Gippsland Lakes Monitoring  

“A little bit of passion will get you a long way,” says Don Love from the Friends of Beware Reef diving group that over the last three years has been diving, monitoring and photographing the amazing underwater world of the Gippsland Lakes. 

Don along with colleagues John Ariens, Alan Wilkins and Ben Love have covered large areas of the Gippsland Lakes to help more fully understand the dynamic and challenging nature of the environment that lies below the water. 

“It’s a bit of an unknown treasure for a lot of people so I hope the work we’ve been doing will help people realise just how special the Gippsland Lakes are and also, perhaps not take them so much for granted,” added Don. 

The volunteer group received just over $22,000 through the Gippsland Lakes Community Grants funded by the Victorian State Government to document the underwater world of the Gippsland Lakes. In particular, the Friends group was tasked with developing a photo database of marine fish and invertebrates living among seagrass beds and rock structures in the Lakes. 

However, it hasn’t all been seahorses and the supporting cast from ‘Finding Nemo’ says fellow diver Alan Wilkins who recalls the dive that noted the first sighting of the invasive pest the Northern Pacific Seastar. 

“I think we all felt a bit sick on seeing a seastar for the first time in the Lakes in 2015. It’s just such a nasty pest that destroys the local environment and has the potential to breed up so quickly,” says Alan. 

When the seastar was again found in the Lakes earlier this year there has been determined effort to remove them with the Friends of Beware Reef divers as well as State Government agencies getting behind the push. 

“We’re hopeful that we’ve at least put a halt to the seastar incursion if not completely eradicated them from the Lakes environment”, concluded Alan. 

The initial discovery of the seastar saw a speedy response from the Victorian Government’s Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR), as well as a research project in partnership with RMIT 

Principal Officer Invasive Marine Species from Agriculture Victoria, Dr Richard Stafford-Bell says it was important for government to act swiftly with the assistance of contractors and members of the Lakes community such as the Friends of Beware Reef team. 

“It was important that once the seastar was again identified as being in the Lakes, that government became involved with the resources that we had available. The Friends of Beware Reef team have been a massive help to the government over the past months. Looking to the future, community awareness and involvement alongside government interventions where necessary is the best model to work to if we want to keep this pest out of the Gippsland Lakes.”  

While the seastar discovery might lead one to think the project has a pessimistic outlook, the truth is completely the opposite. 

“The photographs and mapping we have been able to do is simply amazing,” says Don with an obvious and appropriate level of pride. 

“When people see the photos of things like the Giant Spider Crab, colourful sea slugs (Nudibranchs) and Pipefish, they assume the pictures were taken in Queensland or some other tropical setting rather than the, often overlooked, Gippsland Lakes. 

“There is such a bustling, dynamic world under the waters that people simply aren’t aware of. In coming months, we hope to be able to catalogue and share the images we’ve captured with the broader community. We’re confident that they will not simply inform and educate people but also fundamentally change the way people think about the Gippsland Lakes. 

“This is a living, dynamic, exciting and wonderful environment that for many of us is quite literally on our doorstep. By knowing more about it through this project as well as others funded by the Gippsland Lakes Coordinating Committee, we’re confident that attitudes and behaviours towards the Lakes will change,” concluded Don. 

The Friends Group has conducted more than 200 dives since 2016 throughout the year at more than 60 sites ranging from Sperm Whale Head through to Lakes Entrance. 

This project was funded by the Victorian State Government for the health of the Gippsland Lakes.