September is Biodiversity Month and today, 7 September, is National Threatened Species Day – a reminder to pause and celebrate the astonishing variety of life that surrounds us. Here on Norfolk Island’s reef and in the lagoon, biodiversity is not an abstract concept. It’s the surgeonfish grazing the algae, the butterflyfish darting between corals, and the quiet arrival of new residents that I’ve been lucky enough to record in recent years – from the striking eclipse butterflyfish to the cute, cryptic black blenny.
Biodiversity matters. It’s important to know what we have. I wrote about it in a blog post earlier this year called ‘Biodiversity Matters’. As Lawrence and Hawthorne (2006) put it:
Knowing biodiversity achieves two things: it makes us better managers because we can observe what is there and measure the impact of our activities on biodiversity; and it motivates more of us to be managers, in the widest sense, by inspiring and educating us about the natural world.
That feels especially true here. The more I’ve come to know the reef, the more motivated I am to help care for it.
Globally, the importance of biodiversity was reaffirmed when 196 countries, including Australia, signed on to the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15 in 2022. Australia committed to halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and to living in harmony with nature by 2050. Three of the framework’s targets feel especially close to home for Norfolk Island’s lagoon: reducing pollution, minimising climate impacts, and ensuring that knowledge is accessible so that action can follow.
And yet, biodiversity isn’t just about policy documents and targets – it’s about joy, curiosity, and humility. As Confucius said more than 2,000 years ago (paraphrased):
To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, this is true knowledge.
Every new fish I spot, every coral colony that surprises me with its resilience, is a reminder of how much there still is to learn. Norfolk Island’s reef is a living library – one we’re only just beginning to read.
In the last five years or so, we have been able to add a further 23 fish species to those known to frequent inside the lagoons, building on the 97 species that were recorded in Ivanovici’s 1989 census (1989). Although it isn’t just about fish. It’s about all the corals, the invertebrates, all those things that we do not know that we don’t know. Together they all make up a unique ecosystem, like no other. A ecosystem that is special and worthy of our protection.
Biodiversity matters. To all of us.
A close up of Lobophyllia recta sensu Veron
I write about this coral, here: ‘You may call this beauty Lobophyllia recta sensu Veron’
* Back in 1985, Malcolm Francis began a long-term study documenting the fish fauna of Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, and the Kermadecs – all linked by latitude and ocean currents. His 1993 checklist of coastal fishes recorded 235 species for Norfolk Island. It is important to recognise that Malcolm’s list includes fish seen outside the lagoon, in open water, as well as inside the inshore reef area. He’s continued updating that list ever since, thanks in part to sightings contributed by local snorkellers, divers, and scientists alike. You can view his most recent version of the checklist here: Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk and Kermadec Islands – April 2025 (Figshare)
References
Ivanovici, A. 1988. ‘Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay, Norfolk Island: Resources and options for management’. Report. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Lawrence, A. & Hawthorne, W. 2006. Plant Identification: Creating User-Friendly Field Guides for Biodiversity Management. Earthscan, London.