Great Southern Reef Foundation

Great Southern Reef Foundation Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Great Southern Reef Foundation, Nonprofit Organization, Portsea.

Fringing 8,000km of Australia's southern coastline, the Great Southern Reef (GSR) is an interconnected system of kelp forests that support Australia’s most valuable fisheries, unique species, iconic surf breaks, and celebrated coastal culture.

We’re hiring a Media & Storytelling Officer to help more Australians understand and care about the Great Southern Reef.T...
20/08/2026

We’re hiring a Media & Storytelling Officer to help more Australians understand and care about the Great Southern Reef.

This role sits at the intersection of marine science, storytelling and journalism. You’ll work with researchers, communities and project partners to find stories emerging from science, expeditions, conservation and policy, then develop them into editorial content and media opportunities.

We’re looking for someone who can:
• Recognise a strong story and find the angle that will engage people�• Translate complex marine science into clear, accurate content�• Work confidently with researchers, communities and partners�• Pitch stories, build media relationships and secure coverage

Role details:
• Part-time, 0.4 FTE or 15 hours per week
• Remote, anywhere within Australia
• Initial six-month contract, with strong potential to continue and grow

Experience in journalism, science communication, media, communications or public relations is highly regarded.

Marine, environmental or conservation experience would be a strong advantage.

Full details and applications via Ethical Jobs:�https://www.ethicaljobs.com.au/members/greatsouthernreeffoundation/media-and-storytelling-officer-remote-work-from-home?keywords=great%20southern%20reef

Please share this with anyone who may be a good fit.

18/08/2026

The cameras went down. The jackasses showed up.

Earlier this week, we shared a glimpse of the deep shelf reefs west of King Island in the Zeehan marine park.

One fish dominated the footage.

Jackass morwong appeared in 94% of 292 baited underwater camera deployments across Zeehan Marine Park and contributed the greatest estimated biomass of any fish recorded.

Footage credit: IMAS, Parks Australia

16/08/2026

The Great Southern Reef is best known for the kelp forests fringing Australia’s southern coastline. But reef habitat does not end where the kelp disappears.

Far offshore, low limestone reefs and large rocky blocks rise from broad plains of sand and mud. West of King Island, this rarely seen terrain stretches across Tasmania’s continental shelf and through Zeehan Marine Park.

To find out what lives there, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies researchers lowered baited underwater cameras from their vessel, sending them through more than 200 metres of water to the seafloor.

Footage Credit: IMAS, Parks Australia

13/08/2026

For many Aussies, what lies beneath the surface remains out of sight and often out of mind.

That is what the Great Southern Reef Foundation is working to change. Through storytelling, films, education, research communication and community engagement, we help bring the reef into view and show how each local reef forms part of a much larger system.

We have seen awareness grow and attitudes shift over the years, but there is still a long way to go.

As we share this third and final clip from ConnectSci’s It Starts With podcast, we thank our funding partners, sponsors, supporters, GSR Friends and everyone who helps make this work possible.

11/08/2026

How do kelp forests help keep coastal waters healthy?

In this second clip from ConnectSci’s It Starts With podcast, GSRF Chair Dr Scott Bennett explains how kelp forests and other temperate marine habitats contribute to nutrient cycling across much of Australia’s naturally low-nutrient coastline.

Listen to the full 25-minute episode “The Great Southern Reef: Australia's Hidden Rival to the Great Barrier Reef” via ConnectSci.

09/08/2026

What does it feel like to swim through a giant kelp forest? Great Southern Reef Foundation Chair Dr. Scott Bennett knows the feeling well.

He recently joined David Boldeman on the ConnectSci News It Starts With podcast for a 25-minute conversation about kelp forests and the Great Southern Reef.

The conversation was wide-ranging, covering what the Great Southern Reef is, why many Australians still do not know its name, and how kelp forests support marine life, fisheries and coastal communities.

Scott also talks about climate change, marine heatwaves, reef restoration and the importance of public awareness for the future of Australia’s temperate reefs.

07/08/2026

Rare grey morph Southern Right Whale spotted in Spencer Gulf.

Yorke Peninsula fisher Callum Hibbard experienced a rare grey morph Southern Right Whale at remarkably close range after it approached his boat while he was drift fishing about 15 kilometres off Port Hughes.

The whale circled Callum’s drifting 6.2 metre boat for about 10 minutes before slowly cruising away to the southwest.

