Ben Stewart loves to freedive in the pristine waters of Forster on the NSW mid-north coast. He’s been lucky enough to photograph a vast number of tropical vagrants that hitch a ride south each summer. And Redmap's lucky he logged his uncommon photos of butterflyfish, rockcod and wrasse on the Redmap app!
Australian fishers, divers and beachcombers have documented some 1500 sightings of marine life they considered uncommon in their local seas. Many of the Redmap sightings were species out of their usual home range (distribution); and others were valuable observations of rare or poorly-studied species that we'll track over time. And it looks like the scuba divers beat the fishers for uploading the most sightings on Redmap! Here's a snapshot of Redmap's citizen …
Commercial diver Bryan Denny has no regrets starting his career as a teenager when he'd skip school to fish with local abalone divers. Read about his life on the sea and the changes he's seen over the years.
A recent article in The Conversation detailed how Redmap volunteers are helping scientists track movements in marine species around Australia's vast coastline. Read the article here.
Last summer Victorian diver Paul Sorensen spotted a tropical-looking fish lingering in an abandoned shopping trolley under the Frankston Pier near Melbourne. It turned out to be a tropical species usually found near Queensland reefs.
This photo of a nudibranch (a seaslug) was emailed between scientists in South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and finally the Northern Territory before it could be identified. Read why this rare Redmap sighting excited Redmap scientists.
More than 20 Redmap Champions will now wear the Redmap t-shirt and help promote the project to fishers, divers, boaters and the community throughout Western Australia!
Observations of basking sharks in the wild are quite rare and especially in Tasmanian waters. Check out the sighting and video of a basking shark off the east coast of Tasmania, spotted by Redmap member Rodney Brill.
The University of Adelaide says warmer oceans and higher CO2 levels will destroy sharks' hunting ability, making them smaller and weaker. Read the full story in SBS World News.
Warming seas and the migration of species will change the marine environment on our doorstep, according to Queensland researchers. Read more in the Sunshine Coast Daily.