MOUA / Museum of Underwater Art

23/08/2026

For the end of National Science Week we shine a spotlight on a species found at MOUA and John Brewer Reef: the Sixband Parrotfish (Scarus frenatus) 🐠

This is the most observed species in our iNaturalist project “Citizen science at MOUA, John Brewer Reef”, with a whopping 151 observations so far!

This fish can grow up to almost 50cm and changes s*x from male to female during their life cycle (like most parrotfish). They’re also not just a pretty face, they play an important role as “grazers” on the reef, keeping algae growth down to allow corals to flourish!

We encourage you to join iNaturalist and bring your underwater camera (or hire one) next time you come out to MOUA, to help us record the incredible species on our vibrant reef and contribute to citizen science 🪸

See you out there!

🔗 Sign up for iNaturalist here https://www.inaturalist.org/signup
🤿 Book your reef trip today with Adrenalin Dive

Reef Ecologic

18/08/2026

We are excited to announce that MOUA Board Director Adam Smith and Executive Officer Sarah Hodgson have recently been recognised as iNaturalist Ambassadors, alongside Rachelle Brown from Reef Check Australia.

It is great to see their involvement and advocacy recognised, and we are sure they will continue to support our efforts in citizen science.

Learn more about the iNaturalist Ambassador Program here: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/ambassadors

See the Media Release here: https://www.moua.com.au/citizen-science

Reef Ecologic iNaturalist.org JCU: James Cook University, Australia Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Australian Institute of Marine Science MICDA Australian Rural Leadership Foundation

17/08/2026

Happy National Science Week!!!

To start off this week, we want to shine a spotlight on a recent annual citizen science event run by Reef Ecologic that MOUA / Museum of Underwater Art was involved in: the World Ocean Day ReefBlitz!

This was an event run from 1-8th June, encouraging the community to get into the water and observe and record as many marine species as possible using the iNaturalist.org citizen science platform.

The aim of ReefBlitz is to raise awareness and connection to the reef by engaging the community in marine citizen science, to monitor and protect coral reefs and coastal ecosystems.

We got an impressive 2,026 observations of 672 species, by 193 observers and 252 identifiers!

19.9% (or 403) observations from this project came from John Brewer Reef! Considering the ReefBlitz project covered most of Queensland waters, this is an incredible effort from visitors to this site.

We encourage you to get involved in citizen science, organise your own field trip, or join us at our next ReefBlitz event!

See the project here: https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/reefblitz-queensland-2026

JCU: James Cook University, Australia Inspiring Australia Queensland Australian Citizen Science Association

31/07/2026

We had an unforgettable day out to MOUA on the 7th June with Mission Beach Dive and Adrenalin Dive to celebrate World Ocean Day!

We were joined by ~70 ocean lovers snorkelling and diving at the beautiful John Brewer Reef, exploring our breathtaking underwater museum and helping us with coral out-planting!

Corals were relocated from our tree sculptures (beginning to fall over from the weight of impressive coral growth) to the Coral Greenhouse, to allow continued growth and future monitoring.

Attendees also contributed to citizen science, using iNaturalist.org to record marine life and provide valuable data to increase biodiversity knowledge and support reef conservation efforts.

This dive was made extra special as we were joined by the artist of MOUA Jason deCaires Taylor, who got to revisit his sculptures at MOUA for the first time in a number of years, and see all the recent coral growth!

The event was a great conclusion to a phenomenal week celebrating World Ocean Day, and we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who joined and supported us!

Photo credit: Matt Curnock and Jason deCaires Taylor

Reef Ecologic Divers for Climate Ocean Imaging by Stefan Andrews Great Southern Reef Foundation Dive in Australia

22/07/2026

We had an incredible night at MOUA’s Art Auction and Science Evening event on 6th June, as part of our World Ocean Day events!

Held in the stunning Townsville Brewing Co. The Banquet Centre, and surrounded by MOUA’s Ocean Art Exhibition, this evening showcased local art and inspired conversations about marine conservation, climate action and collaboration.

The evening began with a Climate Action Panel discussion run by MOUA’s Co-Chair Dr Adam Smith (also CEO of Reef Ecologic), and joined by expert panellists Dr Yolanda Waters (CEO of Divers for Climate), Dr Vanessa Taveras-Dalmau (Founder and Director of Intego) and Stefan Andrews (Creative Director of the Great Southern Reef Foundation). They discussed climate change, values, and actions (both individual and organisational) that we can take to help the reef and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and left us feeling reinvigorated and inspired to take action! Thank you to the panellists for sharing your knowledge and passion with us!

This panel discussion was followed by an announcement of the winners of MOUA’s Ocean Art Competition, celebrating the creativity and passion of those who capture the beauty of our reefs.

Then, our Ocean Art Auction was hosted by MOUA Executive Officer Sarah Hodgson and auctioneer Peter Stephens, collating 30+ pieces from local Townsville artists, showcasing a diverse collection of ocean-inspired works. This gave attendees the opportunity to support local artists as well as MOUA’s ongoing coral reef conservation and education initiatives!

Included in the auction were a number of MOUA Ocean Sentinel maquettes by internationally acclaimed artist (and the artist of MOUA) Jason deCaires Taylor, who joined us on the night! His sculptures sit out at John Brewer Reef, paying homage to significant figures for the reef.

