans (or ‘eaten’ as Dr Sylvia Earle puts it in her famous Ted prize talk – very worth a watch), the proposed marine reserve is large enough to create effective protection for these big ocean wanderers.  However improvements are needed, like the removal of longliners from the southern Coral Sea which has been identified as a global biodiversity hotspot for apex ocean predators.

Isabel Lucas and Angus Stone have created the Coral Sea Love video encouraging people to send their rapid submission via protectourcoralsea.org and ask the government to make these improvements.  Please help us improve protection for the Coral Sea.

Here is what Isabel Lucas has to say:

“I’d like to send a message to our federal environment minister…THANK YOU, Environment Minister Tony Burke for protecting the eastern half of the Coral Sea in your draft plan for this iconic part of our blue Australia. THANK YOU for banning oil and gas exploration, mining and longline fishing in the Coral Sea Marine Park. And also THANK YOU for recently noting that the “Coral Sea was a near-pristine area with abundant marine life that deserves protection”

HOWEVER Mr Burke….in your current proposal for the Coral Sea, only 2 out of the 25 coral reefs are fully protected. All the other reefs are open to some kind of fishing or harvesting.

So fellow lovers of our oceans, on this Valentine’s Day I ask you to show your love for the beautiful Coral Sea and please join with me by asking Mr Burke to better protect the coral reefs in our Coal Sea!

Sending your Coral Sea submission to Tony Burke via www.protectourcoralsea.org.au will take less time than brushing your teeth…”

Isabel Lucas, Protect our Coral Sea Ambassador.

‘The Coral Sea: Our Ocean Paradise’ exhibition opens this week in Cairns and aims to capture the beauty of the Coral Sea with 25-pieces of underwater art. This is a group exhibition and I am proud to have some of my work featured alongside artists such as Jurgen Freund, Mark Spencer, Lucy Tripett, Tyrone Canning and Nicola Temple.

The exhibition is in support of the Protect Our Coral Sea campaign, a joint effort supported by regional, national and international conservation organisations. This year, we are calling on the federal government to establish a very large, world-class,highly protected marine park in the Coral Sea that will provide a safe haven for marine life and recognise its historic significance.

The images will be on display at:
Stockland Shopping Centre, Earlville  3-5th June 2011.
Smithfield Shopping Centre Cairns 27th-29th May 2011
Cairns Central Shopping Centre 13th-22nd May 2011

For more information on the exhibition, please visit:
http://www.protectourcoralsea.org.au/news-media/north-queensland-upcoming-events

Last weekend I headed to Sydney for the opening of my latest exhibition “The Coral Sea: Our Ocean Paradise”.  This is a group exhibition held to raise awareness of the campaign to protect the Coral Sea.  A group exhibition, it was a privilege to see some of my images displayed next to the work of artists I have looked up to for many years.  The Arthouse Hotel continues to host the exhibition and it will be on display there until the 9th April before traveling to Brisbane (or more specifically Mooloolaba) and then Cairns.

Opening night was a fantastic evening and a big thank you to all who attended.  It was a success in terms of the exhibition looking fantastic in the surrounds of the Arthouse Hotel and also it achieved its aim of raising awareness. For more information about the campaign, please visit: Protect Our Coral Sea.  A big thank you also to those from the campaign who worked hard to get the exhibition together and for selecting me as one of the showcased photographers.

Dwarf Minke Whales are curious and friendly whales that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. They also make a great underwater photography subject. The species was identified in the late 1990′s as separate from its northern hemisphere counterpart and has been closely studied ever since. A task that has been made much easier by the whale’s own behaviour as it commonly approaches divers and snorkellers to ‘check them out’

The Dwarf Minke Whale’s inquisitive nature have made it very popular. Dwarf Minke Whales seek out interactions with snorkelers and divers – one of most special experiences you can have in the ocean. The Minke Whales are sighted (most commonly) between June and July each year, and the hotspot for interactions is the Ribbon Reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. The whales arrive here from the deep waters of the Coral Sea, but where they migrate to or from remains a mystery.

To understand more about the minke whales, especially the great research being done by JCU scientists, please download the minke whale project newsletter or join the Minke Whale Project Facebook group Friends of Minke Whales.

Creating great images of minke whales can be challenging due to the fact that minke whales turn up during the ‘trade winds’ when seas are often rough and the sky grey. Their close approaches can mean that you cannot frame and compose the entire animal as it is simply TOO CLOSE! Plus with both dark areas and bright white on the fins exposure needs to be just right. The results however make the challenge very worthwhile.  A wide angle lens and the sun behind you, shoot with natural light and adjust the exposure down a stop to avoid overexposing the fins.   When you are in the water with a minke whale, do not swim toward it, let it approach you and this makes the whale more bold, often resulting in spectacularly close encounters.

