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Aerial surveys can keep swimmers and sharks safe

A new study has found that drones have the potential to contribute to effective shark bite management strategies that do not require culling sharks or killing other animals as by-catch.

First ever global survey of reef sharks reveals widespread decline

A landmark new study published today in Nature by Global FinPrint reveals sharks are virtually absent on many of the world’s coral reefs. Sharks were not observed on nearly 20 percent of the 371 reefs surveyed in 58 countries, indicating a widespread decline that has largely gone undocumented until this global survey.

23 July 2020

Coral bleaching detected off Kimberley coast

Scientists have discovered a significant coral bleaching event at one of Western Australia’s healthiest coral reefs.

In April and May 2020, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) conducted surveys of the reef system, supported by Parks Australia and Australian Border Force, to confirm reports of significant coral bleaching.

14 July 2020

Coastal pollution reduces genetic diversity of corals, reef resilience

A new study published in the journal PeerJ by researchers at the University of Hawaii found that human-induced environmental stressors have a large effect on the genetic composition of coral reef populations in Hawaii.

9 April 2020

Crossbreeding corals: the hunt for ways to heal the Great Barrier Reef

Scientists, farmers and volunteers are looking for ways to lessen the impact of climate change as experts warn a third mass bleaching has taken place.

One of the dive instructors points out two blacktip reef sharks circling a docile green turtle busy grazing on algae. Stingrays of various sizes, colours and shapes pass beneath us. Suddenly, a pod of dolphins appears, swimming over the hard corals.

4 April 2020

Coronavirus is killing Australia’s lobster export market

With the Wuhan coronavirus suspected to have originated from wild animals in the city’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, Chinese authorities have temporarily banned all wild animal trade. Lobster and other wild-caught aquatic products are exempt from the ban, but demand has plummeted due to people staying home and avoiding both markets and restaurants.

19 February 2020

Shark nets are destructive and don’t keep you safe – let’s invest in lifeguards

As Australians look forward to the summer beach season, the prospect of shark encounters may cross their minds. Shark control has been the subject of furious public debate in recent years and while some governments favour lethal methods, it is the wrong route.

Our study, published today in People and Nature, presents further evidence that lethal shark hazard management damages marine life and does not keep people safe.

4 December 2019

250 Million Pieces of Trash at Remote Top End Australian Beach

A Sea Shepherd beach clean-up campaign in Northeast Arnhem Land has further exposed the catastrophic impact of marine plastic pollution on mainland Australia.

Over seven tonnes of marine plastic pollution was removed by ten volunteers from Sea Shepherd Australia and Indigenous Rangers from the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation in a two-week-long collaboration at Djulpan Beach on the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory.

22 Sep 2019

Climate change may change the way ocean waves impact 50% of the world’s coastlines

The rise in sea levels is not the only way climate change will affect the coasts. Our research, published today in Nature Climate Change, found a warming planet will also alter ocean waves along more than 50% of the world’s coastlines.

If the climate warms by more than 2℃ beyond pre-industrial levels, southern Australia is likely to see longer, more southerly waves that could alter the stability of the coastline.

20 August 2019

No-take marine areas help fishers (and fish) far more than we thought

One hectare of ocean in which fishing is not allowed (a marine protected area) produces at least five times the amount of fish as an equivalent unprotected hectare, according to new research published today. This outsized effect means marine protected areas, or MPAs, are more valuable than we previously thought for conservation and increasing fishing catches in nearby areas.

Previous research has found the number of offspring from a fish increases exponentially as they grow larger, a disparity that had not been taken into account in earlier modelling of fish populations. By revising this basic assumption, the true value of MPAs is clearer.

July 4 2019

Next generation corals undergo first field tests on the Great Barrier Reef

Hundreds of juvenile corals bred at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) have survived being transplanted on the Great Barrier Reef, in a promising early test to help corals increase their resilience to marine heatwaves.

2 July 2019

Deep sea carbon reservoirs once super-heated the Earth – could it happen again?

As concern grows over human-induced climate change, many scientists are looking back through Earth’s history to events that can shed light on changes occurring today. Analyzing how the planet’s climate system has changed in the past improves our understanding of how it may behave in the future.

It is now clear from these studies that abrupt warming events are built into Earth’s climate system. They have occurred when disturbances in carbon storage at Earth’s surface released greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. One of the grand challenges for climate scientists like me is to determine where these releases came from before humans were present, and what triggered them. Importantly, we want to know if such an event could happen again.

Floating cities: the future or a washed-up idea?

Humans have a long history of living on water. Our water homes span the fishing villages in Southeast Asia, Peru and Bolivia to modern floating homes in Vancouver and Amsterdam.

As our cities grapple with overcrowding and undesirable living situations, the ocean remains a potential frontier for sophisticated water-based communities.

