We invite you to attend our upcoming FREE Professional Development session:

BROOME – Thursday 31 May 2012
Time: 3.15 pm – 4.45 pm
Location: Department of Fisheries, Port of Pearls House, 401 Port Drive, Broome (next to Wharf Restaurant).

Targeting both primary and secondary teachers, these information sessions will cover:

• How to find resources on Marine WATERs
• How to integrate Marine WATERs materials into your teaching-learning program
• Registration and feedback
• Additional Marine WATERs resources in production
• Information about local fisheries education programs and an opportunity to receive hardcopy take away resources.

Please BYO laptop/notebook if you have one.

Registrations are essential.

Contact: Kara Dew, Community Education Officer, kara.dew@fish.wa.gov.au or 9193 8600.

We invite you to attend our upcoming FREE Professional Development session:

ESPERANCE: 29 May 2012
Time: 4.00 pm – 5.30 pm
Location: Lotteries House, 3 Forrest Street, Esperance

Targeting both primary and secondary teachers, these information sessions will cover:

• How to find resources on Marine WATERs
• How to integrate Marine WATERs materials into your teaching-learning program
• Registration and feedback
• Additional Marine WATERs resources in production
• Information about local fisheries education programs and an opportunity to receive hardcopy take away resources.

Registrations are essential.

Contact: Kylie Outhwaite or Tahryn Thompson, Marine Education Officers, kylie.outhwaite@fish.wa.gov.au or 9845 7400.

From the 16-18 May Alicia will be running a schools education program with Shark Bay School and Useless Loop Primary School. The students will be taking part in three interactive lessons, each lesson tailored to individual classes. The students will learn about the biology of sharks and the research being undertaken to manage shark stocks in Western Australia. They will learn how fin fish stocks are managed in Western Australia and become Marine Scientists and dissect their very own fish. The High School students will learn about current best practice in aquaculture and will build their own Artemia hatchery.

Alicia and Kara (Community Education Officers) will be running information sessions at caravan parks in both Exmouth and Coral Bay from the 22 – 25 May. These sessions will be educational and informative, and is a place where visitors to the region can get all there local fishing rules and regulations. It is also an opportunity to ask any Fisheries related questions.

Following the caravan park tour, the Department of Fisheries will be attending the Whale Shark Festival in Exmouth on the 26 May, highlighting issues from the local region. Again this is another great opportunity to ensure you have all the relevant Fisheries brochures, and chance to chat with a Fisheries staff member.

In June Alicia is hoping to visit schools, and run interactive programs with students in both Carnarvon and Exmouth. If you are interested in having her visit your school please contact her at alicia.reagan@fish.wa.gov.au

CONSTAWA runs from 4.00 pm on Friday 25th May – 2.30 pm, Sunday 27th May 2012 at The Australis Hotel and Curtin University in Margaret River.  More information, including registrations, can be found at http://www.cvent.com/events/constawa-2012/
The Marine WATERs workshop takes place on Saturday afternoon at 1.30 pm and will include:

• How to find resources on Marine WATERs;
• How to integrate Marine WATERs materials and the Department of Fisheries education activities into your teaching-learning program;
• A demonstration of one of the Department of Fisheries education activities and the associated resources available;
• An opportunity to try some of the activities first hand and provide direct feedback;
• Information about local fisheries education programs; and
• An opportunity to receive hard copy take away resources.

Alicia’s latest journey started in the inland town of Tom Price. Despite the temperatures hovering above 40 degrees, she had a lovely time visiting North Tom Price Primary School. Alicia then travelled to Onslow where she was lucky enough to spend the day with Onslow School. Her final destination was Karratha, where she was greeted by very excited Year 5 and 6 students at Karratha Primary School.

On the tour Alicia ran fish dissection activities, which taught students about the biology of a fish and the science behind fisheries management. The younger students participated in an adaptation activity, where they gained a greater understanding of the diversity of animals adapted to live in our unique aquatic environment.

If you are teaching in a school  in the Pilbara or Gascoyne and would like Alicia to visit your school or class when she is in town, please send her an email at alicia.reagan@fish.wa.gov.au

Australia has more than 250 introduced marine species. Fortunately, most remain relatively harmless but some, such as the Northern Pacific sea star, have become aggressive pests. Several other crabs, mussels and seaweeds have also become marine pests in various locations with significant impacts on industry and aquatic ecosystems.

WA’s inland waters are also home to many species of native fish and crustaceans, including the highly prized marron, but these waters are gradually being invaded by introduced species. Some have little effect on the local ecology but others, including redfin perch, can potentially have significant impacts on native species such as marron.

The State Government and the Department of Fisheries are committed to protecting our waters from aquatic pests and diseases. In late 2011, Fisheries Minister Norman Moore officially launched the comprehensive biosecurity program aimed at protecting WA waters, along with a special charter encouraging stakeholder organisations to become involved. As part of the launch event, stakeholder and community signatories marked their commitment to preventing the spread of aquatic pests by signing the biosecurity charter, established by the Department of Fisheries.

