Port Phillip Bay June 2018

I get out sampling a fair bit these days. It’s a great job; I’m so lucky to have it this late in my career. The youngies put up with my whinging about my back or something else that might be bothering me. We get the work done no matter what the weather. On Thursday 21 June, our Winter solstice, we a had a glorious day for sampling on the Bay. Port Phillip is a large (1930 sq km), very open and mostly shallow embayment. It is separated from the sea by a narrow opening referred to as the rip; mainly because with tidal changes, the sea rips through there at quite a rate. Having said that, we do not have tidal variations seen in other parts of the world like Cornwall or The Kimberley; the Bay would indeed be a very different place if that was to occur. I have seen seals, dolphins, penguins and many migratory birds in the Bay. Whales visit, but I am yet to see one. Being next to a city of more than 4 million people, it has been hammered over the years. Treated sewer still empties into it; it has been over-fished and subject to many nasty pollution events. At its northern, southern and western ends it is has been deeply dredged for shipping. Despite this, it is still beautiful. Here’s some pics from the other day.

 

 

 

Mal, left, is checking data from the profiler, far left. Chris is filtering samples. I have completed my phytoplankton tasks

At the centre of the bay, we try to hook on to the buoy, rather than anchor, as the bay is 24 m deep. The hooking rope was damaged so we were unable to.