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.

Reflections of an accidental marine scientist

August 1, 2026

What I thought would be a steady plod towards retirement, with plenty of time spent nursing grandchildren, was abruptly upended exactly six years ago today. This is the story of how an environmental catastrophe changed the course of my life – and led me to reinvent myself. It is a reflection on how, and why, I became an accidental marine scientist.

A view across to the inshore reef, Slaughter Bay, Norfolk Island

The Governance–Government Vacuum: Norfolk Island’s Forgotten Ecology

April 29, 2025

A personal reflection on Norfolk Island’s coral reef environment, political denial, and what John Wyndham’s The Kraken Wakes can still teach us about slow-moving disasters — and why this election matters more than ever.

Emily Bay at low tide, early morning, December 2024

A year in review – 2024 on Norfolk Island’s Reef

December 27, 2024

It is five years since I began wielding a camera underwater in Norfolk Island’s lagoons and my third ‘year in review’ for this ‘Out on a swim’ blog. And what a journey it has been. At least this year I have some great news to report, but – a bit like a curate’s egg (partly bad and partly good) – there are also some downers. Find out what 2024 has meant for Norfolk Island’s reef.

Healthy montipora coral on Norfolk Island’s reef

The camera doesn’t lie – looking back over three years of observations

March 2, 2023

After three years of observations, I have a unique library of some 80,000 images recording life in Norfolk Island’s lagoons. So I thought it would be worth spending the month of March looking back to see what has changed in that time and what hasn’t. Each day I will feature a different image. For 1 March I have picked a simple brown coral – a plate coral from the genus montipora. Read on to see what is happening to our montipora now.

Remnant reef overgrown with algae, 31 January 2022, Emily Bay, Norfolk Island

Come on in. The water's fine ...

January 31, 2022

As Costa Georgiadis says, nature tells the truth, and we must only look at our reef on Norfolk Island to know its truth. We, as custodians, have not been caring enough for it and now that carelessness is coming home to roost.

Nuptial colouration in blennies

October 12, 2021

Warmer water and some behavioural changes: some fish are getting their nuptial colours on, while others have started incubating eggs in their mouth. It is all happening ‘out on a swim’. Catch up on the last week in Norfolk Island’s lagoons here.

The importance of sea urchins

August 10, 2021

August on Norfolk Island is the coolest month of the year. The southerly winds have been bringing in pounding surf and reduced visibility in the bays. For those who are interested, the water temperature has been hovering between 17C and 18C. This week I showcase some of the different species of sea urchins in our bays and provide a few fast facts about them.

Reflections of an accidental marine scientist

July 24, 2026

From ridge to reef: unpicking the Waterway and Wetland Strategy

Norfolk Island’s draft Waterway and Wetland Strategy will guide work for the next ten years. I support its intent, but it needs to be clear, practical and measurable – joining the dots from ridge to reef so we know whether public money is improving water quality and helping the reef.

June 28, 2026

The red seaweed behind low-methane beef

A small red seaweed on Norfolk’s reef has become part of a much bigger story. Asparagopsis taxiformis can look like a delicate red feather duster or, at another stage of its life cycle, like a tiny cottony pom-pom. It is beautiful, easily overlooked, and now being used in the cattle industry to help reduce methane emissions. This post looks at the reef oddity behind the low-methane beef story – and why repeated local observation can be more useful than it first appears.

June 20, 2026

From coral scar to aatuti farm

Aatuti are bold little algae farmers, but how does one of their farms begin? Over the past year, I have been following several coral patches as small white scars became algal footholds, then larger defended patches. I still cannot say what caused the first wounds, but the photo sequences show something fascinating: on a reef where algae is already gaining ground, even tiny changes on the coral surface can become part of a much bigger story.

June 15, 2026

Norfolk’s water quality – when action is reported as outcome

A recent Australian Government media release presents investment, monitoring and catchment works as progress on Norfolk Island’s water quality. Some of that work is useful, and some of it was badly needed. But activity is not the same as proven improvement. This post looks at Kingston sewerage, wetlands, cattle, acid sulfate soils, groundwater and reef health, and asks whether Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay are actually being better protected.

June 14, 2026

How surgeonfishes got their name

Surgeonfish are named for the sharp little scalpels near their tails, but on Norfolk’s reef their more useful work happens at the other end. Pencil surgeonfish, bluespine unicornfish and their relatives help browse algae across the reef – a small daily job that becomes very valuable on an algae-rich lagoon reef like ours.

May 28, 2026

A shrimp storm

While setting my research cams last week, I swam into what looked like an underwater snowstorm. It appeared to be the aftermath of a mass moulting event, with large numbers of tiny, translucent shrimp-like exoskeletons drifting together near the surface.

Kingston dredging: what happens when a reef does not fit the framework

This correspondence with DCCEEW is about more than one dredging proposal. It is about what happens when an ecologically distinctive place is assessed through standard tools that do not always make its most important values easy to see. I am publishing it here because that is something we need to be aware of, both on Norfolk Island and more broadly in Australia.

May 24, 2026

Kingston dredging: the project advances, the questions remain

Kingston dredging is edging closer, and the paper trail is growing. This post brings together earlier correspondence with the Department and the latest media release so readers can see what has been asked, what has been answered, and what still remains unclear about the project, its rationale, and the protections proposed for the reef.