It is 6pm on a warm January evening. The sea breeze has died away and only a zephyr remains, just enough to fill our sails for a relaxing twilight sail in Mangles Bay.
The Rockingham foreshore is a hive of activity. Young children paddle in the shallow, calm waters. Fishermen struggle for position on Palm Beach jetty. Family groups are gathering in Bell Park. The cafes and restaurants are starting to buzz with the sound of patrons celebrating the end of another working week.
As we sail along, eating our chicken sandwiches, I call out "there's a fairy penguin." The skipper catches a glimpse before the shy little creature disappears below the surface. We have been sailing in these waters for over 30 years and it is only in recent times we have seen so many fairy penguins, wonderful!
The evening breeze fills in a little so we turn and head seaward, towards Blinking Billy. Out of the depths a pod of dolphins appear on our bow. I scramble to the front of our boat and sit quietly, peering over the side, while each dolphin tries to catch a ride on our lazy bow wave. The head of the pack rolls onto his side and looks up at me as if to say "hello, and welcome to my world." I call out, "Come and take a look at this." We trade places, but it is too late. The dolphins have disappeared without a trace! As another yacht approaches we raise our glasses and say to each other "I wonder what the rich people are doing?"
With the setting sun we reluctantly turn and head for home. The colours in the night sky are so breath taking I feel like I am seeing them for the first time. I look towards the silhouettes along the shoreline, and I say, in a quiet voice, "I am lucky I call The Sound home."
Rockingham Bays Seagrass Monitoring Group is a most fortunate group for they experience the thrill of watching grass grow in Cockburn Sound.
RBSMG is a voluntary group of people who are concerned about the state of the seagrass meadows off the Rockingham coast. We care about the health of seagrass in Mangles Bay so we go out and measure it then send our data to the Department of Environment and Conservation.
There are so many useful outcomes from our data.
It provides comparisons with seagrass monitoring by Cockburn Sound Management Council.
Adds to the picture of collated information on the health of the West Australian coast being compiled by three universities, Edith Cowan, Murdoch, and UWA.
It provides information to DEC to assist them in the conservation of Cockburn Sound.
It educates the community about the health and importance of seagrass.
Apart from all this we have a super time and often see dolphins, crabs, sting rays seahorses and little finfish that use the seagrass for protection
It is so interesting to see the changes in the underwater environment. One area had been quite devastated and the ocean floor resembled a huge array of neglected dreadlocks. However, this season we were happy to see numerous blue manna crabs and a sting ray while we were measuring the seagrass for density and epiphyte cover. Just as we had finished a sea lion flipped past.
The Cockburn Sound supports a rich variety of marine life such as sea lions, sea urchins, blue manna crabs, pink snapper, whiting, herring and skipper seahorses and its various seagrasses play a key role in providing them with a protective habitat. The complex community that makes up the seagrass beds is an integral part of the coastal environment. They provide a habitat for juvenile fish and crustaceans
I'll leave you with a splendid vision that was our reward at the end of our monitoring session.
A pod of dolphins leisurely feeding inshore, quite unconcerned with the spectators on the beach, jet skis zooming along in the deeper water and our boat gently bobbing close by. Mother dolphin was demonstrating to her baby how to catch it's own feed of fish.
Why do we do it?
We understand that in order to protect the valuable seagrass meadows, the community, government and researchers have to work together. It is very rewarding to be an integral part of important research that helps everyone to understand the conservation of seagrass and losses from human impacts.
It is enjoyable to examine the growth of seagrass patches and know that it is used as an indicator of the general health of the waters in Cockburn Sound.
In conclusion, seagrass meadows form a significant coastal habitat. They play a vital role in supporting marine communities and are important in maintaining coastal water quality and clarity. As if this is not enough it stabilizes the coastline by providing a buffer from the southwesterly swells and waves.
We also monitor in and around Shoalwater Marine Park. We enjoy being in the ocean during the summer months and strongly believe that we are making a difference by helping the marine environment in addition to the scientists. There is so much for them to do that our community effort helps them to improve their effectiveness.
My most memorable story of Cockburn Sound is when we go there for Christmas. For the past three years I, my family and relatives have been going there to have a big family day at the beach to enjoy the water and do some fishing. When we went there last year my Uncle was fishing and I joined him. As soon as he put some bait on the line he had a big snapper that put up quite a struggle but eventually my Uncle got him. Later on that evening we had a nice BBQ to celebrate Christmas and just have a nice time with my family.
When my friends ask me why do you go to Cockburn Sound I say it is full of activities to do. It's mainly popular for its fishing, snorkeling, crabbing, boating, water skiing, and using jet skis. With all that to do with friends and family why would you not want to go there.
The reason I like my memory of my experience of Cockburn Sound is that it is really good that my family are really close, it is a time to say hello to everyone again and just be social. We talk of what we have done, how we have been and it is a time to relax in the sun, go swimming and just have a good time in Cockburn Sound.
My name is Mitchell. I am 15 years old and I go to Malibu school.
Last year I took part in the Adopt A Beach project with my classmates. I learnt many things during the project. I learnt about fairy penguins and watched a lady feed them. I learnt about native plants and planted lots and lots of them. I found lots of things on the beach like fibre balls and shells and lots of seaweed.
My favourite part of the project was planting in the sand dunes and having lots of fun times. I liked doing this because I met nice people from the council. I met Craig and he helped us with the plants. I also met David and he taught us about plants and sea animals.
I would like to do this project again this year I hope we get to plant more plants and learn lots more about our beach.
I think it is a great opportunity for students like me to participate in community events. I hope more students from Malibu can join in this year.