New threat revealed for baby turtles: jetties shelter hatch-ling hungry predators

New research has revealed that marine turtle hatchlings entering the ocean close to jetties have a high likelihood of being eaten.

The study, published today in Biological Conservation, found structures such as jetties are an attractive shelter for hungry fish as they lie in wait for an easy evening meal.

Tiger sharks revealed as lazy predators

One of the ocean’s top predators – the tiger shark - has been revealed as a relaxed and sometimes lazy hunter by scientists studying their behavior.

Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and Murdoch University’s Harry Butler Institute attached specialist tags which combined cameras with motion and environmental sensors, to 27 tiger sharks in the Ningaloo Reef off the coast of Western Australia.

Most recreational fishers in Australia support marine sanctuaries

More than 70% of recreational fishers support no-take marine sanctuaries according to our research, published recently in Marine Policy.

This study contradicts the popular perception that fishers are against establishing no-take marine reserves to protect marine life. In fact, the vast majority of fishers we surveyed agreed that no-take sanctuaries improve marine environmental values, and do not impair their fishing.

The presence of people is slowing shark recovery on the Great Barrier Reef

Much of the Great Barrier Reef is legally protected in an effort to conserve and rebuild the fragile marine environment. Marine reserves are considered the gold standard for conservation, and often shape our perception of what an “undisturbed ecosystem” should look like.

However research published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, suggests that “no-take” marine reserves may be failing shark populations on the Great Barrier Reef.

Shark Bay: A World Heritage Site at catastrophic risk

The devastating bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016 and 2017 rightly captured the world’s attention. But what’s less widely known is that another World Heritage-listed marine ecosystem in Australia, Shark Bay, was also recently devastated by extreme temperatures, when a brutal marine heatwave struck off Western Australia in 2011.

Some sharks have declined by 92% in the past half-century off Queensland’s coast

There has been a striking decline in the number of large sharks caught off Queensland’s coast over the past 50 years, suggesting that populations have declined dramatically.

Catch numbers of large apex sharks (hammerheads, tigers and white sharks) declined by 74-92%, and the chance of catching no sharks at any given beach per year has increased by as much as seven-fold.

14 December 2018

Explainer: how the Antarctic Circumpolar Current helps keep Antarctica frozen

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current, or ACC, is the strongest ocean current on our planet. It extends from the sea surface to the bottom of the ocean, and encircles Antarctica.

It is vital for Earth’s health because it keeps Antarctica cool and frozen. It is also changing as the world’s climate warms.

The ACC carries an estimated 165 million to 182 million cubic metres of water every second (a unit also called a “Sverdrup”) from west to east, more than 100 times the flow of all the rivers on Earth. It provides the main connection between the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

16 Nov 2018

Scientists studying ocean productivity have uncovered a volcanic lost world teeming with marine life off the Tasmanian coast.

The lost world was uncovered during detailed seafloor mapping by CSIRO research vessel Investigator while on a 25-day research voyage led by scientists from the Australian National University (ANU). The mapping has revealed, for the first time, a diverse chain of volcanic seamounts located in deep water about 400 km east of Tasmania.

11 Oct 2018

SharkSpotter combines AI and drone technology to spot sharks and aid swimmers on Australian beaches

Four tiger sharks have now been captured and killed following two separate attacks off the coast of North Queensland last week. Despite being relatively rare, shark attacks, or the threat of attacks, not only disrupt recreational beach activities but can affect associated tourist industries. Shark nets are a common solution to preventing shark attacks on Australian beaches, but they pose dangers to marine ecosystems.

28 Sep 2018 Read More

Scientists have been drilling into the ocean floor for 50 years – here’s what they’ve found so far

It’s stunning but true that we know more about the surface of the moon than about the Earth’s ocean floor. Much of what we do know has come from scientific ocean drilling – the systematic collection of core samples from the deep seabed.

This revolutionary process began 50 years ago, when the drilling vessel Glomar Challenger sailed into the Gulf of Mexico on August 11, 1968 on the first expedition of the federally funded Deep Sea Drilling Project.

26 September 2018

Scientists make breakthrough in war against crown-of-thorns starfish

Researchers at the Australian Institute of Marine Science have made a significant breakthrough in the war against crown-of-thorns starfish, on the Great Barrier Reef.

AIMS’ senior research leader Dr Sven Uthicke and biochemist Jason Doyle, along with echinoderm expert Dr Miles Lamare from the University of Otago, in New Zealand, have developed a cost effective method for detecting DNA of the coral-eating pest.

18 Sep 2018

Whale sharks gather at a few specific locations around the world – now we know why

The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, but much of its lifecycle remains shrouded in mystery. These gentle giants gather in just a handful of places around the globe – something which has long baffled scientists – but our new research has started to explain why.

Better understanding of whale shark movements could help prevent further population loss in a species that has already experienced a 63% population decline over the past 75 years.

