Sea life behind closed Reef HQ doors going swimmingly
The doors are closed and the building is eerily quiet, yet Reef HQ’s underwater world has never been more alive and vibrant. SEE WHAT THEY’RE UP TO >>
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THE doors are closed and the building is eerily quiet, yet Reef HQ’s underwater world has never been more alive and vibrant.
It’s the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium and usually buzzing with people from all around the globe.
The Flinders St precinct, which would typically attract 140,000 visitors a year and generate about $2.5 million, has felt the full financial hit of the coronavirus pandemic alongside the entire tourism industry.
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Reef HQ has shut its doors due to public health restrictions but with thousands of charismatic marine creatures to tend to, the outside world has had little effect on this underwater universe.
Aquarist Connie Rowe said it was a “365 days a year job” caring for the animals and, if anything, the shutdown had meant staff had increased operations.
“We have to keep all the animals happy and their quality of life going,” she said.
“We’ve had more time for enrichment activities and animal husbandry to keep the animals stimulated.
“We’ve ramped up our diving efforts, doing a lot more deep cleans of mirrors, sand and cleaning all the nutrients that sink into the sediment.”
Ms Rowe said the closure had provided a unique opportunity to get stuck into some otherwise impossible maintenance.
“Keeping on top of the sediment cleaning is really important because it can turn toxic,” she said.
“We’ve been open for so long and things start to build up so by increasing the efforts we can basically go back to square one.”
As the National Education Centre for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Reef HQ operates as a not-for-profit aquarium with its main focus on sustainability, providing school education programs, reef research and care to sick and injured marine turtles at the Turtle Hospital.
Education officer Craig McGrogan said its virtual programs, which have been offered for almost 20 years, placed it in good stead to adapt to restrictions.
He said its video conference was the most popular, with divers in the Reef and predator tanks interacting with students in real time.
“I think the very nature of the outreach program lends itself to people learning from home,” he said.
“We’ve realised we cannot just get to a class of students sitting in a lecture hall but have them joining in from wherever.
“We have a school from Los Angeles where we expect upwards of 350 families connecting independently to our live stream.”
Mr McGrogan said it was an experience that never got old.
“It’s so dynamic and we never know from one dive to the next what amazing behaviours we’ll see played out,” he said.
“Whether that’s them hunting in among the sand for small worms or other animals to the likes of our big cod getting cleaned by another little fish going through its gill cavity and out its mouth.”
In an effort to continue sharing the Great Barrier Reef with the outside world, Reef HQ’s media team has amped up its online interaction by holding live video sessions across its social media platforms.
Marketing and media manager Joanne Hurford said it had proven a huge success and provided a sense of connection during an otherwise bleak time.
“It’s provided a chance for people over the world to tune in and see our amazing Great Barrier Reef and ask questions,” she said.
“We’ve seen a huge increase in our audiences and we’re always excited to see where they’re viewing from.”
To make a donation to the Turtle Hospital, visit reefhq.com.au
Originally published as Sea life behind closed Reef HQ doors going swimmingly