The biosecurity program will be implemented around the State, monitoring key high risk ports for any potential pest introductions. In addition, the Department is working with industry to detect and protect against aquatic pests, using cutting-edge technology and promoting awareness in the WA community. The Department is recruiting and training a team of dedicated biosecurity research, policy, and Fisheries and Marine Officers (FMOs) who will form part of the frontline response to aquatic pests. The team is being equipped with pest detection tools, such as snake-eye cameras, to view the hulls of vessels in-water to check for attached pests.

A database is also being developed to track the detection of aquatic pests in marine and fresh waters of the State. This will help inform the Department’s response and allocation of resources in the containment and eradication of pest species, as well as its native species restocking program.

The biggest initiative so far undertaken has been targeted marine pest monitoring of the three priority risk ports – Port Hedland, Dampier and Fremantle. The marine pest monitoring of these ports is based on a national program and places WA well ahead of many other jurisdictions that have not yet completed their surveys.

Members of the community have an important role to play in protecting our aquatic environments by reporting any unusual-looking species they encounter to the Department of Fisheries. If you catch or see an unusual fish, seaweed, mussel, worm, crab or other invertebrate make a note of when and where you saw it and report it to the Department of Fisheries on its Fishwatch number 1800 815 507 or email biosecurity@fish.wa.gov.au

Don’t forget non-native species should never be released into the wild. Fish tanks and ornamental ponds should be designed so fish can’t escape. Unwanted aquatic animals should be taken back to suppliers or disposed of humanely. For more information on aquatic biosecurity visit www.fish.wa.gov.au

Our annual Seaweek eductors expo gave teachers and environmental educators from around the State an opportunity to extend their professional development and discover the latest on offer in  marine education. A series of hands-on field, laboratory and class activities were available throughout the day including snorkeling, intertidal discoveries, a focus on biosecurity as well as a special screening of the new documentary ‘Plasticized’ – a study of plastic pollution in the ocean.

Keeping with the theme of marine debris, the Department also hosted a beach clean up day on Sunday 4^th March to coincide with Clean up Australia Day. Along with staff and volunteers from Keep Australia Beautiful, the group collected over 30 large garbage bags of rubbish and debris from Hillarys Beach. All this in one hour and in only 200m of coastline! Cigarette butts and lolly wrappers were the most abundant items but also in the mix were fishing lines, rope and endless bits of plastic!

Our Seaweek events closed at Burns Beach with touch pool sessions by the sea. In conjunction with the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and the Friends of Marmion Marine Park, the public got  up close with some of WA’s most interesting marine animals and enjoyed exploring with the popular Beachcombers Field Guide (http://beachcombers-kit.fish.wa.gov.au/). Participants also learnt about fisheries and marine park management through talks with Department of Fisheries and DEC staff. It was great to see the community continuing the Seaweek theme and collecting rubbish as they walked the coastline.

The Department looks forward to being involved in Seaweek again next year.  Thanks to everyone who presented and participated in Seaweek 2012.

For more information on Seaweek or other events at the Naturaliste Marine Discovery Centre please visit: www.nmdc.com.au

Students were busy participating in a number of activities, including the ever-popular fish dissection to learn how Department of Fisheries scientists age Australian herring and many other fish species. Year 9 students from St Marks Anglican Community School looked at Artemia (also known as sea monkeys) and learnt how they are used in the aquaculture of many marine animals, including octopus and western rock lobster.

We have three exciting new education activities available: Biosecurity Watch (suitable for Years 10-12), Beach Profiling (suitable for Years 10-12) and Exposing Erosion (suitable for Years 4-7).

The Biosecurity Watch activity gives students the chance to learn about the importance of aquatic biosecurity and the impacts introduced aquatic species have on Western Australia’s aquatic environment. Students will have an opportunity to use a brand new, state-of-the-art technology Snake Eye camera to carry out their own biosecurity survey of local waters.

The Community and Education team at the NMDC are also excited to announce a series of professional learning opportunities which will take place on Thursday of week 3 each term. In these sessions teachers will have an opportunity to learn how an excursion to the NMDC can be complemented with activities from Marine WATERs – an online teaching resource, supported by Woodside Energy and the Department of Fisheries. Our first session kicks off on the 10^th May 2012 with a range of hands-on and fun learning activities focusing on marine classification.  These sessions all include take-away hard copy resources. You can find the Marine WATERs website at http://marinewaters.fish.wa.gov.au.

To find out more about the excursions or professional learning opportunities at the NMDC, visit www.nmdc.com.au or contact our Community and Education Officer,
T:  (08) 9203 0341
E: nmdc@fish.wa.gov.au

For more information contact the NMDC on 9203 0339.

Timetable of Events

Meeting point: At the park by the corner of Henson St and Ormsby Tce, Silver Sands WA 6210
When: Sunday 25 March 2012
Time: 8.30am – 11.30am
What to bring: sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, study shoes, water bottle.

Register your interest (by Friday the 23 March) by any of the following options:

• Online: http://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/Comet+Central and click the Join button
• Linda Wiberg, Department of Fisheries Community Education Officer by phone 9432 8023 or email linda.wiberg@fish.wa.gov.au
• Rebecca Oborn, City of Mandurah Community Landcare Officer by phone  9550 3935 or email rebecca.oborn@mandurah.wa.gov.au