Griffith Uni Dive Club and the Amazing Solitary Islands

One of many grey nurse sharks in front of the amazing Manta Arch.

By Ryan Pearson

This past weekend myself and 7 other lucky divers ventured a few hours south to Coffs Harbour to dive the Solitary Islands with Banana Coast Divers and boy were we in for a treat! The swell forecast was ominous for both days, but that didn't stop us jumping on the boat and heading out. It did prevent us from getting out to South Solitary Island on the first day, so we found ourselves diving at Split Solitary. The second day we got to South Solitary and were treated to one of the nicest days on and under the water anyone could hope for. Here's some pics from the trip.

Ryan's Technicolour Dream Critter List

Me, surrounded by whale sharks at Oslob, Cebu, Philippines, during my favourite underwater encounter so far. Photo: DD Virkki.

By Ryan Pearson

When I first embarked on my long-term love affair with the underwater world, I didn't really know what to expect, nor did I really have any goals as to what I wanted to see underwater. 200+ dives, and thousands of photographs later, my thoughts have changed. Here I present an ever evolving list of the critters I really think everyone should experience being in the water with (i.e. those that I have seen, and those that I still haven't checked off my list).

Melbourne feat. Flinder's Pier and the Amazing Weedy Sea Dragons

Weedy Sea Dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus). Photo: Ryan Pearson

By Ryan Pearson

I went on a 10 day trip to Melbourne for my first temperate water dives and a hunt for some Weedy Sea Dragons. Not everything went to plan, but it was still an awesome trip either way.

Gold Coast Seaway at Dusk

Red-Netted Chromodoris (Chromodoris tinctoria). Photo: Ryan Pearson

By Ryan Pearson

Wow, it's been a while. I've been busy with finishing uni and trips to Melbourne and Mon Repos... but that's not what I want to talk about here. I've just been for a dusk dive in the Gold Coast Seaway. It was far from the greatest dive ever, and I didn't get any of the stonefish mating I'd hoped for, but I still saw some interesting stuff. 

For the Greater Good: A Call To Remove Unnecessary Shark Control Methods

By Ryan Pearson 

In a world where man has negatively impacted so many facets of the natural environment just to feed the planets vast human population, I pose the question “How is it justifiable to decimate entire populations of marine species to protect our leisurely pursuits?” Looking into the future, the rapidly expanding human population is likely to have more and more seemingly unavoidable impacts on natural systems through things like climate change, over-fishing, eutrophication, and the input of anthropogenic pollutants (Ricel and Garcia, 2011). It is clear that many necessary human endeavours will have some significant negative impacts, with potentially dire repercussions for the state of the entire planet. Research indicates that by 2050, a 50% increase in fishery production from 2011 levels will be required just to feed the human population (Ricel and Garcia, 2011).  This is a figure that many agree the oceans simply can’t hope to support. Despite a general awareness of these impacts, humans often campaign for and implement further destructive mechanisms that are not necessary for the survival of our species, but may have dire consequences for others. Shark control programs are one such example.

The Magical Mystery Dive

Divers DD and Amanda try to shoot our friendly green turtle at the cleaning station. Photo: Ryan Pearson

By Ryan Pearson

Today was the first ever Griffith University Dive Club Mystery Dive. 10 people jumped in the bus at 5am with only one person (me) knowing where we were headed. We ended up going out on Supercat with Nautilus to Flinders Reef. What a fun day!

The Goods in the Bad

Sad Seahorse (Hippocampus tristis). Photo: Ryan Pearson

By Ryan Pearson

Well, the dive conditions dropped off today. After a few 20m+ visibility days, the vis dropped to about 5m today thanks to a strong NW wind... BUT... this was one of my most successful photography days in a while. I'm pretty happy with the result, and here they are so I hope you enjoy...

Things that Bubble in the Night

Common Sydney Octopus (Octopus tetricus). Photo: Ryan Pearson

By Ryan Pearson

I just got back from an amazing night dive in the Gold Coast Seaway. Clear water, minimal current, and there were molluscs everywhere. Octopus, nudibranchs, bubble shells and more. Here are the pics.

Please Don't Ruin Our Seaway and Spit

Me on yesterday's dive in the Gold Coast Seaway surrounded by Bigeye Trevally. Photo: Ian Banks

By Ryan Pearson

What an amazing place the Gold Coast Spit and Seaway is! This weekend I was down there early Saturday morning to help shoot a documentary on the area, and then on Sunday afternoon I was back for a cheeky little afternoon dive (partly to help wash away a hint of a hangover, but that's beside the point). Both were very successful days, and the Spit was buzzing with both life and leisure on both visits... how could the Gold Coast possibly do without this amazing area? And why should we have to?

Heron Island and the Amazing Marine Biology Field Course

Frank Vorster and Nick Yabsley hard at 'Work'. Photo: Ryan Pearson

By Ryan Pearson

Wow! What a week. Thank you Dr. Tim Stevens and Griffith University for giving us this opportunity. It was a great mix of hard work and harder play. The amount of times I heard the words 'fantastic' and 'beautiful' were off the scale, and they weren't exaggerations. Truly an amazing experience that has topped off my uni experience in my final semester. Here are the stories of the week... and a bunch of pics.