<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <title>Andrew Newton Underwater Photography Articles&gt;</title> <meta name="keywords" content="underwater, 3d underwater, photography, St Leonards Pier, Victoria, Andrew Newton, Virginia Newton, Newton, Geelong, andyandvirg, seahorse, nudibranch, seadragon, temperate diving, scuba, diving, Queenscliff, Cottage by the sea, shore diving, Port Phillip Bay, Nikon Coolpix 5000, Nikonos V, Inon Z220"> <meta name="description" content="Underwater photos from Southern Australia. Photographers Andrew and Virginia Newton"> </head> <body topmargin="0"> <font face="arial"> </font> <center> <table border="0" width="600"> <tbody> <tr> <td><br> <h2>Submarine stargazing at The Heads</h2> Written by Amy Wise - Raw Words, for Reefwatch <br> <br> <div style="text-align: justify;">Andrew Newton, of East Geelong, often goes diving in The Rip, off Queenscliff, where a cavernous gorge runs through Port Phillip Heads. The ancient underwater valley stretches for about a kilometre into Port Phillip Bay, and one section, the &lsquo;Lonsdale Wall&rsquo;, provides spectacular wall diving with wildly coloured sponge gardens more colourful than any coral reef. <br> <br> A passionate diver and underwater photographer, Andrew invariably takes notes and photos. He has snaps of the pouting Western Blue Devilfish, with its vivid sapphire body and iridescent blue spots. A favourite with scuba divers, the Port Phillip Heads population of Blue Devilfish is thought to be the largest in Victoria. <br> <br> Recently Andrew photographed small yellow Sea Spiders. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the first time I&rsquo;ve photographed them, even though there&rsquo;s plenty in our temperate waters,&rdquo; he says. <br> <br> For as long as he&rsquo;s been diving, Andrew has documented the species he sees underwater, but now that he&rsquo;s involved with Reef Watch Victoria, his notes take on new meaning. <br> <br> Andrew heard about Reef Watch at a local dive club, and his interest was piqued when he realised he could contribute to science by doing what he loves &ndash; underwater photography. Reef Watch is non-profit and encourages volunteer divers and snorkellers to observe marine life at their favourite underwater sites. Volunteers monitor and report on seasonal changes in plants and animals, gather information about the distribution and abundance of key species, and report any unusual sightings such as marine pests, illegal fishing or dumping. <br> <br> Reef Watch has been supported over the past two years by Coast Action/Coastcare, which is jointly funded by the Australian Government&rsquo;s Natural Heritage Trust, and the Victorian Government. The Trust has provided $140,000 in funding for the development of monitoring kits which are crucial for volunteers like Andrew to accurately identify marine species such as algae, seagrasses, invertebrates and fish. <br> <br> Andrew&rsquo;s photographic skills are valuable to the program, which is currently developing a Nudibranch and Flatworm photographic atlas for the Bass Strait region. The species are not well known in southern Australia, and much can be learnt about them from colour images. When a call was put out for photographers willing to share underwater photos with the project, Andrew was quick to agree, and so far has contributed 20 photos. He is fond of taking pictures of the colourful Nudibranch or marine mollusc because of the wide variety of species to be found &ndash; over 350 inhabit Victorian waters. <br> <br> But Andrew is quick to point out the mutual benefits of Reef Watch. <br> <br> &ldquo;When I can&rsquo;t identify a species I&rsquo;ll send a photo to the coordinator, who is in contact with experts from Museum Victoria. They are world experts and great people to know,&rdquo; Andrew says. <br> <br> One of the species Andrew has identified with the help of his monitoring kit is the Eastern Stargazer, a large fish that lies buried and motionless in the sand save for its eyes and mouth. Unsuspecting fish and crustaceans are ambushed as the Stargazer lunges upward to consume them in its cavernous mouth. <br> <br> &ldquo;Stargazers have the most hideous face you can imagine,&rdquo; Andrew says, as if this is a good thing. <br> <br> Volunteers who report unusual sightings provide researchers with an early detection system that can strengthen decision-making. Andrew recalls not long after he joined Reef Watch he began to notice fewer Seahorses under St Leonards pier, another favourite diving spot. &ldquo;I would often see up to five in a single dive, when suddenly I couldn&rsquo;t find any,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Now I&rsquo;m lucky to spot one every couple of months. Other volunteers have noticed the same thing in other parts of the Bay.&rdquo; <br> <br> Reef Watch coordinator Wendy Roberts says Andrew is one of 221 Reef Watchers from around Victoria who have carried out 208 surveys at 45 sites along the coast. Sites being monitored by volunteers are increasing as people become aware of the program and offer their time to record information about the species and habitats they see on their dives. <br> <br> She says volunteers can use the Reef Watch kits to monitor marine habitats other than reefs, such as sponge gardens, seagrass beds, kelp forests or sandy ocean floors, all of which are captivating in their own way. (<br> <br> &ldquo;Victorians are incredibly lucky to have such an amazing variety of marine species living on their doorstep,&rdquo; Wendy enthuses. &ldquo;Marine habitats found off south-eastern Australia support unique animal and plant communities that are found nowhere else in the world. <br> <br> &ldquo;For instance, of the 60 species of seagrass found on earth, 16 of these grow in the cool waters around southern Australia, and eight of these are found off Victoria&rsquo;s coast. Seagrasses are full of nutrients and provide food and shelter for marine life including calamari, flathead and leatherjacket.&rdquo; <br> <br> Reef Watch is planning an exciting new annual event called the Great Victorian Fish Count. The weekend event will require divers to carry out fish surveys at particular reefs along Victoria&rsquo;s coast to create a &lsquo;snapshot&rsquo; of the health and distribution of key species. <br> <br> Wendy says that certain species will be targeted for the count in order to gauge either their distribution, the impact of fishing on their numbers or purely for interest. <br> <br> &ldquo;The Blue Throated Wrasse, for instance, is a species of fish that we will be asking divers to look out for during the fish count. There are concerns that this species is under pressure from line and spear fishing,&rdquo; Wendy says. <br> <br> &ldquo;There is a somewhat bizarre reason for its vulnerability. These fish begin life as female, and may change to male at some point in life, accompanied by changes in colour and behaviour. They will travel around in a harem consisting of 10-15 females and a single male. If something happens to the male, the largest of the females will change into a male and take over his role. <br> <br> &ldquo;The problem some scientists are observing is that the larger females in these harems are also being taken by fisheries, and it is unlikely a smaller female will change sex, leaving no male to ensure the future of the harem.&rdquo; <br> <br> The inaugural Great Victorian Fish Count is expected to take place later in 2005. <br> <br> Other organisations supportive of Reef Watch include the Australian Marine Conservation Society, the Marine and Coastal Community Network, Museum Victoria and the Victorian National Parks Association. <br> <br> For more information contact the Reef Watch Coordinator, Wendy Roberts on (03) 8341 7446 or visit <a href="http://www.reefwatchvic.asn.au">www.reefwatchvic.asn.au</a></div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </center> </body> </html>