We’ve had more than 55 years of warnings, reports and alarm bells about the water quality entering ‘pristine’ Emily and Slaughter Bays, so we know exactly what is harming our marine ecosystem. Now we just have to fix it.

What has taken me down the path from a day job as a writer, editor and communicator to creating a website about Norfolk Island’s coral reef habitat? The story of how and why norfolkislandreef.com.au came into being.

This week in Out on a Swim I quickly sum up the problems around the use of unsafe sunscreens that contain chemicals such as oxybenzone. These can cause ecological ruination to coral reefs and to the fish that call these reefs home. Read more here.

This week in the Norfolk Island lagoons saw some old friends return and some new (to me) visitors that appeared in Emily Bay for the first time. I also paid a visit to the more exposed Cemetery Bay for the first time since the storms went through.

The first time I saw these glitzy glamour bubbles I had no idea what I was looking at, so I took a photo and went home to do some digging. A little research uncovered a really cool organism. Commonly known as a dead sailor’s eyeballs, or bubble algae, they shine like small mirrors, catching the light. But the BEST bit about these bubbles is that they are one of the largest single-celled organisms in the world.

Underwater, feather caulerpa, Caulerpa taxifolia, looks like a gorgeous, lush, green meadow.

Today is Bounty Day here on Norfolk Island. It’s a day of celebration for Norfolk Islanders of Pitcairn descent – the day when, in 1856, their forbears first arrived on the island. Sadly, in the water, we have had some parts of the reef destroyed by huge surf. On the upside, the circle of life continues with some great observations, including large numbers of surge wrasse, Thalassoma purpureum, and much more.

Today is the first day of winter with cool winds blowing straight up from Antarctica. Many readers will laugh, but for a sub-tropical island, we are really feeling the wind chill at the moment. However, as always, I have some exciting observations to recount.

This week, I’ve been able to add three new parrotfish species to the Reef Fish page of this website: Pacific Bullethead Parrotfish - Chlorurus spilurus; Palenose parrotfish - Scarus psittacus; Surf parrotfish - Scarus rivulatus.

Like many places around the globe, Norfolk Island has its issues with getting rid of waste. Even so, Norfolk Island is one of the cleanest places I’ve seen; however, we know we can’t be complacent. So, back in February 2021, it was gut-wrenching to see a couple of sand mullet – Myxus elongatus – wearing plastic collars – those rings found on plastic juice and milk bottles. Sometimes these rings escape into the wild, and this is the sad consequence.

I thought I’d have a bit of fun and post some of my favourite images of fish as they look at me head on. It’s such a beautiful perspective, and one that often makes you wonder what they are thinking. Enjoy!

Parrotfish eat algae and coral polyps, and to get at these they chow down on the hard coral skeletons. More teeth in their throat (plates known as a pharyngeal mill) grind the coral into a paste so they can extract the nutritious coral polyps and algae. What comes out the other end is beautiful white sand. A lot of it!

What a cool name for a fish, the piano fangblenny! It is more properly known as Plagiotremus tapeinosoma. Many snorkellers will know them first by their little nip as they hit and run! Once you’ve seen them and experienced them that first time, you know to shoo them away to avoid another nibble!