Out on A Swim

‘Out on a swim’ is a coral reef blog that tells the stories of the characters who live under the waves and what has caught my eye when ‘out on a swim’ in the lagoons of Norfolk Island. It is also a record of the difficulties Norfolk Island’s reef faces, like many others around the world, as a result of the poor water quality that has been allowed to flow onto it.

This page shows the most recent blog posts. For the complete catalogue, visit the ‘Out on a swim index’ page.

This blog is rated in the Top 20 Coral Reef Blogs in the world.

Doris, a week after she was taken into rehab

Doris – just one turtle?

March 24, 2023

Many of the turtles that live in Norfolk Island’s coral-reef lagoons are juveniles. In other words, they are the future of their species, and an important piece in the genetic jigsaw. Yet they seem to fall through the cracks when it comes to being protected by the EPBC Act.

Doris – it takes a village

January 20, 2023

This morning marked the end of a four-month journey for Doris the green sea turtle. From a sick, emaciated turtle with lesions across her shell, and covered with an unhealthy growth of algae, she has been transformed to glossy beautiful health. Hannah slid Doris over the side of the boat and back into the bosom of the ocean, her home. We’ll miss her, but as she swam away, our hearts sang, too. She’s back where she should be.

Turtles and snake eels

September 28, 2021

Emily Bay never fails to lift my spirits. Today in my ‘Out on a Swim’ blog, I talk about our beautiful, elegant snake eels. We have at least three different species. I also saw my elusive spotfin squirrelfish, and our two resident green sea turtles snoozing next to each other. Naawww!

Emily Bay in the spring sunshine. The seas outside the lagoons were wild this week.

Jockeying for space on the reef

September 14, 2021

I won’t lie, it has been a wipe-out in the bays this week with huge swells and poor visibility. I more than made up for it this morning. Everyone was out and about enjoying the spring sunshine. Apart from the turtle. She was asleep! Read here to find out who else was enjoying the sunshine.

Winter snorkelling on our reef

August 17, 2021

I can guarantee that each time I head out into Norfolk Island’s lagoons I will see something new or interesting. This week was no different. Here is a quick wrap up of some of my more noteworthy observations this week while out on a swim.

Mar 7, 2026

Alveopora or flowerpot coral – how to tell the difference

They look alike at first glance, but Alveopora and flowerpot corals are not the same. The easiest way to tell them apart is to count the tentacles.

Feb 27, 2026

Norfolk’s lagoonal reef – the 2025 report, in plain English

We now have the 2025 Norfolk Island reef health report, so I’m taking the opportunity to translate it into plain English here. Sadly, it’s more of the same story in Emily and Slaughter Bays – a reef that can cope with some stress, but is being asked to cope with too much, too often.

Feb 20, 2026

Halimeda’s night shift – why this reef algae changes colour

Halimeda is a calcareous green reef alga that forms new segments overnight, shifts from white to bright green by dawn, then pales again as calcification begins. A quick look at one of the reef’s smartest algae.

Jan 11, 2026

Reef real estate – a bubble-tip’s six-year stand-off

Reef space is finite, and nothing ‘shares’ it politely. This short photo essay follows one bubble-tip anemone on Norfolk Island’s lagoonal reef as it holds a crater surrounded by Montipora. The coral builds a rim; the anemone holds the centre. Six years apart, and the argument continues.

Dec 28, 2025

A year in review – 2025 on Norfolk Island's reef

Norfolk Island’s reef in 2025 – a year in review. From NOAA bleaching alerts and the UN Ocean Conference ‘Warning Signs’ series to post-drought coral recovery and a wet winter revealed in long-term rainfall records, this post captures the wins, losses, and shifting baselines beneath the lagoon. Includes reef photos, highlights from Reef Relief, and standout stories from 2025 – from coral health and disease to boxfish biomimicry, sea urchins, nudibranchs, and heat-stress signals in anemones.

Dec 15, 2025

Herbicides, heritage, and an inshore reef: what happens when land management meets lagoon health

Herbicide use near Emily, Slaughter and Cemetery Bays raises questions about inshore reef health, heritage land management, and environmental protection on Norfolk Island.

Dec 8, 2025

Signs of bleaching – 8 December 2025

I took these photographs this morning, Monday, 8 December 2025. A few warm days of settled weather, little cloud cover and low tides in the hottest part of the day have led to some early bleaching on our reef. Bleaching doesn’t always mean death for our corals, but it is concerning to have this so early in the summer season. Fingers crossed the conditions don’t last and the reef can recover.

Dec 3, 2025

Nature is my teacher

This is a thank-you note. Five years after my first Out on a swim post – written with zero marine science quals and a head full of questions – I’m still in the water, now as a PhD candidate, because an extraordinary mix of locals, volunteers, researchers and public servants decided to share what they knew. This is the story of how nature – and a very patient community – became my teachers.

Nov 30, 2025

Reef grief: what dredging has done to other reefs

From Miami to Fiji, from Dubai to tiny village harbours on atolls, dredging near coral reefs has left a long trail of scars – even on ‘small’ projects. This follow-up to last week’s Kingston post walks through real examples of what happened elsewhere, and what that should make us think about before we dig up our own reef.

Nov 20, 2025

To dredge or not to dredge? The Kingston Pier channel project

How much risk are we really taking with the planned dredging at Kingston Pier – and how much protection do our corals actually have on paper? This piece walks through what the federal approval does and doesn’t guarantee, explains why sediment and light matter so much to the reef, and asks the hard questions we need answered before we trade a deeper channel for a shallower future.