Port Phillip Baykeeper

Summer by the Sea 2012 – your chance to connect with the coast

BayKeeper — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:14:22 +0000

For anyone looking for kids holiday activities and keen to connect with the coast on a low budget, Christmas comes in January… January 2nd to 22nd to be precise. During that 3 weeks an incredible range of fun learning opportunities are available through the Summer by the Sea program brought to you by Coastcare Victoria. You get to have fun and meet some amazing marine and coastal critters and the dedicated community members who can tell you all about them.

Sunrise seen from Altona (pic Julia Muniandy)

Baykeeper can’t wait to get out there for the fourth successive year of seashell safaris at selected beaches around the Bay. Who knows what we might find!!? We’ll also be conducting guided foreshore walks to check out the wilder side of St KIlda! Details of these activities can be found on the events page of this website.

If you get tired of all the action, why not just chill out and enjoy the sights of sun and water at play. As you can see from Julia’s sunrise pic (above) they do amazing things together!

The complete Summer by the Sea 2012 holiday program is available online at :- summer by the sea

Cart-rut shells alive and well in Brighton

BayKeeper — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:32:25 +0000

A Baykeeper shoreline shell survey found a large Cart-rut shell (Thais orbita) at Holloway Bend earlier this year, suggesting the species may still live in the area. This species was central to the ban on use of Tributyltin (TBT) as an anti-foulant on vessels less that 25m in Victoria in 1989.

Cart-rut shell: worse for wear but there!

International studies had shown TBT caused female shellfish to grow penises. A high incidence of the condition (known as imposex) had been recorded at Brighton Harbour in the early 1990s, but had reduced after the ban. We were delighted this week to receive photos of several “fist-sized” Cart-rut Shells on a reef offshore of Brighton.

Cart-rut shells on Brighton reef (pic: Steven Putt)

10 years after the ban was introduced, Marine Pollution Bulletin (Volume 42 # 10) reported that the relative penis size index (RPSI) of female Thais orbita in Port Phillip Bay had generally reduced. But the RPSI had increased at Williamstown, indicating that TBT from large vessels, ship maintenance activities, and release from historically contaminated sediments, continued to pollute the area.

The study concluded that while the ban remained, TBT pollution would only threaten ports areas and be unlikely to impact more widely in the Bay. Unfortunately, their study was restricted to a limited number of sites and they didn’t consider the practice of dumping dredged sediments from the Port of Melbourne into the Bay.

Thresher shark on Hampton beach

BayKeeper — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:49:02 +0000

Beachcombers at Hampton scored a rare treat last week with a dead Thresher Shark (Alopias vulpinus) washed up in the shallows.

Sad end for a stunning shark

Thresher Sharks are widespread around the world but are known live mostly in oceans rather than bays and inlets. It’s quite likely this one has followed the schools of snapper that have come into the bay in the past few weeks.

Their name relates to the long tail (almost as long as the body) which they use to stun fish before swallowing.

Without an autopsy (as it has no visible injuries) any suggestions as to why it died would be pure speculation. But they are known to fall victim to the long-line tuna fishing industry. Perhaps it swallowed a hook some time back which has eventually caused death.