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Norfolk Island's Reef

Discover a fragile paradise – Norfolk Island's beaches, lagoons and coral reef
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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.

Bait fish, Emily Bay, Norfolk Island, September 2020

Where have all the bait fish gone?

March 2, 2023

Day 2 – March focus on Norfolk Island’s reef

A school of mullet near the Salt House, Emily Bay, July 2021

For day 2 of my March focus, I've chosen to feature a ball of bait fish photographed in September 2020. There is something awe-inspiring about being encircled by a huge seething mass of tiny fish all moving in unison. It takes your breath away.

I experienced this spectacle a few times in that year inside the lagoons, but not since, which makes me wonder, was I just lucky? Or is something else at play here? I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that question.

Anecdotally, other regular snorkellers say they haven’t seen these large schools of bait fish either. And, again, anecdotally, the schools of mullet that we were used to seeing have dwindled too. You will still see smaller schools, but nothing like what we have been used have.


In Environmental degradation Tags Environment, Fish, water quality
← The awesome, giant, black-mouthed tun snailThe camera doesn’t lie – looking back over three years of observations →
Featured
Signs of bleaching – 8 December 2025
Dec 8, 2025
Signs of bleaching – 8 December 2025
Dec 8, 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 8, 2025
Nature is my teacher
Dec 3, 2025
Nature is my teacher
Dec 3, 2025

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.

Dec 3, 2025
Reef grief: what dredging has done to other reefs
Nov 30, 2025
Reef grief: what dredging has done to other reefs
Nov 30, 2025

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 30, 2025
To dredge or not to dredge? The Kingston Pier channel project
Nov 20, 2025
To dredge or not to dredge? The Kingston Pier channel project
Nov 20, 2025

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.

Nov 20, 2025
A coral reef out of balance
Nov 8, 2025
A coral reef out of balance
Nov 8, 2025

After the long dry spell, the lagoon was crystal clear and full of life. But with the return of the rains, something else has returned too – the brown, filamentous mats of Lyngbya. It’s not seaweed, it’s a cyanobacterium, and when it takes hold it smothers coral and rubble alike. The reef’s way of showing us that every drop of water, from tank to tide, is connected.

Nov 8, 2025
Aglow among the spines
Oct 25, 2025
Aglow among the spines
Oct 25, 2025

Ever seen a sea urchin that seems to glow blue from the shadows? That’s Diadema savignyi showing off its reef shimmer. Beautiful, a little spiky, and definitely not to be messed with.

Oct 25, 2025
The funky seventies sea slug – Halgerda willeyi
Oct 15, 2025
The funky seventies sea slug – Halgerda willeyi
Oct 15, 2025

If ever a sea slug was channeling the 1970s, it’s Halgerda willeyi. With its groovy orange lines and chocolate-brown bumps, it looks straight out of a vintage lounge suite – the kind with shag pile carpet and bold floral cushions. Proof that nature was nailing retro design long before humans caught on.

Oct 15, 2025
Haddon's barometer
Oct 5, 2025
Haddon's barometer
Oct 5, 2025

This Haddon’s anemone has been quietly living in the middle of Norfolk Island’s Emily Bay for years, bleaching and recovering with the seasons. Like corals, sea anemones host microscopic algae that provide most of their food. When stressed by heat or rainfall changes, they lose colour – and tell a story about seasonal changes to the weather.

Oct 5, 2025
Honoured to be featured
Sep 30, 2025
Honoured to be featured
Sep 30, 2025

I left school in the UK nearly 50 years ago, so it was a pleasant surprise to be invited to share some images and take part in an interview for an article about my work, to be published in the annual glossy magazine the school now produces. Here is the end product.

Sep 30, 2025
Celebrating Biodiversity Month on Norfolk Island
Sep 7, 2025
Celebrating Biodiversity Month on Norfolk Island
Sep 7, 2025

September is Biodiversity Month – the perfect time to celebrate the astonishing variety of life on Norfolk Island’s reef. From new fish sightings to coral mosaics, every observation is a reminder of how much there is still to learn and protect.

Read more about why biodiversity matters, globally and right here in our lagoon.

Sep 7, 2025

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