Well known for helping Marlin and Dory meet Crush, Squirt, and other sea turtles in their search for Nemo in the animated hit film Finding Nemo, in real life the East Australian Current brings warm water marine life to Port Stephens.

One of those warm water visitors is a Pink Whipray, a large diamond-shaped brownish-pink stingray with an extremely long and narrow tail, complete with a single serrated venomous spine.

It's unusual for this big ray to venture south of the Gold Coast but when caught in the East Australian Current, it can and does reach Port Stephens.

This particular one was spotted at Fly Point.

It looked to be about three metres long, maybe one and a half metres wide, but they can grow to five metres in length and almost 2 metres wide.

The Pink Whipray is not considered dangerous but certainly the venomous spine on its tail could cause a very painful wound.

So for the lucky few snorkellers or divers who spot one, it's a good idea to keep a respectful distance.

Malcolm Nobbs is a recreational diver and photographer from Nelson Bay. See more of Malcolm's underwater photos at www.malcolmnobbs.com.