Latest news with #South Pacific
France 24
12 hours ago
- Science
- France 24
Cook Islands wages war on 'plague' of hungry starfish
These makeshift tools are their best weapons in the war against crown-of-thorns starfish, a coral-munching species eating through tropical reefs already weakened by climate change. The Cook Islands, a South Pacific nation of about 17,000 people, is in the grips of a years-long outbreak, says marine biologist Teina Rongo. "It can completely kill off the entire reef, right around the island," said Rongo, who organises volunteers protecting the reefs fringing the isle of Rarotonga. "I think there seems to be a Pacific-wide outbreak at the moment, because we're hearing other countries are facing similar challenges." A single crown-of-thorns adult can eat more than 10 square metres (110 square feet) of reef each year, squeezing its stomach through its mouth to coat coral in digestive juices. They pose a major threat to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where scientists have developed robots that hunt down the prickly invertebrates and inject them with poison. "At the moment, you basically kill them by injection," said researcher Sven Uthicke, from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. "It could be vinegar, it could be lime juice or ox bile. "Others are building chemical attraction traps. It's all very promising -- but it's in the development stage." Rongo finds it quickest to pry the feasting starfish loose using a wooden stick cut from the dense timber of the Pacific Ironwood tree. "Basically, we use a stick with a hook at the end," he said. "We've made some modifications over time because we were getting pricked by these starfish. It's painful." Named for their hundreds of venomous spikes, crown-of-thorns starfish have as many as 21 fleshy arms and can grow larger than a car tyre. They are typically found in such low numbers that they are not considered a problem. But sporadically populations explode in a feeding frenzy that rapidly strips the life from reefs. 'Plague proportions ' They spawn in "plague proportions", according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and are a major driver of coral loss. From the Red Sea to the Pacific Ocean, crown-of-thorns outbreaks appear to be becoming both more frequent and more severe. "Some argue that the crown-of-thorns has become chronic in the last few decades," said Rongo, talking about the reefs of the South Pacific. Scientists suspect these outbreaks are triggered by a mix of factors, including nutrients leached into the sea from agriculture and fluctuations in natural predators. But the damage they can cause is getting worse as reefs are weakened by climate change-fuelled coral bleaching and ocean acidification. "This is why it's important for us to help the reef," says Rongo. Scuba divers scour the Cook Islands' reefs for hard-to-spot starfish wedged into dimly lit crevices. Once peeled off the coral, the starfish are pierced with a thick rope so they can be dragged back up to a waiting boat. The day's haul is dumped into a plastic chest before the starfish are lugged ashore to be counted, measured and mulched for garden fertiliser. They are known as "taramea" in Cook Islands Maori, which loosely translates to "spiky thing". The volunteer divers working with Rongo and his environmental group Korero O Te Orau -- or Knowledge of the Land, Sky and Sea -- remove thousands of starfish every year. Rongo is spurred by the devastation from the nation's last major infestation in the 1990s. "I was part of that eradication effort. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Underwater expedition unveils new imagery of sunken World War II destroyer
HONIARA, Solomon Islands - Maritime experts on an expedition around the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific recently explored the wreckage of the USS Laffey, a destroyer sunk during a pivotal series of battles in World War II. According to the USS Laffey Association, the ship went down on Nov. 13, 1942, during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal and currently rests upright about half a mile beneath the surface in a region known as the Iron Bottom Sound — a graveyard for dozens of ships and hundreds of planes lost during the six-year-long global conflict. The latest mission, expedition NA173, was conducted by the nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust and supported by NOAA. Over a stretch of 21 days, researchers used a remotely operated vehicle and sophisticated imaging technology to survey the wreckage and other historic sites. War Trophy From George Washington's Army Discovered Amid British Shipwreck Photos released by the team show the Laffey still sitting upright on the seafloor with much of her bow and midsection intact despite more than 80 years underwater. Among the discoveries was a plaque that is still legible, showing the ship's name and builder information despite decades of exposure on the bottom of the Pacific. The ship's wreckage was originally discovered in 1992 during a National Geographic Society expedition led by renowned oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard, who is most famous for locating the Titanic in 1985. Since that initial discovery, the Laffey has been explored less than a handful of times, making this latest adventure a unique opportunity to document the wreckage's condition. According to the USS Laffey Association, a torpedo led to the ship's demise after sailors engaged several Japanese battleships in a ferocious battle. Historical records indicate that 59 sailors were killed or lost during the attack on the ship, with more than 100 wounded. Noaa Mission Finds Unexpected Discovery At Site Of Sunken Uss Yorktown Historians say during the broader conflict, located more than 1,000 miles northeast of Australia, some 20,000 lives were claimed from both the Axis and Allied powers. Researchers believe at least 111 ships and 1,450 planes were lost in the region during the war, but only a small fraction of these wrecks have been thoroughly explored or documented. During the three-week-long exploratory mission, experts also investigated the wrecks of Australia's HMAS Canberra - the largest warship ever lost in battle by the Royal Australian Navy - and several other sites belonging to the U.S. and article source: Underwater expedition unveils new imagery of sunken World War II destroyer
