Underwater Wonder

Given its location in the vast Pacific Ocean it’s no wonder that Norfolk Island is famous for fishing – but switching your rod and reel for a camera is an even better way to explore the incredible marine diversity of this subtropical paradise. Just ask Susan Prior.

SUSAN HAS BEEN PHOTOGRAPHING in the lagoons of Norfolk for over five years, building up a huge collection of breathtaking images that are not only pretty pictures, but are a valuable record of the marine life that populates the lagoons – as well as the challenges and changes they are facing.

Originally from the United Kingdom, Susan spent many years in Australia before moving to Norfolk in 1996. She was immediately taken by the beauty of the lagoons and the pleasure of a daily swim in them. A change of circumstances took her back to mainland Australia for several years but it was inevitable that she would return, and when retirement loomed she and her partner chose Norfolk for its natural beauty and a taste of the quiet life. The quiet life never quite materialised as she has been as busy as ever with numerous projects, and the one she is most passionate about is surveying and recording the lagoon’s marine life.

Susan has become something of an advocate for the reef, championing its protection in the face of the many challenges it faces.

“It started when I returned to the island in 2018 and resumed my daily swim in the lagoons of Emily, Slaughter and Cemetery Bays,” Susan says. “When I returned to swimming there after a gap of almost twenty years, I did a bit of a double take. The reef wasn’t quite how I remembered it. A lot more algae, less coral, and fewer fish. But I really only had my memory to go on, and I freely admit that a memory can be flawed. So I grabbed a camera and began recording what I was seeing. It was then that I realised that there was very little research being done about Norfolk’s reef. It was still a bit of a frontier, although that has changed in recent years.”

Susan dived in – pun intended –and after five years she has built up a huge body of work, including images, articles and blog posts, which she posts on her website www.norfolkislandreef.com.au.

But she has also become something of an advocate for the reef, championing its protection in the face of the many challenges it faces. In our modern world, even somewhere as remote as Norfolk Island can have issues with, for example, water quality.

We’re on the borderline of tropical and subtropical climate zones, so we see many different species in the one place.

“We now have reef researchers doing regular surveys on the health of the reef, which has given us some data to work with. While it’s a bit of a race against time to stop the reef from being damaged any further, it’s not all doom and gloom by any means! I really prefer to dwell on the fantastic biodiversity that we have here. We’re on the borderline of tropical and subtropical climate zones, so we see many different species in the one place. You can wade out from the beach, swim out 50 metres with nothing more than a mask and snorkel, to see some amazing marine life.”

Some of that marine life has proven to be as yet unrecorded. Susan has so far had the privilege of being the first to identify fourteen new species previously not recorded in Norfolk Island’s waters, but laughs off the suggestion she might get a fish named after her! She adds that a coral researcher estimates up to 30% of the island’s corals are as yet undescribed, as in new to science and unique to Norfolk Island.

About her photographs, she says, “It’s all about being in the right place at the right time and having patience.” It’s also refreshing to hear that her images are not taken using cripplingly expensive equipment. Instead she opts to use a simple Olympus underwater “point and shoot” for her stills, and a GoPro for video. As the results printed here show, it’s not about the price point of your camera, it’s about the skill of the person behind it.