Great Barrier Reef Far Northern Reefs Lizard Island Ribbon and Osprey Reef
Yonge Reef Port Douglas Cairns Holmes Reef Townsville Flinders Reef
Outer Coral Sea Whitsunday Islands Swain Reefs
Keppel Islands Heron Island Lady Elliot Island Bundaberg Sunshine Coast
Moreton Bay Gold Coast
The reefs of the Southern Coral Sea differ from their northern neighbours. The corals are generally smaller and not as colourful, there are fewer walls, and most of the diving is on pinnacles and coral gardens.
However, plenty of marine life inhabits the reefs besides the sea snakes with an abundance of turtles, stingrays, reef sharks, gropers, reef and pelagic fish, and invertebrates.
Pioneering in the Southern Coral Sea in the early years of underwater exploration, sea snakes were just part of the scenery and they still are today. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Sea Snakes Galore!
On reefs in the Southern Coral Sea divers will particularly notice the sea snakes; hundreds of them! The reefs in this area support several species of these reptiles, the most common being the olive sea snake. Every dive is full of encounters as they swim around your legs, peer into your mask and even get amorous with your regulator hoses. Although venomous, sea snakes are not aggressive, and will leave you alone after satisfying their curiosity. All the attention may be unnerving at first, but divers soon become used to the snakes and can then concentrate on observing the other interesting marine life in the Southern Coral Sea.
The Olive Sea Snake Aipysurus laevis is certainly the most common sea snake divers encounter. However, depite its reputation this species may be potentially deadly venomous but they are normally not aggressive , just eternally curious. (photo: Neville Coleman)
None of the reefs in the area are regularly dived. To explore these remote reefs, you will have to find a group advertising a trip, or organise one. This is true live-aboard diving, as all the reefs are well over 12 hours from the closest port. Charter boats departing from Airlie Beach, Mackay, Gladstone and Hervey Bay are in the best position to visit these reefs, so they should be contacted about tripos on offer.
Exercising perfect buoyancy control this photographer eases in on a small Ocellate Cat Shark. Buoyancy control is the key element when photographing amongst fragile coral reefs. (photo: Neville Coleman)
The reefs of the Southern Coral Sea differ from their northern neighbours. The corals are generally smaller and not as colourful, there are fewer walls, and most of the diving is on pinnacles and coral gardens. However, plenty of marine life inhabits the reefs besides the sea snakes with an abundance of turtles, stingrays, reef sharks, gropers, reef and pelagic fish, and invertebrates.
For many years I tried to get perfect vertical formation shots of schools of Spangled Emperors Lethrinus nebulosus. This was my best attempt. Nudibranchs are a lot easier.(photo: Neville Coleman)
Marion Reef
Marion Reef is a large atoll some 30 km in diameter, located over 400 km from the mainland. Its large lagoon offers a safe anchorage at the centre with hundreds of pinnacles scattered in depths from 10-60 m. These pinnacles make for great diving and those in deep water have healthy growths of corals. Reef fish are plentiful and pelagic fish such as trevally, barracuda, mackerel and tuna circle the pinnacles. Reef sharks and sea snakes are often seen, and some sharks will come in close for great photos.
The snorkeling photographer here was indeed "jumping out of the water" not jumping in. It ocurred during a Marion Reef shark feed. I was not the most popular photographer of the day, but it must be admitted, when it was taken over 30 years ago, "action shot" was definately, the word!. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Marion Reef also has some exciting wall dives along the outer edge of the reef. These walls have a good coverage of soft corals, gorgonians, sponges and sea whips. The pelagic fish and reef sharks are not usually far off.
Frederick Reef
Frederick Reef is approximately 10 km in length and has extensive coral gardens on the northern side. The hard corals that dominate are very prolific and shelter a multitude of small reef fish and invertebrates. Jobfish, gropers, turtles, stingrays, whitetip reef sharks, trevally, shovelnose rays and barracuda are also founding the vicinity of these superb stands of coral.
