Billy the Hawksbill released at Green Island
29th of November 2021
Stars, clips and cable ties... Coral Reef resilience project installed at Green Island
19th of November 2020
Congratulations Green Island Resort! Sustainability Accolades
25th of October 2023
Recycling uniforms to close the textile waste loop
7th of August 2023
3rd of March 2020
Diving in to witness Coral Spawning on the Great Barrier Reef
13th of October 2023
One of the more interesting sea critters you might find exploring the Great Barrier Reef is the Sea Pen. The Sea Pen is a colonial marine cnidarian and falls into the same family as coral, sea anemones and jellyfish (along with more than 11,000 other sea critters). They are most closely grouped to octocorals, also known as soft corals.
Found worldwide in tropical waters, the sea pen prefers to inhabit water deeper than 10m, where they often anchor to the seabed. They are able to relocate and anchor to different locations depending on currents, ensuring the best possible flow of plankton to feed on.
Structurally, the Sea Pen is interesting. They are a colonial animal covered in polyps, with each polyp having 8 tentacles. Each polyp has a different set of functions from water intake to feeding and importantly, reproduction. The exposed portion of the Sea Pen can grow up to 2m in some species and current estimates put the lifespan at more than 100 years!
Video thanks to Shane 'Sharky' Down and shot on Silversonic.