The Coral Sea is a globally important habitat for many species which are listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Green turtles are long lived, highly migratory and are found in tropical, and to a lesser extent, sub-tropic waters.

By providing the Australian Marine Conservation Society and IUCN with this underwater image for their use, I hope I can help contribute to educating more people about the plight of the many marine species which are included on the IUCN Red List.

Dwarf Minke Whale IUCN Conservation Information

Three of my underwater images are currently being used to promote the conservation status of marine species on the IUCN Red List. The first photograph to be show-cased is of a Dwarf Minke Whale (pictured).  Details on the conservation status of the Dwarf Minke Whale is detailed on the IUCN website, or you can download the pdf document.  Two additional photographs will also be featured: Coral Sea Manta Rays and a photo of a Green Turtle taken on the Great Barrier Reef.

Marine conservation, and awareness of marine issues, is central to the core values of Xanthe Rivett Underwater Photography.   These photographs will be used to help educate the public about the conservation status and importance of marine species.

Underwater photography helps bring the underwater world topside. Through images we can show people the special creatures and habitats that exist in the aquatic world. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 2010 produced a publication called ‘Protecting Critical Marine Habitats – The Key to Conserving our Threatened Marine Species.’

The Australian Government has committed to international and national biodiversity goals for conserving threatened species, yet the globally agreed target to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 has not been achieved.

Underwater photography can help bring to public attention, images of the habitat and creatures we are losing, and raise awareness of the importance these habitats have.

For those interested in the underwater world this is a very interesting and educational publications to read:
http://www.wwf.org.au/publications/wwfprotectingcriticalmarinehabitat.pdf

Australia's Marine Bioregional Planning Areas

The Coral Sea extends east from the Queensland coast, it includes the Great Barrier Reef before continuing out past where the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park ends and the continental shelf (a shallow platform extending from the Australian coast to the 20mm depth contour) drops away to deep ocean.  Out here in the ocean, remains a great ocean wilderness of over 1 million square kilometers of ocean.  Amongst this ocean are a series of spectacular reefs and islands which rise up from oceans over a 1000m deep.  These reefs were formed by underwater mountains on the Queensland Plateau.

“The Coral Sea is a rare example of a marine environment that is thriving. Bountiful fish populations including grey and white tip reef sharks, hammerheads, manta rays, tuna, barracuda, turtles, whales and rare sea creatures such as the nautilus inhabit the waters, alongside an incredibly diverse range of corals.”

The area of the Coral Sea beyond the Great Barrier Reef has largely been protected by its remoteness in the past, however as fishing stocks are reduced in other areas, fisherman will travel further to achieve their quotas.  This includes illegal fisherman which may use more destructive fishing practices.  Current figures indicate that in the last 50 years 90% of the ocean’s fish stocks have been removed.  As we learn more about our oceans we understand that many big ocean fish species move across large areas of ocean, and a single large marine park will help ensure that the scale of management appropriately matches the biological scale of important ecosystem processes such as dispersal and migration.  This can enhance the viability of fishing in the future.

Marine Bioregional Planning Process for All Australia’s Commonwealth Waters:

Australia’s marine bioregional planning program is designed to provide a clearer focus on the protection, conservation and sustainable use of Australia’s marine environment.  The underlying principle is ecologically sustainable development.  It is important to note that it focuses only on Australia’s ‘Commonwelath Waters’. These are the waters which exist outside a state or territories ‘waters’ (typically commonwealth waters start 3 nautical miles from the coast) which means waters directly adjacent to land remains the responsibility of individual states and territories and are not included in this process.

The Coral Sea falls withing the East Marine Bioregional Planning Region.

The planning program is designed to look at the region from an ecosystem level rather than individual habitats or species but instead, consider the ‘bigger picture’ in how these work together, their role in the marine environment and  relationships with human activities.  The larger purpose is to ensure these ecosystems ‘function effectively’.

“Marine Bioregional Plans are being developed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (national environment law) and will fulfill the Australian Government’s commitment to establishing a National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas as agreed by all Australian governments in 1998.

There are two major parts to the marine bioregional planning process: the identification of regional conservation priorities and the identification of marine reserves to be included in Australia’s National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas.”

