Word on the Reef

Send us Fan Mail

Sawfish, the extraordinary relatives of sharks and rays, once roamed tropical and subtropical waters around the globe. Today they've vanished from much of their former range, with Northern Australia remaining one of their last global strongholds. All five sawfish species are now listed as critically endangered, yet most Australians know surprisingly little about these remarkable animals.

So, what exactly ARE these crazy-looking critters? Are they really as scary as they look? What can we do to help ensure they continue to survive in our rivers, estuaries and coastal waters? And perhaps the most important question of all: who would win in a showdown between a sawfish and a crocodile?

Joining hosts Tanya Murphy and Brett Goodban to answer these questions is Dr Barbara Wueringer, founder, director and lead scientist at Sharks and Rays Australia.

Support the show

-------

• SUPPORT THE SHOW: Become a supporter to connect with Tanya and Brett, get a shout-out on the show, ask us questions and suggest episode topics! 
• Got questions? Email [email protected]
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Ti...

Send us Fan Mail

Beyond the Great Barrier Reef lies one of the world's largest marine protected areas: the Coral Sea Marine Park. Home to spectacular reefs, abundant marine life and some of the planet's best dive sites, it's one of Australia's last great ocean wildernesses.

But is it getting the protection it deserves?

On today's show, hosts Tanya Murphy and Brett Goodban are joined by Dive Queensland Principal Terry Cummins and Save Our Marine Life Coral Sea Campaigner Steve Ryan to explore what makes the Coral Sea so extraordinary, why the Australian Government's review of marine parks is a rare opportunity to strengthen protection, and why that's good news for both ocean wildlife and recreational fishers.

Thumbnail Image: Diving in the Coral Sea, by Cathie Cummins

Support the show

-------

• SUPPORT THE SHOW: Become a supporter to connect with Tanya and Brett, get a shout-out on the show, ask us questions and suggest episode topics! 
• Got questions? Email [email protected]
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Ti...

Send us Fan Mail

Reef and Rainforest tour guide Steven Gill is on a mission to bug you... in the best possible way. Armed with a camera, a handful of LEGO bricks and an infectious love for the tiny creatures we usually overlook, he's proving that the smallest critters often have the biggest personalities.

Along the way we'll meet Katy Perry, get business advice from a cleaner wrasse, and explore the surprising connection between the world's oldest surviving rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. We'll discover why eels don't have genitals, why a clean car windscreen is actually bad news, and why monocultures are a terrible idea.

• www.gonebuggo.com
• www.instagram.com/gone_buggo
• www.daintreetours.com
• www.calypsoreefcruises.com

Support the show

-------

• SUPPORT THE SHOW: Become a supporter to connect with Tanya and Brett, get a shout-out on the show, ask us questions and suggest episode topics! 
• Got questions? Email [email protected]
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Ti...

Send us Fan Mail

Fifty shades of coral? Not quite... but those colours tell an incredible story. This week we're diving into CoralWatch, the world's longest-running DIY reef science project. Discover how anyone with a mask, a colour chart and a love of coral can help scientists monitor reef health. Diana Kleine from the University of Queensland (pictured in the episode thumbnail image) joins us to prove that citizen science is anything but black and white. She also shares insights on the 'What Can I Do' project, revealing surprising data about how people engage with climate action in their everyday lives.

More info:

• www.coralwatch.org
• What Can I Do? - www.actionplan.coralwatch.org

SAVE SCOTT REEF!

As discussed in the episode introduction - Please sign the petition here: www.marineconservation.org.au/actions/econsideration-consultation-period-browse-scott-reef/

Support the show

-------

• SUPPORT THE SHOW: Become a supporter to connect with Tanya and Brett, get a shout-out on the show, ask us questions and suggest episode topics! 
• Got questions? Email [email protected]
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Ti...

Send us Fan Mail

Scientists have discovered that marine species are migrating away from the equator at a rate of 40 to 70 kilometres per decade to get to cooler waters as climate change heats up our ocean.

But far from being a viable escape plan, this mass poleward relocation of marine life is opening up a sea of problems.

On this week's episode of Word on the Reef, hosts Tanya Murphy and Brett Goodban are joined by James Cook University's Professor Jan Strugnell for a deep dive into climate-driven marine species redistribution on the Great Barrier Reef and beyond.

Thumbnail Image: A spine-cheeked anemonefish, photographed by Tanya Murphy at Ellison Reef, near Mission Beach - 140 kilometres south of its usual range. Submitting images like this to the Redmap project can help scientists understand how species distribution is changing.

For more info and to submit sightings: www.redmap.org.au

Support the show

-------

• SUPPORT THE SHOW: Become a supporter to connect with Tanya and Brett, get a shout-out on the show, ask us questions and suggest episode topics! 
• Got questions? Email [email protected]
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Ti...

Send us Fan Mail

Every year up to 7,000 tons of seafood is caught on the Great Barrier Reef, while up to 190 tons of coral is collected for the international aquarium trade. But how sustainable are these fisheries? And as consumers, how can we make sure we're making Reef-friendly choices?

In this episode of Word on the Reef, Simon Miller from the Australian Marine Conservation Society joins hosts Tanya Murphy and Brett Goodban for a deep dive into the world of commercial fishing on the Great Barrier Reef.

Don't worry - you can still have an aquarium and eat seafood! But this episode will empower you to make sustainable choices to ensure we can all continue to enjoy seafood and coral for generations to come.

Thumbnail Image: Comedian Kirsty Webeck (right) auctions off an 'Australian scoly' coral from the GBR in a performance raising awareness about the international coral trade.