I really caught on to pinnacle diving, there were always stacks of fish and brilliant underhangs to search for small critters. Blue water all around and a sense of "WOW" everywhere one looked. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Many pinnacles are found in the lagoon on the northern side of Frederick Reef, in depths from 10-30 m. Sea whips and gorgonians cling to the sides of the pinnacles, and big volcano sponges surround the bases. Pelagic and reef fish, and various species of shark swarm around these outcrops.
Saumarez Reefs
Saumarez is the most popular reef with both divers and fishermen. The reef structure is some 30 km in length and about 300 km from the mainland. The northern side of the reef offers good anchorages and has the best dive sites. One of the most interesting sites is the coral gardens of North East Cay. In the gutters and caves running throughout the reefs, at depths from 6-20 m, are numerous reef fish and sea snakes. Explore the small caves to find stingrays, tawny nurse sharks, wobbegongs, rock lobster and resting turtles. Pelagic fish constantly sweep over the reef, joined by eagle rays and reef sharks.
Inside some of the honeycombed reefs were cave systems full of fish. So many fish hiding from predators that there was hardly enough backlighting to try and display the numbers. (photo: Neville Coleman)
As with the other reefs in this region, hundreds of pinnacles rise from the lagoon floor. The best coral growth is found on these pinnacles, and gathered around them are the usual reef sharks, reef and pelagic fish, and sea snakes.
Wreck Reef
Wreck Reef is about 30 km long and is, as the name implies, scattered with the remains of many a ship. Divers will find debris from several wrecks on the reef and in the lagoon. The most spectacular dive site at Wreck Reef is a wall dive off Bird Island, which drops from 10-200 m. Soft corals, sea whips, sponges and gorgonians grow along the wall. Out in the deeper water you will see the big stuff- schools of barracuda and trevally, lone mackerel and tuna. Around these circle whitetip and grey reef sharks, and down deeper, tiger sharks.
Gin clear water and coral reefs everywhere. Trying to stay on top of recording and photographing the species everywhere I went was not a task for the daunted. However, I would not have swapped it for the world. After all, the quest has given me the best years of my life. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Cato and Kenn Reefs
The two smallest and most remote reefs in the Southern Coral Sea are Cato and Kenn Reefs. Neither of these reefs has been extensively dived, and so, along with the other reefs in this region, offer the diver wonderful exploration diving.
Mighty hunters and very pugnatious, Giant Trevally Caranx ignobilis grow to around 170 mm and I have seen them take fish from the mouths of sharks. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Great Barrier Reef Far Northern Reefs Lizard Island Ribbon and Osprey Reef
Yonge Reef Port Douglas Cairns Holmes Reef Townsville Flinders Reef
Outer Coral Sea Whitsunday Islands Swain Reefs
Keppel Islands Heron Island Lady Elliot Island Bundaberg Sunshine Coast
Moreton Bay Gold Coast
Neville Coleman's diving expeditions, fauna surveys, photographic fauna surveys and marine life identification courses include every major group of marine life.
Neville Coleman's expertise in living taxonomy and marine life identification extends to the identification of Algae, Sea Grass, Forams, Sponges, Stony Corals, Soft Corals, Sea Anemones, Sea Jellies, Zoanthids, Corallimorphs, Black Corals, Flatworms, Segmented Worms, Crustaceans, Barnacles, Shrimps, Rock Lobsters, Hermit Crabs, Squat Lobsters, Molluscs, Chitons, Univalves, Bivalves, Cephalopods, Octopus, Cuttlefish, Squid, Opisthobranchs, Nudibranchs, Sea Slugs, Bryozoans, Sea Mosses, Echinoderms, Sea Stars, Feather Stars, Brittle Stars, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers, Ascidians/Sea Squirts, Marine Fish, Sharks, Marine Reptiles, and Marine Mammals, all found in the waters around the Southern Coral Sea.
( Copyright Neville Coleman/Nigel Marsh)
