Marine Events Calendar

May 2012

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- Giant Cuttlefish Spawning Ends
Giant Cuttlefish Spawning Ends
Starts: 30th Sep, 12:00AM
Ends: 30th Sep, 12:00AM

Every year between the months of May and September, thousands of Giant Australian Cuttlefish (Sepia apama) descend on the rocky coastline between Fitzgerald Bay and False Bay. These amazing ‘chameleons of the sea’ are one of the largest species of cuttlefish found in the world; and can reach up to 60 cm in length and can weigh up to 5kg.
The migration by these majestic creatures to these waters is for the sole purpose of spawning. During these months, the female attaches her eggs to the underside of the rocky ledges around the area. The male then fertilises these eggs, which hatch a couple of months later. The males can only reproduce once, and as with the females die not long after.

For more information please visit www.whallacuttlefish.com
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- Humpback Whale Migration continues
Humpback Whale Migration continues
Starts: 3rd Oct, 12:00AM
Ends: 30th Nov, 12:00AM

Each year several southern humpback whale groups leave their feeding grounds in the Antarctic to begin their epic voyage of approximately 10,000 Kilometres. One of the groups travel up along the eastern seaboard of Australia, passing Cape Byron on their way to their birthing and mating grounds in the sub tropical waters of the Great Barrier Reef beyond Hervey Bay.

For more information visit www.oceania.org.au
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- Great White Shark Season Ends
Great White Shark Season Ends
Starts: 29th Oct, 12:00AM
Ends: 29th Nov, 12:00AM

The Great White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias.
The great white shark is the world's largest known predatory fish. It is the only surviving species of its genus, Carcharodon.

There are two prime seasons for viewing Great White Sharks at the Neptune Islands in South Australia.
The first of these is the summer season where thousands of fur seals congregate for their annual pupping and breeding season. Peak shark activity starts in December and usually lasts well into the month of February.

The main viewing season however, is from May through to October. This is a time when the growing seal pups that were born in the summer start to venture out further from the safety of the shore and hunt for themselves. This provides a natural food source for the sharks to target and as a result this time of year we witness more natural predation events.

For more information visit www.rodneyfox.com.au
John & Andy take a trip to South Australia View ‘A Great White Adventure’
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- Coral Spawning on the Great Barrier Reef
Coral Spawning on the Great Barrier Reef
Starts: 1st Nov, 12:00AM
Ends: 16th Dec, 12:00AM

Annual coral orgies, the simultaneous mass spawning of corals on the Great Barrier Reef was first scientifically observed in 1981 and is a great reason to night dive from a liveaboard boat during November and December. Coral spawning is now the focus of international research however nature cannot be totally predicted.

The process begins 6 months before when eggs and sperm begin to form inside the coral polyps. For spawning to take place, water temperatures must be 27 degrees or more. But corals need a specific cue so they can release eggs and sperm into the water at exactly the same time. That cue is November's full moon and on the 2nd to 6th night following the full moon the majority of corals spawn.

Spawning is timed to coincide with periods when there are minimum tidal movements, which allows the sex's time to find representatives from the same species and mix and match before being swept away. Some years there is 'split' spawn with corals in shallow warmer inshore reefs performing in November while those in colder waters on the outer reefs, spawn in December.

For more information visit www.prodive-cairns.com.au
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Marine Events Calendar

Giant Cuttlefish Spawning Ends

Humpback Whale Migration continues

Great White Shark Season Ends

Coral Spawning on the Great Barrier Reef