One of the really nice things about diving and snorkeling in the Batemans Marine Park is that the marine life is so close. No need for binoculars or lengthy searches: as soon as you hit the water, there are fish and other creatures all around you.

When it comes to fishes in South Coast waters, the most ‘in your face’ characters are members of the wrasse family (scientific name: Labridae). Indeed, many of these colourful fishes act as if they own the reef, swimming close to divers and snorkelers and sometimes allowing you to touch them.

Many people describe them as ‘friendly’ and they certainly create the impression that they are pleased to see you. But they are not just happy-go-lucky characters welcoming visitors to their world. Some of them actually have the habit of following other creatures around in the hope of picking up an easy meal. Divers are happy to oblige by cutting open a sea urchin, which often creates a mini feeding frenzy.

I often turn over rocks under water to check whether there might be something interesting hiding there. But I have learned from experience that I have to be careful. If I spend too long looking under a rock, a wrasse will be sure to dart in and grab a worm or mollusc, leaving me with an unpleasant feeling that I have caused the demise of some innocent and unfortunate creature that up until a second or two earlier had just been minding its own business.

Wrasses are a successful fish family, with over 400 species distributed all over the world. The boss wrasse in our waters is the Eastern Blue Groper (which incidentally is not a true groper). The solid male blue groper is one of the biggest fish on our reefs, growing to about a metre in length, with big eyes and thick lips. Their main food is molluscs, crustaceans and urchins, which they grind up with their powerful teeth and jaws. Other prominent species are the Crimson-banded and Maori wrasses. There are also much smaller members of the family, some of which make a living picking parasites from the skin and even out of the mouths of other fish, thereby helping them to stay healthy.

One of the striking things about the wrasses is that the males and females of many species look quite different from each other, to the extent that some early naturalists thought they were different species. The female ‘blue’ groper is brown, but still easily recognisable as a groper; whereas it is not immediately obvious that the sexes of say, Crimson-banded, Senator or Luculentus wrasses are partners.

Many species of wrasse live in loose groups made up of a ‘harem’ of females, headed by a big male. And the really interesting thing is that when the big male is removed - as a result of death by disease, predation or being taken by a fisher - the senior female steps up, changes sex, changes appearance and becomes the new head honcho. How’s that for versatility!

Wrasses have an important role in maintaining the ecology of our South Coast waters and, like all our marine life, they need to be protected. The Eastern Blue Groper is a favourite of divers and snorkelers. It is also the state fish of NSW. Because of its docility and approachability, the Eastern Blue Groper was a target of spearfishers in times past, to the extent that its numbers were seriously depleted and it became endangered. For many years now spearing a groper has been prohibited and its numbers have, happily, increased.

The Nature Coast Marine Group has an extensive program of activities where members can have fun learning about our marine environment. To find out more, phone Andrew Green on 4474 2886 or Bill Barker on 4473 5304.

by Bill Barker

Nature Coast Marine Group