What lies beneath: Melbourne’s often maligned surf has created a growing snorkelling scene

One dedicated Facebook group now has almost 20,000 members, attracted by sea life found just metres from Port Phillip Bay’s shore

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Wading into the warm, crystal-clear water at the northern end of Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay – bearing flippers, a snorkel and a mask – a colourful underwater wonderland teeming with life opens up just metres from the shoreline.

Within a few minutes, we spot a tiny headshield slug and a pygmy squid (the smallest known species of squid in the world). A little further out at the popular Ricketts Point snorkelling spot in Boonwurrung country, we found ourselves floating above a southern fiddler ray (also known as a banjo shark) nestling in the sea grasses and subtidal reef below.

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