FactFile: the facts on shark bites and shark numbers

Are there more sharks in Australian waters than there used to be, and are interactions between humans and shark increasing? Some Australian politicians have claimed that to be the case.

Let’s look at the research.

Sea Shepherd calls for Shark Net Removal in Queensland

After several sightings of protected Humpback whales migrating along the east coast over the past two weeks, NSW Department of Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair has announced the second NSW North Coast net trial will come to an end. "NSW has removed shark nets whilst only a few kilometres across the border in the Gold Coast bay whale entanglements will continue.

More than 1/3 of recorded Humpback whale incidents along the Queensland coastline are in fact due to the Queensland Shark Control Program and we urgently need to change the current practice in light of an increasing whale population.

4 May 2018

4 things you didn’t know about white sharks

In a world first, CSIRO used a combination of tracking technologies to estimate the Australian white shark populations.

Tiny plastics are potentially dangerous for turtles too

Scientists from James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science have developed a new method to study microplastics swallowed by sea turtles.

17 Apr 2018

The deepest-dwelling fish in the sea is small, pink and delicate

Thanks to movies and nature videos, many people know that bizarre creatures live in the ocean’s deepest, darkest regions.

They include viperfish with huge mouths and big teeth, and anglerfish, which have bioluminescent lures that make their own light in a dark world.

However, the world’s deepest-dwelling fish – known as a hadal snailfish – is small, pink and completely scaleless. Its skin is so transparent that you can see right through to its liver. Nonetheless, hadal snailfish are some of the most successful animals found in the ocean’s deepest places.

1 February 2018

Why do shark bites seem to be more deadly in Australia than elsewhere?

Shark attack deaths are very rare, with only about two per year in Australia. But every year without fail, people die from shark bites, both here and around the world. The United States records by far the most unprovoked shark bites, an average of 45 per year over the past decade. However, only 1.3% of these incidents were fatal, 0.6 deaths per year. Australia records fewer bites than the US, an average of 14 per year but a much greater proportion of them are deadly: close to 11%. What is it that makes Australia more prone to deadly shark attacks?

1 November 2017

Understanding the feeding role of tiger sharks

Tiger sharks are one of the most successful large predators in the world’s oceans, but studying what they eat has been a challenge for researchers.

Historically diet is studied through examining stomach contents, but scientists at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and collaborators are leading the way in understanding more about the feeding habits of sharks from their skin tissue. This allows us to learn about shark diet based on a quick non-lethal approach.

9 November 2017

El Niño in the Pacific has an impact on dolphins over in Western Australia

Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) are a regular sight in the waters

around Australia, including the Bunbury area in Western Australia where they attract tourists.

The dolphin population here, about 180 km south of Perth, has been studied quite intensively since 2007 by the Murdoch University Cetacean Unit. We know the dolphins here have seasonal patterns of abundance, with highs in summer/autumn (the breeding season) and lows in winter/spring.

But in winter 2009, the dolphin population fell by more than half.

9 October 2017

Study uncovers value of shark dive tourism

Shark diving tourism is a growing industry estimated to be worth more than $25.5 million annually to Australia’s regional economy.

12 September 2017

Australia’s new marine parks plan is a case of the Emperor’s new clothes

The federal government’s new draft marine park plans are based on an unsubstantiated premise: that protection of Australia’s ocean wildlife is consistent with activities such as fishing and oil and gas exploration. Under the proposed plans, there would be no change to the boundaries of existing marine parks, which cover 36% of Commonwealth waters, or almost 2.4 million square kilometres. But many areas inside these boundaries will be rezoned to allow for a range of activities besides conservation.

24 July 2017

First new Sunfish species in 130 years

Sunfish spotting: four-year search discovers first new species in 130 years.

Marianne Nyegaard of Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia and her team have discovered a new species of Sunfish in New Zealand.

For more on the discovery follow the link below to the Cosmos article.

20 July 2017

Long-term monitoring update to condition of the Great Barrier Reef

Putting the mass coral bleaching event in 2016 into a 30+ year context

The AIMS Long-term Monitoring Program has released an update on the condition of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) based on survey data gathered across the entire GBR over the last 32 years. The update, which assesses data captured up to February 2017, describes a system under considerable pressure.

Over the past 12 months hard coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef declined by about a quarter, bringing average reef-wide coral cover down to 18%.
These findings are based on broadscale (manta tow) surveys of 68 mainly mid- and outer-shelf reefs to March 2017, and do not yet include the impact of Tropical Cyclone Debbie or the further intense coral bleaching in 2017.
In general, the impacts of coral bleaching, cyclones and crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks differ along the length of the Reef.
In a longer term context, the scale of the coral cover decline in the Northern GBR since 2013 is unprecedented, first due to 2 severe cyclones and then the severe coral bleaching event which began 2016.
In contrast, due to the proliferation of fast growing coral species and the absence of major disturbances, reefs in the Southern GBR continued to recover during the reporting period.

24 September 2017