Conservation priorities are identified within each planning area according by analysis of current conservation threats.  Australia’s National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas (NRSMPA), aims to protect representative examples of the biodiversity and ecosystems in the various marine regions of Australia

Conservation groups supporting the proposal:

PEW environment group – Australia, Project Aware Foundation, Australian Conservation Foundation, Australian Marine Conservation Society, Queensland Conservation Council and Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC)

Eating ‘Tuna-friendly’ tuna will ensure we can continue to eat tuna into the future.  Choosing the right tuna brand means choosing a brand which favours (or uses entirely) the sustainable tuna species of ‘skipjack’.  In addition they will favour less destructive fishing practices with lower by-catch rates.

‘Dolphin-friendly’ canned tuna you buy at the supermarket may be caught:

• from overfished stocks
• from illegal fishing vessels or companies
• using methods which result in a high level of by-catch (such as dolphins, turtles, seabirds, sharks, sea snakes and more).

Greenpeace has made it simple to make a decision when contemplating a supermarket aisle full of choices thanks to their ‘Canned Tuna Guide’.  Of the four types of tuna fished throughout the World’s oceans three are currently overfished or still being overfished.  Greenpeace’s guide is ranked according to a company’s choice to use the sustainably fishable ‘skipjack’ species of tuna (over the three other overfished species) and also fishing practices in use by their suppliers (to avoid excessive by-catch).

Why is this important?  Because as populations increase, and tuna continues to be the highest selling seafood item in Australia, we need to be smarter about our choices as consumers if we want to continue to eat tuna.

A guide to sustainable canned tuna

Supermarkets and Sustainable Tuna from our Oceans

Brands were scored with the international Greenpeace tuna ranking system:

• > 70% Good. An acceptable sustainable an equitable tuna procurement policy has been obtained. Maintaining and improving these standards is essential.

• 40 – 70% Must improve. Initial measures have been taken to obtain a sustainable and equitable tuna procurement policy. More concrete steps are needed to reach an acceptable standard.

< 40% Very poor. Urgent action is required to improve tuna procurement.

Go to www.greenpeace.org.au/tuna for a complete explanation of the ranking of each canned tuna brand.

For more information on canned tuna in Australia please read the guide ‘Out of Stock, Out of Excuses’ by Greenpeace (click on image to the left to download pdf) more information can also be found at:

More Information on the State of Tuna Stocks:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (a global, non-profit partnership between the tuna industry, scientists, and the World Wide Fund for Nature), Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna, Pacific Ocean (eastern & western) bigeye tuna, and North Atlantic albacore tuna are all overfished. In April 2009 no stock of skipjack tuna (which makes up roughly 60 percent of all tuna fished worldwide) was considered to be overfished.

The following images are taken from the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation they help demonstrate the state of Tuna stocks in different areas of the World’s oceans.  Australia is located in the Western Pacific region.

This is completely legal in Australia.  While shark fishing specifically for fins (i.e. dumping the shark carcass back into the sea) is now illegal in Australia, it is still legal for sharks to be fished and then the shark fins and meat sold and unfortunately the fishery is not sustainable.

Christian Miller from Shirts4Sharks took this photo just this week at a Cairns supermarket.

Taking the pressure off sharks by ending shark fin exports from Australia will enable Australian shark populations to recover and ensure they continue their role in stabilising the marine ecosystem.

Black tip reef shark fillets on sale in Coles, Australia

To help, you can:

• refuse to buy shark meat
• raise awareness, spread this information.  Use Facebook, Twitter, talk to you friends.

More information about Shark Fishing in Australia:

Sharks are extremely vulnerable to fishing impacts. Recent research found that almost one third (32%) of open ocean sharks and rays are threatened with extinction, primarily due to overfishing. Sharks are slow growing and late to mature making them particularly susceptible to and slow to recover from overfishing. Fisheries scientists agree – they are yet to identify a single shark fishery that is sustainable. Put simply, sharks are being caught and killed faster than they can reproduce.

It is still legal to fish in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area.  During 2008-09, the Australian Marine Conservation Society worked with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries to find ways to reduce, and eventually stop shark fishing in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage by the Queensland East Coast Inshore Finfish Fishery.   In recent years the Inshore Finfish Fishery killed between 900t and 1400t of shark per year (between 112,000 and 175,000 individual sharks in total).

In  2008 Federal Environment Minister, Hon Peter Garrett, MP,  committed to establish an independent review panel to review the sustainability of this fishery.  In March 2009, the outcomes of this review were made public. In brief, the review recommended that the Queensland government, in the short term, reduce shark fishing by one third, or 300t, and reform the Inshore Finfish Fishery into a more modern and sustainable fishery. While this makes significant progress for our World Heritage Sharks, there is still much more to be done to protect our precious sharks on the Great Barrier Reef and elsewhere around our coastline. (source: AMCS)