Accepting the award on behalf of the Quicksilver Group, Michael Healy Group Director of Sales and Marketing, said it was a great honour to accept on behalf of all our staff and crew that work so hard to make sure we really do provide the best experiences across our range of Great Barrier Reef touring options every day for our visitors.

"We're extremely proud to be acknowledged for outstanding contribution to tourism, continued commitment to quality customer service and environmentally sustainable practices.

In addition to this award, Pro Dive Cairns was recognised amongst Queensland's best Adventure Tourism Operators being awarded the Bronze Award.

"The Queensland Tourism Awards are a benchmark of excellence within our industry. Being recognised by your peers is an achievement of which to be proud," said Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games Jann Stuckey.

As a result of winning the Major Tour and Transport Operator award, the Quicksilver Group will now represent Queensland in the nation's peak industry awards, the Australian Tourism Awards to be announced in February 2014.

Passengers from afar as Italy, France, Japan and elsewhere in Australia set out for a night of exciting night dives and adventure snorkelling to witness this annual phenomenon expertly predicted by our marine biologists to occur from 22-24 November this year.

"Coral spawning is the Everest' of seeing reproduction in nature and should be on every diver's bucket list," said Quicksilver marine biologist Russell Hore.

"A lot of factors need to align and predicting when this will occur is not an exact science but does rely on several environmental cues. To begin with, spawning tends to happen at night when plankton feeders are asleep (allowing eggs time to fertilise) and you need almost perfect tides, weather and temperatures.

"When a big boulder coral goes off, it releases an underwater snow storm and you get to see hundreds of bundles floating to the surface," he said.

"You know when it is happening. There's a slick on the surface and the smell on one hand, while on the other, most of the fish life are sitting on the bottom with distended stomachs. It's like they have stuffed themselves with Tim Tam biscuits!"

Coral spawning was unknown to science until 1982, when several marine biologists working on the Great Barrier Reef observed it in the wild for the first time. To maintain a consistently robust gene pool, corals need to have a sexual phase to exchange genes and this is the process known as coral spawning.

Photos courtesy of Xavier Kier ( pictured at Flynn reef ).

Quicksilver Group Managing Director Tony Baker said, "Great Adventures diver Craig Hardes took the Queen's Baton to a coral garden at Green Island on the Great Barrier Reef. We are very excited about our role in the Queen's Baton Relay and it brought back memories of the Sydney Olympics when we hosted the Olympic Torch in a world's first taking it underwater on its relay around Australia."

The Baton was received and carried onto the Reef King by Brian Cave, General Manger Operations and on arrival at Green Island, Sue O'Donnell General Manager of Green Island Resort travelled through the rainforest before handing the baton to Craig for the vision of the Great Barrier Reef.

Craig Hardes, a long term Great Adventures employee, said "It was a highlight and an incredible privilege to be able to hold the Queen's Baton and represent the Great Barrier Reef an icon of its journey around Australia."

The Baton was designed in Glasgow and holds the Queen's message which is inscribed on a parchment and contained in a transparent cylinder within a pure titanium latticework frame and illuminated from within. At the Opening Ceremony, The Queen will read the message and declare the games open.

Commenting on the partnership Michael Healy, Quicksilver Group Director Sales and Marketing said "We are pleased to be working with TCMG and Rhett is a well-respected tourism professional, who has over two decades in senior roles with the Tourism industry. Rhett and one of his senior employees Craig Smith will be responsible for representing the Quicksilver Group. Rhett and Craig have both developed a very strong and respected reputation in Europe key markets and we look forward to working with them."

Rhett Lego said "At TCMG we are very proud to representing such an iconic Australian tourism product very popular with the European trade and consumer. It has been one of my strategic dreams that we represent the Quicksilver Group here in Europe and now our job is to get out and tell the great story that is Quicksilver in Cairns and Port Douglas."

See "The Zoo" to meet Craig Smith on his recent tour of the Great Barrier Reef!

What is unknown are the hatchlings life history, feeding, dispersal or recruitment methods to the tropical reefs. While information regarding their life is scarce a small hawksbill turtle, named Harry by the crew, was found swimming around our reef cruise vessel Silverswift at Flynn Reef recently in distress.

The Silverswift crew rescued the hatchling turtle and brought it back to the mainland to be assessed by the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. About the size of a hand palm, Harry is thought to be about 3-6 months old. Jennie Gilbert co-founder of the CTRC said "this is the smallest hawksbill turtle that has been brought into the centre and this size is rarely seen in the wild until they are larger. "We do not know where they go or how far they travel at this age".

Dougie Baird, Environment Compliance Manager for the Quicksilver Group said, "To see a turtle of this size is amazing. Turtles are struggling currently and for every 1000 turtles that hatch only about one reaches adulthood so it is important that we gain a better understanding of these young turtles and their habits."

Harry the Hawksbill is believed to have floaters syndrome and has now started eating squid and prawns, and while he may be in care for many months until recovered enough to be released, his prognosis is good.

So while one turtle was rescued, Wavedancer from Port Douglas assisted in the release of Di the Green Sea Turtle at Low Isles on Friday 8 November. Di was found in Port Douglas and is a juvenile about 10-15 years old and had been in care for 12 months. CTRC chose to release Di as close to where she was found and with the turtle population at Low Isles we are hoping she will find a few mates to swim and play with.

Di the turtle was also the star of the TV show "The Wild Life of Tim Faulkner" who assisted in releasing her back into the waters around Low Isles. Pictured below being released at Low Isles.

The Sei Whales, which remain on the endangered species list, were seen by Silversonic about 2.5 kms west of Agincourt 3 Reef. Shane Down, Skipper of Silversonic said "The adult was approximately 15-18 metres long and the calf 6-7 metres long. It appeared the mother was cruising and the calf was playing and trying to engage mum in her antics. They were about 150 metres from the vessel and it is quite early in the season to see these whales."

Quicksilver marine biologist and Environment Compliance Manager Doug Baird, said they are quite inquisitive and the key to identifying a Sei Whale is through the distinguishing feature of a single ridge extending from the blowholes to the tip of the upper jaw.

Silversonic had first recorded sighting one of these rare whales in January 2008 and our last sighting was in January 2012.

The Sei (pronounced "say") Whales are among the more elusive of the large whales and are rarely seen inshore preferring the deeper oceans. They are one of the fastest whales with bursts of speed up to 55km/hr. The Sei Whale is very similar in appearance to the Fin and Brydes whales being long, streamlined and having a V - shaped head which is flat on top.

Growing up to 20 metres and 30 tonnes, they are the third largest of the baleen whales, after the Blue Whale and the Fin Whale. Their body is dark grey with a paler underside. It has twin blowholes with a low splashguard to the front.

The Sei Whale is a filter feeder, feeding on small schooling fish, squid and crustaceans. It feeds by swimming at a relatively high speed, opening its jaw which causes it to engulf up to 18,000 gallons of water. It then closes its jaw and pushes the water back out its mouth through the baleen, allowing the water to leave while trapping the prey. They can consume up to 2 tons of food per day.

In general, the Sei whale migrates annually from cool and subpolar waters in summer to temperate and subtropical waters for winter, where food is more abundant and mating occurs. The Sei Whale is on the endangered species list with reports of less than 54,000 in the world.