WATCH: Glowing shark discovered in Western Port waters
A shark glowing a vivid green in the waters of Western Port is helping filmmakers expose what they say is a colourful and diverse marine environment often hidden away from the public eye.
A SHARK glowing a vivid green in the waters of Western Port is helping filmmakers expose what they say is a colourful and diverse marine environment often hidden away from the public eye.
The footage is believed to be the first ever recorded evidence of biofluorescence in an Australian swellshark, and will feature in the upcoming ‘Western Port Down Under’ documentary.
Bass Coast Shire Council committed $55,000 towards the project through a one-year Environmental Partnership Agreement.
Marine biologist and project founder Sheree Marris said Western Port’s wildlife was frequently overlooked because a lot of it only appears beneath the surface.
“Western Port has a visibility problem, not a diversity problem,” Ms Marris said.
“People tend to see mud, mangroves and mosquitoes. We see magic.”
Ms Marris, together with underwater cinematographer Jack Breedon, captured the swellshark in shallow Western Port waters using specialised lighting and camera equipment.
The equipment revealed vivid green patterns that can’t be seen by the naked human eye, with the fluorescence occurring when molecules within the shark’s skin absorb blue light and re-emit it as green.
“The glowing shark is a perfect example,” Ms Marris said.
“Here is an animal we’ve known about for decades, quietly hiding an extraordinary superpower in plain sight. And that’s Western Port in a nutshell. The more we look, the more it surprises us.”
An Australian swellshark glows vivid green under specialised lighting in Western Port, revealing biofluorescence invisible to the naked eye. Video: Jack Breedon.
The documentary won’t be limited to just the shark though, also showcasing Western Port’s unique bryozoan reefs, sponge gardens, sea dragons, seven-gill sharks and marine behaviours that have very rarely been caught on film.
La Trobe University marine biologist Dr Travis Dutka said the discovery showed just how much remains unknown about the region’s waters.
“Discoveries like this remind us how little we know about our southern marine ecosystems, and especially Western Port Bay,” Dr Dutka said.
Council’s contribution will help produce the documentary and its companion Living Book, which Ms Marris described as the two cornerstone assets of the wider campaign.
“Bass Coast Shire Council’s $55,000 contribution is helping us create the two cornerstone assets of the campaign: our landmark documentary and companion Living Book, including showcasing the incredible wildlife, habitats and stories of the Bass Coast region,” she said.
The Australian swellshark in its natural colours, with its biofluorescence invisible to the human eye. Video: Jack Breedon.
The scientific information, stories, photographs and footage gathered by the team over the course of the project will also help produce educational and conservation resources.
Ms Marris said those resources could continue supporting schools, community organisations and conservation programs long after the documentary was released.
“Our job through ‘Western Port Down Under’ is to reveal that hidden world and give people the opportunity to fall in love with their own blue backyard, because people can’t protect what they don’t know exists,” she said.
The documentary is expected to premiere during summer 2026-27.
