By Rebecca Brown

Undertaking community science just got a little easier with the release of the Remap Species of Interest Field Guide. The waterproof field guide profiles the fish and marine critters like turtles, jellyfish, sharks, and lobsters that are considered uncommon along parts of the Tasmanian coast.

Colour photographs of the Redmap species, and maps of their distribution in Tasmanian seas, will help Redmap volunteers identify marine species that are not usually found at their local diving, fishing, swimming or boating spot.

The guide was made possible with a generous grant from the Tasmanian Community Fund (TCF).

Redmap’s ‘citizen scientists’ are helping Redmap track which warmer-water species are extending their ranges south in search of their preferred marine climate.  Some species are shifting house in search of cooler waters as Tasmanian seas warm at three times the global average.

Dr Gretta Pecl, Redmap’s founding scientist, hopes the field guide will make species identification easier for Redmap users.

“The success of the Redmap website has been due to the enthusiastic response from the Tasmanian public,” Dr Pecl says. ”Hopefully this booklet can assist them and make identification easier.”

She hopes the booklet will spark even more Tasmanian divers, fishers, boaters and snorkelers to report and update the Redmap website with sightings and photos of unique or unusual species along their coastline.

If you would like a copy of the Tasmanian Redmap field guide posted to you - or would like to know more about the Redmap project -  please email enquiries@redmap.org.au or visit www.redmap.org.au