Video
Project:
4.21 - Assessing the condition of natural values within priority temperate Australian Marine Parks to evaluate management effectiveness
Topic: Protected place management
Location: Beagle Marine Park
Species (common name): Port Jackson shark
Species (taxonomic name): Heterodontus portusjacksoni
Habitat type: Rocky reef
Date taken: August 2024
Credit (organisation): NESP/IMAS
Conservation value: Australian Marine Park
Observation platform: Remotely operated vehicle
Caption
Scientists on a return journey to Beagle Marine Park in central Bass Strait in August 2024 spotted thousands of sleepy Port Jackson sharks blanketing the seafloor. The mysterious gathering was videoed by an underwater robot, known as a remotely operated vehicle, being ‘flown’ above the seafloor from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) research vessel MRV Ngerin.
The research team had previously seen the sharks here six years ago during the first survey of Beagle Marine Park, which is managed by Parks Australia. This two-week return survey led by the University of Tasmania Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) revisited the same places to see how conditions in the park may have changed. It was supported by the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program and a grant of sea time from the Southern Australian Coastal Research Vessel Fleet with National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy funding.
See the Project 4.21 summary page for more information about this voyage: https://www.nespmarinecoastal.edu.au/project/4-21/