A huge thank you to all of the talented artists who contributed works to our exhibition and auction, and also thank you to everyone else who helped make this event possible, organisers, volunteers, venue staff, and supporters, as well as to everyone who attended, bid, and contributed: your support makes a real difference. 💙

Tan Lines Distilling Townsville Enterprise Townsville City Council JCU: James Cook University, Australia

20/07/2026

We are thrilled to announce a transformative five-year partnership between the Museum of Underwater Art and STEM Changemakers, catalysed by a prestigious $2 million grant from the Australian Government's Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

This powerful collaboration will merge world-class marine science, public art, and targeted education to increase the reach, scale and impact of STEM Changemakers programs!

STEM Changemakers aims to empower underrepresented girls in regional, rural and remote Queensland, and transform their future career aspirations by connecting them with local STEM industry mentors to solve authentic regional problems.

Learn more about the partnership here: https://www.moua.com.au/stem-changemakers

Media release: https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/t-ayres/media/97-million-support-more-women-and-girls-stem

Reef Ecologic JCU: James Cook University, Australia

07/07/2026

We have been fortunate to have the ABC supporting and promoting our work at MOUA over the last month, with a radio interview in World Ocean Week, and a story following our field trip to MOUA on Sunday 7th June!

Michael Clark at ABC North Queensland interviewed Adam Smith, Sarah Hodgson, and JCU: James Cook University, Australia intern Niveditha Jayachandran on Tuesday June 2nd, and Emily Anderson from ABC Brisbane interviewed Adam and did a story from our boat on Sunday 7th.

These stories discussed the power of citizen science, and encouraged people to get involved through platforms like iNaturalist.org, and attend our ReefBlitz event and our other World Ocean Day events.

They also highlighted the coral transplanting we were doing on the 7th, moving corals growing “too well” on our tree sculptures (bending some of the sculptures) to sturdier areas of the Coral Greenhouse and planter boxes so they can continue to thrive.

Thank you to the ABC for helping us promote our events, and share our work with citizen science and positive reef stories!

You can listen to the radio interview here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/northqld-breakfast/breakfast/106740188?utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared (at 1:14:30), and watch the ABC News story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxb9lkJWrRs

ABC News ABC News

This World Ocean Day, scientists are focusing on the Great Barrier ...

06/07/2026

We had a great day at Magnetic Island for our ReefBlitz event on Saturday 7th June with Pleasure Divers Magnetic Island!

Over 40 excited snorkellers and divers joined us for a day of citizen science and exploring the reef at Alma Bay, and we even had some students from Southern Cross Catholic College join us too!

Participants learned about the local marine life and where to find them, and it was great to hear from the Reef Ecologic and MOUA / Museum of Underwater Art teams about World Ocean Day, citizen science and our ReefBlitz project!

We saw lots of coral, fish, some rays and even a small squid out in the bay, and uploaded observations to iNaturalist.org from this event.

Thank you to everyone who joined us on the day, added observations, and contributed to a deeper understanding of the marine life and biodiversity of the reef!

If you took photos of marine life at this event (or anywhere in Queensland waters from 1-8th June) and haven’t managed to upload your sightings to iNaturalist yet - don’t worry it’s not too late!

Sign up for iNaturalist here https://www.inaturalist.org/signup and see your observations added to the ReefBlitz project here https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/reefblitz-queensland-2026

We also added some instructions for using iNaturalist in a photo below!

02/07/2026

7NEWS Townsville did a great story on ReefBlitz, MOUA, and World Ocean Day in early June! They interviewed MOUA Director Adam Smith, Executive Officer Sarah Hodgson and Reef Ecologic Intern Maya Petersen, encouraging people to get involved in citizen science through our ReefBlitz event.

Footage from John Brewer Reef and the Yongala shipwreck.



(Please note caption of video from 7 News is incorrect)

30/06/2026

The MOUA Ocean Film Festival held on Friday 5th June was a great success!

We had an amazing selection of Australian and French films from Culture Plus’ Save Our Oceans film selection - on topics including seaweed restoration, marine pollution, and the ways that art can support conservation efforts.

This screening was followed by a panel discussion of experts including Ocean Imaging by Stefan Andrews and Hillarey Jones from the Great Southern Reef Foundation, Yolanda Waters from Divers for Climate, and MOUA’s very own Ocean Sentinel Katharina Fabricius from Australian Institute of Marine Science, discussing science communication and the role that art and storytelling can play in educating and raising awareness of environmental issues.

We ended the night with announcements of the winners of MOUA’s 2026 Photography Competition, which included an incredible selection of photos!

Surrounded by MOUA’s Ocean Art Exhibition and held in the stunning Townsville Brewing Co. The Banquet Centre, this evening inspired conversations about marine conservation, and the powerful intersection of marine science and art.

Thank you to MOUA Directors David Anstee and Kirsty Silbert for running the night, introducing the evening and films, and leading the panel discussion, and to Operators Manager Alec Leitman for your coordination of the Photography Competition and announcements.

Thanks also to everyone who attended this event, we appreciate your support and hope you learned something new!

Townsville Enterprise Flinders Street Wharves Reef Ecologic