Sign the Petition: End coral harvesting on the Great Barrier Reef - support aquaculture.

Support the show

-------

• SUPPORT THE SHOW: Become a supporter to connect with Tanya and Brett, get a shout-out on the show, ask us questions and suggest episode topics! 
• Got questions? Email [email protected]
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Ti...

Send us Fan Mail

Did you know that some Great Barrier Reef fish species are spending part of their life cycle in the middle of our city? That's right, marine fish species could be as close as your nearest concrete storm water drain, swimming among abandoned shopping trolleys and discarded beer bottles. In fact, recent research has found more than 60 species of native fish in these waterways.

On todays' episode of Word on the Reef, host Tanya Murphy is joined by Phil Laycock from OzFish Unlimited, to explore the amazing biodiversity of our urban waterways, what's being done to restore their habitat, and how we can learn to be better neighbours to our fishy friends. We'll also discuss how restoring long-lost oyster Reefs can revolutionise ecosystems.

Support the show

-------

• SUPPORT THE SHOW: Become a supporter to connect with Tanya and Brett, get a shout-out on the show, ask us questions and suggest episode topics! 
• Got questions? Email [email protected]
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Ti...

Send us Fan Mail

For 65,000 years before computers, satellites, and scientific journals, Australia's first peoples were reading tides, stars, seasons, animal behaviour, currents, and ecosystems with extraordinary precision. Yet until recently, their knowledge was not formally considered alongside Western Science.

Now, more research and conservation organisations are recognising that in order to protect places like the Great Barrier Reef, not only do we need better technology and data, but we also need to listen more carefully to the voices of the world's oldest continuous living cultures.

This week we're joined by Libby Evans-Illidge from the Australian Institute of Marine Science for an inspiring chat about bridging the divide between two cultures, one step at a time.

In this special Reconciliation Week episode, we'll discover how making space for a knowledge system different to our own, can help us better understand and conserve our environment, while also rebuilding our connection with each other.

Thumbnail Image: The 'dark emu,' a dark spot in the milky way, with its long neck extended upward in the night sky, was more than just a story. It carried valuable environmental knowledge.

Sources and Recommended Reading:

• Aboriginal people - how to misunderstand their science, by Ray Norris,
  Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Astronomy & Space Science.
• Aboriginal memories of inundation of the Australian coast dating from more than 7000 years ago by Patrick D. Nunn and Nicholas J. Reid
• Lynne Kelly
• The Memory Code by Lynne Kelly
• First Knowledges book collection
• Watch: The Australian Wars
• Watch: The First Inventors 
• Watch: First Australians
• Woppaburra Rangers

Support the show

-------

• SUPPORT THE SHOW: Become a supporter to connect with Tanya and Brett, get a shout-out on the show, ask us questions and suggest episode topics! 
• Got questions? Email [email protected]
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Ti...

Send us Fan Mail

In 2022, a mass stranding of more than 600 sick turtles devastated Hervey Bay in South East Queensland. As volunteers worked tirelessly to rescue them, scientists got to work on solving the puzzle: what caused this disaster?

Dr Caitlin Smith is one of the scientists racing to unravel the threats facing our sea turtles before it’s too late.

Her work has seen her fearlessly leaning out of helicopters to survey seagrass, slip-sliding across stinky mud bogs to rescue half-ton turtles, studying turtle blood samples, and putting baby turtles through fitness tests to understand how our actions are impacting them.

In this episode, she explains why these ancient animals are so magnetic, and what we need to do to save them.

More info:

• Assessing the impacts of contaminant exposure on green sea turtles - Dr Caitlin Smith, UniSC
• Post-flood monitoring of seagrass in Hervey Bay and Great Sandy Strait - JCU Tropwater
• Dugongs and turtles are starving to death in Queensland's seas - and La Nina's floods are to blame - Professor Kathy Townsend, The Conversation.
• Mon Repos Turtle Centre
• UniSC Milbi Centre: Sea Turtle Research and Conservation

Support the show

-------

• SUPPORT THE SHOW: Become a supporter to connect with Tanya and Brett, get a shout-out on the show, ask us questions and suggest episode topics! 
• Got questions? Email [email protected]
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Ti...

Send us Fan Mail

Professor Kathy Townsend knew she wanted to be a marine biologist from the age of five, and completed her very first dive in a frozen Canadian lake. But it was the moment a five-metre manta ray draped its tail over her shoulder like an affectionate cat that she knew she had truly found her calling.

Since then, Kathy has followed manta rays around the world, appeared in a documentary with Sir David Attenborough, and even been swept into a swirling manta-ray feeding vortex. She greets her favourite mantas with a wink, and some even come to her for toothbrush scratches.

But these intelligent and gentle giants are under threat. In this episode, Kathy shares the magic of manta rays, the mysteries scientists are still trying to solve, and why the race to understand and protect them has never been more urgent.

We just HAD to make this a bonus-length episode because Kathy has SO many incredible stories about mantas which are absolutely not-to-be-missed!

Thumbnail Image: Professor Townsend collecting a DNA sample with a toothbrush. Photo by Amelia Armstrong.

Submit manta sightings: Project Manta

Prof Townsend's book: A Field Guide to the Vertebrates of Lady Elliot Island, Great Barrier Reef.

Support the show

-------

• SUPPORT THE SHOW: Become a supporter to connect with Tanya and Brett, get a shout-out on the show, ask us questions and suggest episode topics! 
• Got questions? Email [email protected]
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Ti...