“It was a surreal experience, a real mix of excitement and disbelief,” Callum said.

“I was blown away by how gentle and inquisitive it was, and how comfortable it was staying around the boat for so long. I don’t think the footage truly captures its size and physical presence.”

Grey morphism is an inherited pigmentation pattern, not albinism. These whales are born mostly white with dark markings and gradually become mottled grey or brown as they mature. Research from well-studied populations suggests around 3.5 to 5 per cent of calves are born as full grey morphs, with most believed to be male.

Elizabeth Steele-Collins from Encounter Whales believes this individual is likely a juvenile, possibly a yearling, although its age and s*x have not been confirmed.

Grey morphs retain distinctive body markings as they darken, providing researchers with additional identification features alongside the individual pattern of callosities on the head. Elizabeth says Callum’s footage provides near-perfect photo-ID views and is now checking it against records of white calves from the 2025 season.

Callum did not approach the whale. It approached his boat while he was drift fishing. He handled the encounter sensitively, remaining quiet and allowing the whale to control the interaction.

Boats must not deliberately approach within 100 metres of a whale, or within 300 metres of a whale with a calf. Within South Australia’s designated Whale Nursery Protection Areas, the 300-metre minimum approach distance applies to all whales. If a whale chooses to approach, stay calm, keep noise and movement to a minimum and never follow or pursue it.

🎥 Footage supplied by Callum Hibbard

A thumb-sized fish collected about 50 metres deep near the entrance to South Australia’s Spencer Gulf has been described...
04/08/2026

A thumb-sized fish collected about 50 metres deep near the entrance to South Australia’s Spencer Gulf has been described as a new species: Australyichthys aegis.

It looks remarkably like a seahorse, with a downward-facing head, grasping tail and enclosed male brood pouch. But micro-CT scans and genetic analysis showed that it belongs to a separate evolutionary lineage. Its seahorse-like features evolved independently.

The species joins two fishes previously classified as seahorses in the newly recognised genus Australyichthys. Researchers nicknamed them “Sea Muppets” because their domed heads and fleshy lobes recalled characters from The Muppet Show.

The entire genus is known from just seven museum specimens collected over about 65 years, at depths of 50 to 124 metres between Eden and Esperance. No one has ever seen one alive.

Large areas of the Great Southern Reef’s deeper habitats remain poorly surveyed. There may be a whole cast of strange characters still waiting in the wings.

Read the full story: https://greatsouthernreef.com/sea-muppets

02/08/2026

Some of the pressures affecting reefs are difficult to detect using a single monitoring method.

New collaborative research from the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and CSIRO shows how environmental DNA complements established reef monitoring methods, revealing different patterns of reef biodiversity associated with environmental and pollution gradients.

Combining these approaches can provide a more complete understanding of reef ecosystems and improve how we monitor and protect the Great Southern Reef.

Paper title: Contrasting pollution sensitivity for temperate reef assemblages revealed by microhabitat-resolved eDNA, algal sampling and visual surveys

“We can’t manage what we can’t measure.”Worldwide, shallow reefs face increasing pressure from fishing, ocean warming, h...
28/07/2026

“We can’t manage what we can’t measure.”

Worldwide, shallow reefs face increasing pressure from fishing, ocean warming, harmful algal blooms and other human impacts. Long-term monitoring helps us understand how these ecosystems are changing and how well our management responses are working.

A major upgrade to Reef Life Survey Foundation (RLS)'s Reef Life Explorer has launched today, giving marine managers, researchers and the public a new way to examine how reef ecosystems are changing.

For the first time, users can directly compare ecological trends inside and outside protected areas using a standardised approach.

The new Marine Protected Area Time Series Layer draws on decades of monitoring, with some reef sites surveyed continuously since the 1990s.

The interactive platform brings together decades of standardised underwater monitoring data from more than 36,000 surveys across 4,800 reef sites worldwide. Users can explore reef health indicators, track changes through time and compare ecological trends inside and outside marine protected areas.

For the Great Southern Reef, the new layer allows users to explore long-term ecological trends across marine protected areas and compare changes inside parks with nearby unprotected reefs.

The upgrade was developed by IMAS researchers working with Parks Australia and Reef Life Survey.

Address

Portsea, VIC

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Great Southern Reef Foundation posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Great Southern Reef Foundation:

Shortcuts

Share

Category