Members of the public can now do a virtual dive into the Bathurst Channel, an estuarine system that is globally unique both physically and biologically, through a new virtual tour.
The channel is tucked away within Port Davey in the south-west of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) Zoologist Dr Michael Driessen explains why few people are aware of the amazing marine community living beneath the dark, tannin-stained waters.
“The remote location, challenging cold conditions, dark water and hence dark diving conditions means that very few people can appreciate this highly unusual and spectacular community firsthand,” Dr Driessen said.
“The virtual tour and video we have developed provides the opportunity to experience and understand the important values of this marine community, which is inaccessible to pretty much everyone as it requires advanced diving skills in a remote location.”
Dr Driessen hopes the virtual tour will help to continue to protect these values into the future.
“Better understanding of the amazing natural marine values is likely to increase people’s support for protecting and managing these unique systems into the future.”
The project received funding from the Australian Government through the Australian Heritage Grants Program. NRE Tas collaborated with the Institute for Marine Antarctic Studies (IMAS) to create the tour.
IMAS’ Associate Professor Neville Barrett says the tour includes eight short videos that describe the key biological features at a range of sites representing the changes in marine invertebrates and seaweeds along the channel. It also includes an overview video of the system as a starting point and a guide to the remaining videos.
“It’s an awesome place that we are very privileged to visit, and through the virtual tour we hope that more people can enjoy the beauty of this remarkable marine system and the joy of exploring many locations along Bathurst Channel,” he said.
The marine community in the Bathurst Channel contributes to three of the four natural criteria used to assess listing properties as world heritage.
Port Davey is now the only large estuarine system in southern Australia without significant human impact. There are no roads or river impoundments and it is effectively uninhabited by humans.
Threats do exist however, with the main threats being climate changes, invasive species, inappropriate boating and diving activities and the potential for onshore development.
View the tour visit.
More information and a virtual tour video on Port Davey is available at the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service Website.