Category Archives: Marine life

Labor’s grassroots environmental group dismayed by rushed bill protecting salmon industry

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The Labor Environment Action Network says it won’t ‘sugar coat’ its reaction after working ‘so hard’ on obtaining commitment for EPA

Labor’s grassroots environment action network has told its members it does not support legislation that Anthony Albanese rushed through parliament this week to protect salmon farming in Tasmania, describing it as “frustrating and disappointing”.

In an email on Thursday, the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) said it would not “sugar coat” its reaction to a bill that was introduced to end a formal government reconsideration of whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour, on the state’s west coast, in 2012 was properly approved.

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Ningaloo and Great Barrier Reef hit by ‘profoundly distressing’ simultaneous coral bleaching events

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Scientists say widespread damage to both world heritage-listed reefs is ‘heartbreaking’ as WA reef accumulates highest amount of heat stress on record

Australia’s two world heritage-listed reefs – Ningaloo on the west coast and the Great Barrier Reef on the east – have been hit simultaneously by coral bleaching that reef experts have called “heartbreaking” and “a profoundly distressing moment”.

Teams of scientists on both coasts have been monitoring and tracking the heat stress and bleaching extending across thousands of kilometres of marine habitat, which is likely to have been driven by global heating.

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Albanese to rush through new laws to protect Tasmania’s salmon industry from legal threat

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Labor will push the contentious bill through parliament next week despite concerns about the extinction of the Maugean skate

Anthony Albanese plans to rush through contentious legislation next week to protect Tasmania’s salmon industry from a legal challenge over the industry’s impact on an endangered fish species.

The future of the salmon industry on the state’s west coast has become a sharp political issue centred on whether it can coexist with the Maugean skate, a ray-like species found only in Macquarie Harbour’s brackish waters.

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Hope for endangered penguins as no-fishing zones agreed off South Africa

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Deal will restrict fishing near colonies on Robben Island and Bird Island for 10 years, after long debate between industry and conservationists

Efforts to stop the critically endangered African penguin from going extinct took a step forward on Tuesday after South African conservationists and fishing industry groups reached a legal settlement on no-fishing zones around six of the penguins’ major breeding colonies.

Sardine and anchovy fishing will not be allowed for 12 miles (20km) around the penguin colony off Cape Town on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and Bird Island, across the bay from Gqeberha, also known as Port Elizabeth. There will be more limited closures around four other colonies, according to a court order formalising the agreement.

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Once named world’s ugliest animal, blobfish wins New Zealand’s fish of the year

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Made up of blobby tissue and living deep in the ocean, the distinctive species beat the longfin eel and pygmy pipehorse in the annual contest

It was once crowned the “world’s ugliest animal” and now the disgruntled-looking gelatinous blobfish has a new gong to its name: New Zealand’s fish of the year.

The winning species of blobfish, Psychrolutes marcidus, lives in the highly pressurised depths off the coasts of New Zealand and Australia and has developed a unique anatomy to exist. Blobfish do not have a swim bladder, a full skeleton, muscles or scales. Instead, their bodies are made up of blobby tissue with a lower density than water that allows them to float above the seafloor.

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‘A ribbon dancer’: captive baby sea lion performs acrobatics with artificial kelp

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‘It look so artistic under the water,’ staff at Washington state aquarium says of Pepper

A baby sea lion toting an artificial kelp strip was filmed performing intricate rhythmic gymnastics-style circles through the waters of an aquarium in Washington state.

Although only nine months old and still reliant on her mother’s milk, Pepper has become the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s most acrobatic sea lion, said Noelle Tremonti, a staff biologist for the aquarium.

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Killer whales amaze Seattle onlookers with rarely seen bird hunt

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Gasps from dockside crowd watching Bigg’s orca pod in event described as ‘once-in-a-lifetime experience’

A pod of orcas swam close to shore and amazed onlookers in Seattle by treating the whale watchers to the rare sight of the apex predators hunting a bird.

The pod of Bigg’s killer whales visited Elliott Bay and were seemingly on a hunt underwater just off Seattle’s maritime industrial docks. The pod exited the bay close to the West Seattle neighborhood across from downtown, where people were waiting to catch sight of them.

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Man bitten by shark off Queensland’s Moreton Island in second attack in less than a month

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Victim is in a stable condition at a Brisbane hospital with abdominal and leg injuries, authorities say

A man is recovering in a Brisbane hospital after being bitten by a shark and airlifted for treatment from a Moreton Bay island.

The man, who is reported to be 29, was mauled in the waters off the bay side of Moreton Island near the Wrecks Walking Track shortly after 3pm on Saturday.

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Anthony Albanese under pressure on salmon farming from both conservationists and industry

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The future of Tasmanian salmon farms has become a political issue centred on whether they can coexist with the endangered Maugean skate

Anthony Albanese is caught in a pincer movement over a pre-election pledge that he will protect salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour, with conservationists and industry leaders both urging him to rethink the commitment.

The future of salmon farming in the harbour on the state’s west coast has become a sharp political issue centred on whether it can coexist with the endangered Maugean skate, an endemic ray-like species that has survived since the age of the dinosaurs.

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Officials to euthanise 90 whales stranded on beach in remote north-western Tasmania

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Attempt to refloat false killer whales was unsuccessful, forcing wildlife authorities to make difficult decision for safety and ‘welfare reasons’

Tasmanian authorities plan to euthanise 90 surviving false killer whales in a group of 157 animals that have stranded on a beach near Arthur River, on the state’s remote north-west coast.

