AusOcean's 2025: a year in review

2025 has been a year of rebuilding and reimagining how we use low-cost ocean technology to support marine recovery and public engagement. From major design upgrades to new interstate deployments, AusOcean continued to push forward despite the challenges our coasts faced.

Launch of the Dream Rig

One of the biggest achievements this year was the launch of our first Dream Rig — a major step forward in the evolution of AusOcean technology.

The Dream Rig introduces:

• Significantly more power output, enabling high-demand devices such as underwater speakers
• A new anchoring system that no longer requires divers, reducing deployment cost and complexity
• Improved reliability and serviceability, informed by years of field experience
• Better data and streaming capability, integrated with CloudBlue

Supporting Oyster Reef Recovery Throughout the HAB

In direct response to the harmful algal bloom, we deployed two Rigs equipped with underwater speakers to support shellfish reef restoration:

• Kingscote, Kangaroo Island — placed at the developing shellfish reef to encourage oyster spat settlement
• Glenelg — supporting one of South Australia’s largest restored reefs

Both deployments were carefully timed around peak recruitment season, using healthy reef soundscapes to attract oyster larvae back onto reef structures. This work forms a core part of AusOcean’s HAB recovery response.

Live Streams & the Launch of AusOcean TV

2025 was a big step forward for how we share underwater worlds with the public.

Edithburgh Returns

We successfully brought the Edithburgh underwater camera back online, allowing viewers to watch marine life slowly reappear beneath the jetty following the HAB. It became a daily touchpoint for thousands curious about how quickly (or slowly) life was returning.

Rapid Bay

Unfortunately, Rapid Bay could not be restored due to storm damage and the temporary closure of the jetty, which prevented access to redeploy the rig.

AusOcean TV Launch

This year also marked the launch of AusOcean TV — our first dedicated platform for live-stream viewing.

On AusOcean TV, users can now:

• Watch underwater live streams from anywhere
• Chat with other viewers in real time
• Follow the recovery of sites like Edithburgh day-by-day
• Eventually help classify species through community-powered annotations

AusOcean TV sets the foundation for large-scale citizen science, enabling anyone to contribute to marine monitoring simply by watching the ocean.

First Interstate Deployment — Narooma, NSW

2025 marked AusOcean’s first interstate deployment. We installed a rig in Wagonga Inlet, Narooma, expanding our footprint beyond South Australia. The deployment gives ongoing underwater visibility into an important estuarine habitat and supports local conservation education.

Growing the Team — Welcoming Deborah & Elliot

We welcomed two new summer interns in December, with their internships running through to February:

• Deborah, a mechanical engineer, supporting rig design, prototyping, improvements to the Dream Rig structure, and field deployment work
• Elliot, a software engineer, contributing to CloudBlue development, camera systems, and the software used across our rigs

Their work is already strengthening our engineering and software capability during a busy period of HAB response and new deployments.

Looking Ahead to 2026

With the Dream Rig launched, AusOcean TV underway, new interstate deployments, and partnerships strengthening across marine and freshwater environments, 2026 is set to be a year of scale. Our focus will be deploying more rigs, supporting more restoration work, and building Australia’s largest open-access underwater monitoring network.