The Fantasea Foundation

Fantasea Adventure Cruising has long undertaken the serious commitment as ambassadors for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.  The company is an Eco Certified operator offering a genuine eco tourism experience.  Certification covers the Great Barrier Reef Experience to Reefworld, Reefsleep and day cruises to Whitehaven Beach.  The company has accreditation since 1999 with the National Ecotourism Accreditation Program (NEAP) and granted a 15 year Advanced National Ecotourism Accreditation.

Fantasea is very proactive in not only protection but also research of this natural wonder, working very closely with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), James Cook University and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  This is the basis of the Fantasea Foundation, established in 2006 and managed by Emily Smart, who is one of four full time Marine Biologist/Research Co-ordinators employed by Fantasea.  Each year, the Fantasea Foundation allocates over $100,000 for monitoring and management of its own activities on the reef.

As the marine research co-coordinator, Emily is able to fulfil her passion of working closely with marine life while she researches and monitors activities on the Great Barrier Reef.  Emily also enjoys conducting guided snorkel tours as a reef interpreter, giving marine biology presentations as well as educated talks on semi-submersible rides.  Emily is fully qualified with a Bachelor of Science (Biology & Geography) degree, including Honours (Marine Ecology) from Wollongong University, as well as a postgraduate Certificate of Science (Marine Biology and Ecotourism/Wildlife Tourism Management) from James Cook University. Before joining the Fantasea Foundation she previously spent 18 months in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, on a voluntary marine research and conservation expedition.  Emily was also selected to attend The Climate Project in Melbourne, where Al Gore trained around 170 people to become climate messengers.

Some of the activities undertaken by the Fantasea Foundation recently include:  

• As part of the AIMS and GBRMPA Marine Monitoring Programme, monthly water samples are taken by Fantasea at three sites en-route to Reefworld.  Samples are kept frozen and collected at regular intervals for scientific analysis by AIMS scientists.  Regular monitoring of water quality provides information on how the GBR lagoon is changing over time and whether certain regions are more affected by land runoff than others.  AIMS is involved in several water quality monitoring programs, however the one which the Fantasea Foundation participates in is the Chlorophyll A Monitoring, which is the only long-term and broad-scale water quality project in the GBR region.
• Whitsunday Local Marine Advisory Committee (WLMAC) Meetings who advise GBRMPA on management issues at a local level by community based committees. 
• Crown of Thorns Starfish (COTS) monitoring
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) Eye on the Reef, whereby Fantasea collect and monitor data, providing an early warning signal of change on the reef and a long-term data set for GBRMPA and researchers. 
• GBRMPA Sightings Network, a system of logging details and location of whales and all different types of marine life encountered on the journey to and from Reefworld
• Species Diversity List and Photographic Identification Guide whereby Fantasea Marine Co-ordinators photograph different species to add to the species diversity list and photographic identification guide.
• Provision of an Eye on the Reef nature diary, which is a compilation of the year’s data collected from the Hardy Reef site.  This nature diary includes a critter calendar (showing when particular species are present at the site), and information on mating and spawning events, water temperature, visibility and reef health.
• Hosting of “Reef Check Australia” surveyors (a global monitoring program) and James Cook University student research programs and initiatives, monitoring areas such as coral disease from climate change.
• Drupella snail removal from colonies of branching Acropora coral.
• Attendance at the newly formed GBRMPA Tourism Staff Training Course covering topics such as reef management, the tourism industry and sustainable marine tourism, tourism management in the Marine Park and much more.
• Fantasea On the Esplanade, located in Airlie Beach, is home to a resource centre, whereby visitors to the area are able to learn how to help do their part in protecting and conserving the Great Barrier Reef well into the future.
• Fantasea Reefworld is home to a remote weather reading station for AIMS, sending important weather data back to AIMS every 30 minutes.