Paramount Importance
14/07/2026
I was incredibly grateful to be named a finalist in the WA Young Achiever Awards’ Create Change Award.
While I didn’t take home the award, the nomination gave me a chance to reflect on what so many people have helped build.
The goal has never been recognition. It has been to create a stronger connection between science and the community, to help research move beyond academic journals and reach the people it can inform, inspire and benefit.
Over the last 12 months, that mission has taken many forms: filming science as it happens, hosting conversations with leading researchers, producing documentaries, speaking in schools/ community events, doing an Ironman to raise funds and volunteer with Fishability, hosting our first live podcast and delivering the world’s first live underwater podcast into classrooms across Australia and people around the world. The Paramount Importance podcast is booming and has now reached listeners in 99 countries, while the research teams I work alongside continue publish important knowledge through scientific papers and reports.
None of this happens alone. It is built by scientists willing to share their knowledge, filmmakers and editors who bring stories to life, educators who open their classrooms, organisations that support new ideas, and every person who watches, listens, asks questions or shares the work.
We are trying to build something that makes science familiar, accessible and part of everyday conversation.
Because when people feel connected to knowledge, they care, and when they care, change follows.
Thank you to everyone who is part of this journey. There is still so much more to do, and I'm more excited than ever for what's ahead.
Because I've always believed that change happens from inspiration, not instruction.
When scientists looked at what they eat, they found they often had just one fish in their stomach. But that one fish was usually a large meal.
They are not just eating one fish because that is all they can find. Their diet seems to be shaped by energy. One large prey item gives them a high return, reduces how often they need to hunt, and may even reduce competition with other harlequin fish.
Interestingly, their diet was linked more strongly to prey size than prey family. So they are not just targeting one type of fish, they are targeting the right-sized fish they can overpower and swallow.
Their colours also tell a story. Juveniles and females have yellow spots, but as males mature, those spots shift through green and become blue. During the spawning season, that blue can intensify, likely playing a role in courtship or competition between males.
So behind the colour is a predator shaped by energy, timing, and reproduction.
From what we know, harlequin fish do not appear to be under heavy fishing pressure, but they also have not had the same level of stock assessment as our major fisheries.
Filmed, scripted & edited: Kurt Krispyn
23/06/2026
World Ocean Day was a pretty special one this year.
A huge thank you to WA Marine Science Institution for having me as a keynote speaker at the breakfast event. It was a privilege to talk about something I'm genuinely passionate about, science communication and helping connect researchers with the broader community.
I'd also like to thank Sam Moyle and the The Jock Clough Marine Foundation 🐚 for bringing me onto the working group for the WA World Ocean Day event at Gage Roads. It was great fun throwing around ideas, helping shape the event, and having a very good excuse to make another fish interview video.
The speakers across both events were incredible. There are so many passionate people doing important work for our oceans, and I always leave these events feeling inspired and full of ideas. I also came away with a growing list of future Paramount Importance podcast guests.
A big thank you to everyone involved in making both events happen. It was a fantastic celebration of our oceans and the people working to better understand and protect them.
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
Category
Address
Perth, WA