Marine conservation experts including wildlife veterinarians arrived at the site on Wednesday morning, confirming 90 animals were still alive.

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DeSantis urged to declare emergency over toxic red tide algae off Florida coast

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Harmful algae bloom off south-west coast blamed for deaths of marine life and poses threat to beaches

Environmentalists in Florida are calling on the governor, Ron DeSantis, to declare an emergency as a worsening “red tide” algae bloom off the state’s south-west coast threatens popular tourist beaches and is being blamed for the deaths of wildlife including fish and dolphins.

Several counties have issued health alerts in response to the outbreak, which scientists say began in the Gulf of Mexico last year when Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore up nutrient-rich waters that feed the algae.

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Sydney’s archaic sewerage system a ‘significant’ source of microplastic pollution, CSIRO finds

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Malabar wastewater plant discharges 5.4bn to 120bn of microplastics each day, report says, prompting calls for more advanced treatment processes

It is not just human waste that is being pumped into the ocean off Sydney’s popular beaches due to the city’s unusual and archaic sewerage system – government scientists have confirmed billions of microplastics are also polluting the water.

A CSIRO report, released in 2020 but not reported on until now, found the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) at Malabar discharged an estimated 5.4bn to 120bn of microplastics into the ocean each day.

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‘I closed my eyes to brace for impact’: the man who escaped a whale’s mouth

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Adrián Simancas encountered a humpback off Chile’s coast – but scientists say he was never at risk of being swallowed

Adrián Simancas had been paddling for two hours in the calm but icy seas of the Strait of Magellan, off the coast of Chilean Patagonia, when something massive emerged from the water and dragged him under.

“I saw dark blue and white colours before feeling a slimy texture brush against my face,” the 24-year-old told the Guardian. “I closed my eyes to brace for impact, but it was soft, like being hit by a wave.”

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Campaigners call for action as jellyfish threaten Scottish salmon farms

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String jellyfish species that has killed millions of salmon in Norwegian sea farms reported in Scotland

A jellyfish species that has been wreaking havoc on Norway’s salmon industry has made its way to Scotland, causing significant damage and prompting calls for urgent action.

The string jellyfish has killed millions of salmon in Norwegian sea farms with officials urging an extermination of affected stocks.

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Treasury seeks to keep water firm fines earmarked for sewage cleanups

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Exclusive: Restoration fund in England could be ‘siphoned off’ to be used for general government spending, not repairing rivers

Rachel Reeves’s Treasury is looking to keep millions of pounds levied on polluting water companies in fines that were meant to be earmarked for sewage cleanup, the Guardian has learned.

The £11m water restoration fund was announced before the election last year, with projects bidding for the cash to improve waterways and repair damage done by sewage pollution in areas where fines have been imposed.

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‘The worst way of dying’: scientists urge coordinated effort to stop whales getting tangled

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Experts recorded 45 entanglements off Australia’s east coast in 2024 – but believe that’s ‘the tip of the iceberg’

At least 45 whales were entangled by fishing ropes and line on the east coast in 2024, and experts are calling for better management of fishing gear in Australia to prevent marine suffering.

Dr Olaf Meynecke, a marine scientist at Griffith University, said the issue of preventing whale entanglements was “largely ignored in Australia”.

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Grieving killer whale who carried calf’s body spotted again with dead baby

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Experts say sighting of orca in Puget Sound with second deceased calf is ‘devastating’ for ailing population

An apparently grieving killer whale who swam more than 1,000 miles pushing the body of her dead newborn has lost another calf and is again carrying the body, a development researchers say is a “devastating” loss for the ailing population.

The Washington state-based Center for Whale Research said the orca, known as Tahlequah, or J35, was spotted in the Puget Sound area with her deceased calf.

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Cruise ships urged to ‘clean up their act’ amid concerns toxic effluent being dumped on Great Barrier Reef

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Environmentalists say marine park waste regulations need updating to limit grey water and exhaust chemicals as passenger cruise numbers rise

Environmentalists and tourism operators on the Great Barrier Reef say authorities must enforce stricter pollution standards on cruise liners visiting the world heritage area amid growth in passenger cruise numbers and concern that ships are dumping toxins into the water.

The Whitsunday Conservation Council says the definition of “waste” used to prevent marine discharge on the reef – which dates back to the 1970s – does not restrict discharge from sulphur “scrubbers” that have become commonplace in the shipping industry.

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Largest great white shark ever caught in Queensland control program was pregnant with four pups

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Female almost the length of a shipping container was found dead on a drumline in August, primary industries department has revealed

The largest great white shark ever caught in Queensland’s shark control program died while pregnant with four pups, the primary industries department has revealed.

A female white shark was found dead on a shark-catching drumline near Gladstone in August. Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries took samples for research purposes and has been collaborating with researchers interstate, a spokesperson said.

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Pint-sized crustacean named after New Zealand brewery to boost interest in marine life

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Tiny isopod is dubbed Pentaceration forkandbrewer in push to engage community with climate-threatened life in local waters

New Zealand scientists have named a tiny snowflake-like crustacean after a Wellington brewery, in an attempt to boost the public’s interest in local marine life.

The roughly 1.5mm marine isopod was found in the silty depths off New Zealand’s southern east coast. It helps decompose organic material that drifts to the seabed.

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