Come and join the hunt! the 8th SSC along our coast…

Welcome to our 2026 Sea Slug Census which will run from Saturday the 11th to Thursday the 30th of April, from Green Cape to Kiama

During April we encourage everyone to get down to the coast and hunt for sea slugs. It’s a great time of year when the waters are warm and the most Sea Slugs are to be seen (weather permitting). Any images and sightings you make will contribute to our efforts to record as much of our coastal biodiversity as we can.

There are many places you can hunt for sea slugs – in shallow estuaries, lagoons, rock pools and in the sea from very close to the surface down to many metres. The Sea Slug Census is for coastal walkers, snorkelers and divers and we want you to share all your sightings with us to help build our database.

On our Atlas of Life website in the Sea Slug Census section you can see the pictures of the species of Sea Slugs that we found last year. You can also look at all the sightings we have recorded so far on and where they were found. You can see all the Sea Slugs we have found in our region in our database - here is our Nudibranch page in iNaturalist to help you identify what you find. Register and add your sightings to iNaturalist, or send your images to us and we will add them for you.

You can help with the Sea Slug hunt. We hope you will explore the coast yourselves and below is a list of some good places to search, which we would like you to add to.

Here is the calendar with information on guided activities during along the coast in April. Watch out for details of different activities, details, what you need to know and how to book your places.

Contact us if you have any questions, need any help recording what you see or if you have any suggestions. Good hunting!

Jenny Allitt 0400 008 081 jenniferallitt59@gmail.com

They are all amazing and lets see if you can find these beauTies below.

Where to look

Possible locations and activities for your individual Sea Slug Census searches

Possible location	Activity
Spencer park to Bar Beach	estuary walk
Merimbula Wharf	snorkel/dive
Bar Beach (Merimbula)	snorkel/dive
Merimbula Lake entrance	snorkel
Short Point (Tura Beach)	snorkel/dive
Turingal Head (near Wallagoot Lake)	snorkel/dive
Lagoons/Lakes - Bournda, Wallagoot, Tanja,	walk/snorkel
Eden Shelly Beach and Cannery	rock pools/snorkel/dive
Edrom (from the Navy wharf to Fisheries Beach)	snorkel/dive
Quarantine Bay (Twofold Bay)	rocky shore ramble/snorkel
Lennards Island (on the way to Eden from Pambula)	rocky shore ramble/snorkel/dive
Bermagui Blue Pool	snorkel/swim
Camel Rocks (near Bermagui)	rocky shore ramble
Narooma Wharf	walk/snorkel? Careful of strong tide flow all round Narooma sites
Narooma Australia Rock	Rocky shore ramble
Mill Bay Boardwalk	Rocky shore ramble/snorkel

Please let us know if you know of any other good sites for Sea Slugs that you have found

Sadly Tathra Wharf is still closed for renovations, so we won’t be able to search around there, but there are many other rockpools and snorkel places we can search.

South Coast Sea Slug Census – guided activities

1.Date - Saturday 11th of April

Time - 9 to 12 pm

Location - Weecon Cove, Cattle Bay Rd, Eden

Activity- This activity will commence with a Nudibranch talk to learn about the nudibranchs and seaslugs that live along the South Coast and then a snorkeling activity will follow to see what seaslugs can be found as part of the census. 

Contact - diveeden@gmail.com to register online -This is a free event with limited spaces so please register early to avoid disappointment.

Or ring Jayde Rankin/Dive Eden on 0410026990 for further enquiries. Snorkling gear or wetsuit hire is available with Dive Eden.

2. Date - Sunday 12th April

Time - 9:30 - 11 am

Location -  Meet at Spencer Park, Merimbula

Activity- This event consists of a estuary Walk on low tide with the local experts to see what seaslugs live in this estuary. Appropriate footwear to be worn

Contact - To register, please contact Jenny Allitt on 0400008081. This is a free event with limited spaces, so please register early to avoid disappointment.

3. Date - Monday 13th of April

Times - 3 - 4:30 pm

              5 - 6:30 pm

Location - Blue Pools, Pacific Drive, Bermagui

Activity -  Snorkeling activities at two separate times to be conducted in the beautiful "Blue Pools" at Bermagui.

In the past , the most number of species  of seaslugs have been found at this location.

Contact - Jenny Allitt to register on 0400008081. This is a free event with limited spaces, so please register early to avoid disappointment.

Snorkeling gear or wetsuits can be hired with Dive Eden and brought to this venue.

Please contact Dive Eden on 0410026990

4. Date - Wednesday 15th of April

Location- Guerilla Bay

Activity - Join the Nature Coast Marine Group for a seaslug snorkel activity if conditions are suitable or a shoreline seaslug search.

Contact- Please ring and register with Jane on 0427197577 who will advise of the meeting place and suitable time.

This is a free event with limited spaces, so please register early to avoid disappointment.

5. Date - Saturday 18th of April

Location - Broulee Rock Platforms

Time - Meet at 12:30 pm at the Broulee Surf club carpark.

Action - Join the Nature Coast Marine Group to search for seaslugs on the rock platforms. Make sure you wear the appropriate footwear for this activity

Contact - Please ring and register with Jane on 0427197577.

This is a free event with limited spaces so please register early to avoid disappointment. 

For useful information see these pages from the Nature Coast Marine Group website: NCMG Snorkeling Guide and Snorkelling the Batemans Marine Park

If you are an estuary or rocky shore searcher, you will want to time your search around low tides to see the maximum. Here is a link to tide tables along our coast: Tide times South Coast: https://tides.willyweather.com.au/nsw/south-coast.html

Whatever you do, please take care, and observe all usual safety precautions and be aware of the tides and wave conditions if you are searching in rockpools or snorkelling or diving.

Photos from our iNaturalist database: Gem Doris Narooma, Feb 14 Percha https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/151606842,

Aplysia concave, April 21, Blue Pool, Amanda Johnston, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/73598578

Ragged seahare, Eden, Aug 23 Jenny Allitt, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/178336088

Forsskal’s Pleurobranch, Mar 23, Merimbula, Liz Allen, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/151099610

Dolabrifera brazieri, Tura Headland Mar 2012, Libby Hepburn, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/73270693