Shane White, an honours student with the Marine Science Centre, will talk about his research into the runoff caused by the blueberry farms in the Coffs Coast region. The runoff from surrounding lands and groundwater seepage can deliver dissolved and particulate nutrients to the stream, potentially causing environmental damage. Further use of agriculture can be a major contributor to this nutrient increase. In Shane's research he assesses the nutrient pollution from the blueberry farms by...
August 2017
Wednesday 2nd - 7:00pm
July 2017
Wednesday 5th - 7:00pm
If you are interested in the fascinating biology and behaviour of cuttlefish, squid, nautilus and octopus come to this presentation.
Dr Karina Hall, a research scientist or the NSW Department of Primary Industries, will talk about these cephalopods which are found in NSW coastal waters and help SURG divers interpret the species and their behaviours that they may encounter during their dives.
Dr Hall is based in Coffs Harbour at the National Marine Science Centre and is...
June 2017
Saturday 24th - 11:30am
On Saturday 24th June SURG members will again be joining others in the community to conduct a marine debris survey on Coffs Creek. This time the survey will assess the impact of the Container Deposit Scheme which will commence in December 2017.
This event is open to any interested community members.
SURG and community members have been involved in a number of marine debris surveys and clean up events. Earlier this year SURG members and interested community members conducted a...
Wednesday 7th - 7:00pm
Our social meeting will feature two speakers who will share the fascinating research they are undertaking through Southern Cross University.
Plumes from whale carcass beach burials James Tucker will describe the sampling techniques involved in mapping leachate plumes from whale carcasses buried on beaches. He will show how this is relevant to biological contamination and shark attraction to the surf zone.
SIMP's sandy offshore seafloor is no desert Sophie Prior will discuss...
May 2017
Wednesday 3rd - 7:00pm
Southern Cross University PhD student, Alejandro Tagliafico will talk about his research into corals. Alejandro's research looks at heterotrophic feeding of corals. (Heterotrophic refers to an organism obtaining its food and energy by taking in organic substances. Corals normally have zooxanthellae that provide the vast majority of their sustenance in the form of sugars.) His research has shown how two species of coral exposed to a lipid enriched diet resisted an experimental bleaching event...
April 2017
Wednesday 5th - 7:00pm
Jade Fredericks is a SURG member and Masters student at the National Marine Science Centre. In June last year she was lucky enough to travel to Raja Ampat in West Papua Indonesia on a Colombo Plan Scholarship. She used the scholarship to take part in a volunteer Marine conservation project with The Great Projects , conducting primarily habit mapping (lots of dive experience) for Marine Protected Area inclusion, beach debris clean-...
March 2017
Friday 24th - 12:00pm to Sunday 26th - 12:00pm
The next SURG camping trip will be at Hat Head Holiday Park from the 24th to 26th March. The holiday park is beside a clear clean creek for snorkelling and canoeing, surrounded by National Parks with its many walking tracks and a short walk to the surf beach.
Our last camping trip to South West Rocks was a great way to spend time with other SURG members in a beautiful environment.
If you haven't booked you can still come along on the day. It's out of school holidays so there...
Sunday 5th - 7:30am
SURG will again be involved in Clean up Australia Day at Coffs Creek. Last year SURG had a very successful clean up on the lower/middle reaches of the creek so it will be interesting to compare that result with the amount of debris collected this year.
Steve Dalton has lodged this Clean Up Australia Day site on behalf of SURG members. Please follow the link http://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/Coffs+Creek...
February 2017
Tuesday 28th - 7:00pm
Nicola Johnstone will be our guest speaker for this social meeting. Nicola will talk about the Marine Estates Threats and Risk Assessment.
This meeting will be held on Tuesday 28th February 2017, at the downstairs auditorium of the NMSC.
Normally the SURG Social meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month but to accommodate Nicola we have changed the date for this one-off event.
The Marine Estates Threats and Risk Assessment is a NSW Government initiative to...
Sunday 12th - 9:15am
On Sunday, February 12, Steve Dalton is planning to run a seagrass search for seahorses and pipefish and any other interesting critters at Boambee Creek. The aim is to get a better understanding of what creatures utilise seagrass as a indication of the importance this habitat is to estuarine fish communities. High tide is around 10.15am.
Those planning to take part should meet at the Boambee Creek Reserve at 9:15 am (exact location to be confirmed), were we can sort out groups and...