When Dr Scott Bennett picks up the phone, he sounds exactly how you’d expect a marine ecologist raised on Tasmania’s coast to sound: calm, warm, slightly windswept, like he might’ve just stepped out of the sea. “The trip was amazing,” he says casually of a recent research expedition to the Great Southern Reef. “We could dive places we’ve never been able to reach before. It was… incredible.”

Scott recently returned from one of the most remote parts of the reef, alongside SARAH & SEBASTIAN’s Creative Director (and fellow diver) Sarah Munro. The expedition, supported by our philanthropic Xanthe Project initiative, had one goal: to survey fragile reef ecosystems and document the urgent effects of climate change.

What followed were rare sightings, surprising discoveries, and a deeper understanding of why this reef deserves the world’s attention.

Meet the man at the heart of it all, wildly articulate, deeply passionate and let’s face it, not a bad poster boy for the ocean.  

A CHILDHOOD AT SEA

Scott grew up in Tasmania, where diving was a family affair. “My parents were both divers, and we lived right on the coast. From a young age, I was snorkelling, surfing, and diving. I think it was largely the family influence and just growing up surrounded by the ocean that led me here.”

Like many young Tasmanians, he left home to explore. “I did my undergrad in Townsville at James Cook University on the Great Barrier Reef. I had an amazing time, but I wanted to get closer to reefs that felt familiar.” His PhD took him to Perth just in time for an unprecedented marine heatwave.

“It was 2011. Temperatures soared three to five degrees above historical summer highs. Kelp forests that had stood forever were completely wiped out. It was shocking. That summer was the catalyst. I realised climate change was real and happening in real time, on our watch. I knew we needed to act fast.”

Spoiler: He did. And hasn’t stopped since.

SO WHAT IS THE GREAT SOUTHERN REEF?

If you haven’t heard of the Great Southern Reef, you’re not alone. It’s one of Australia’s most biodiverse ecosystems, spanning over 8,000km of coastline, and somehow still flies under the radar. “During my PhD, I was travelling between regional towns across the southern coastline, studying kelp species,” Scott explains. “And what became really clear was that people everywhere were fishing, surfing, diving, connecting with the same reef systems, even though they didn’t realise it.”

So in 2016, Scott did something no one had: he gave it a name. “I wrote the paper that coined ‘The Great Southern Reef’ to unite all these fragmented ecosystems into one large, interconnected entity, like the Great Barrier Reef. The ocean currents, the biodiversity, the culture, they’re all linked.”

Also linked? Us. “Two-thirds of Australians live along the Great Southern Reef,” he points out. “It’s literally our backyard.”

THE EXPEDITION: PART SCIENCE, PART ADVENTURE

The recent expedition to Tasmania’s far-flung southwest was, in Scott’s words, “a terrific opportunity.” He first met Sarah last year when she invited him to the screening of Now You See Me, The Great Southern Reef. “That connection sparked a generous offer from Sarah to support and fund some of the ongoing research that we were doing,” Scott recalls.

But it was no luxury holiday. “You can’t get there by road; it’s only accessible by boat or foot,” he explains. “It’s the southernmost point of the continent and one of the last refuges for giant kelp forests, which have disappeared from most of eastern Tasmania due to climate change.”One of the most memorable dives was at Pedra Branca, a remote rock outcrop 20 nautical miles offshore. “It’s known for big waves and bird poo, it literally translates to ‘white rock’, but no one had surveyed the reef there before,” he laughs. “We found lush bull kelp forests extending 20 metres deep. And beneath that, just thousands of fish. It was… teeming. We haven’t seen anything like it elsewhere.”

CLIMATE CHANGE, KELP FORESTS AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Here’s the part where your heart breaks a little. “We’ve lost over 95% of our giant kelp forests in Eastern Tasmania since the 1970s,” Scott says. “That’s due to warming waters and invasive species like long-spined sea urchins, which feed on the kelp and are now spreading further south.”

Scott is currently part of a major kelp reforestation effort led by IMAS. “We’re actively restoring 15 hectares of kelp forest. That means planting kelp by hand, removing sea urchins, and trying to bring these ecosystems back to life.”

But it’s not just kelp at risk. “We were also searching for handfish, an iconic species here in Tasmania. Many haven’t been seen in years. The south coast may be one of their last remaining refuges.” 

THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK

When he’s not underwater, Scott wears two hats. He’s a Marine Ecologist at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) and Co-Founder of the Great Southern Reef Foundation, a grassroots organisation working to raise awareness around this critical ecosystem.

“We do it through filmmaking, educational resources, and by connecting scientists with communities. The goal is to amplify this reef to the world. We want the Great Southern Reef to be recognised for the wonder that it is.”

And while his mission is serious, Scott isn’t without charm. Ask him what a typical dive looks like, and you won’t get a filtered Instagram moment. “We’re crawling along the bottom with a 50-metre measuring tape, counting fish, crabs, octopus, urchins; basically everything that moves. On a single dive, we might record up to 150 species,” he says. “It’s pretty manual. And freezing.”The conversation always returns to what matters most: the reef, the creatures that call it home, and our responsibility to protect them.

“When we jump in the ocean, we’re seeing species that have been here for millions of years. Some date back 100 million years. And yet, in just the last 50 years, we’ve had a devastating impact. These organisms have a deep historical right to this planet. We need to look after them. The urgency is real.”

WANT TO HELP?

You don’t need a PhD or a wetsuit to make a difference. Support local conservation organisations. Stay curious. Talk about the Great Southern Reef. And next time you’re swimming at the beach, remember, there’s a whole world beneath your feet, worth protecting.

SARAH & SEBASTIAN proudly sponsored Dr Scott Bennett’s south Tasmania expedition as part of the Xanthe Project, our philanthropic commitment to ocean conservation. Learn more about the Xanthe Project here.

Discover the Great Southern Reef Foundation and how support their work here.