The Sun
14-07-2025
- The Sun
The world's ‘most remote island' is 336 miles away from neighbours, has 2 languages, a volcano & home to Brits
THE world's 'most remote island' is home to just 35 people, and is 336 miles away from the nearest inhabited location. There is no airport on the island, which can only be reached by a two day boat trip. 6 6 Pitcairn, is the only inhabited part of the Pitcairn islands, which also consists of islands named Henderson, Ducie and Oeno. The island was formed from a volcano, with the island's main settlement, Adamstown, lying within the volcanic basin. Population descended from British mutineers Those who live on the island are descended from nine British HMS Bounty Mutineers and 12 Tahitian women. The island is a British Overseas Territory, meaning that King Charles III is the monarch, despite the UK being 8,942 miles away. Neither the King or his mother, the late Queen, have ever visited the island; however, Prince Philip stopped at the tiny settlement in 1971 whilst voyaging on the royal yacht Britannia. Members of the community rely on making money from honey, tourism and agriculture, with the New Zealand dollar used as the main currency. Four times a year, supply ships arrive from New Zealand, which 3,106 miles away from New Zealand from the islands. World heritage site In 1988, the island was, which is home to a wide variety of birds nad marine life, was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Polynesians were the first to settle on the islands, but they had abandoned them by the time Europeans arrived in the 1600s. Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernandes de Queirós was the first European to discover the island in 1606. Remote paradise island where you could move for free but Brit colony comes with dark past and is almost impossible to find It was then discovered again by a 15-year-old crew member of the British warship HMS Swallow in 1767, Robert Pitcairn, whom the islands are named after. In 1790, nine mutineers from HMS Bounty and 17 native Tahitians set fire to the boat and settled on the islands. The boat can still be seen underwater in Bounty Bay, and these are the settlers that today's residents are all descended from. They lived in isolation on the island for 20 years, until Pitcairn was discovered by American whalers in 1808. 6 Smallest territory in the world Soon after this, other ships arrived on the island, and brought the settlers supplies from Britain. During this period, the population began to grow, with ships travelling between the US and Australia using the island as a port call. Pitcairn saw a peak population of 233, but this has declined over time, with many choosing to migrate to New Zealand. As of 2023, there were just 35 residents on the island, making it the the smallest territory in the world in terms of permanent resident population. There are two official languages spoken in Pitcairn, English and Piktern, which is a mix of English and Tahitian. Despite its tiny population, the island still has a church, a tennis court and a museum, which displays artefacts from the HMS Bounty. Cruise ships often visit the island, which today is governed by Ioan Thomas, Britain's High Commissioner to New Zealand. Life on Pitcairn may sound peaceful, but the island's immigration website reveals: "Life on Pitcairn will not be for everyone. "The island's isolation and small size at times make life on Pitcairn physically demanding and challenging. "Residents need to be able to turn their hand to a wide range of tasks, and handle difficulties with pragmatism and creativity." 6 6
Malay Mail
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Australia expects Chinese spying during major war games, renews warning over Pacific military base
SYDNEY, July 13 — Australia's government said today it expects China to spy on major military drills it is conducting with the United States and other allies. It also renewed a charge — denounced by Beijing as a 'false narrative' — that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific. The comments by a government minister came as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties. More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercise from Sunday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. 'The Chinese military have observed these exercises since 2017 and it would be very unusual if they didn't do that this time,' said Pat Conroy, Australia's minister for the defence industry and for Pacific Island affairs. 'We'll obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia,' he told Australian public broadcaster ABC. 'People observe these exercises to collect intelligence around procedures, around the electronic spectrum and the use of communications, and we'll adjust accordingly so that we manage that leakage.' The strategically important South Pacific region is at the centre of a diplomatic scramble for influence pitting China against its Western rivals. 'We're seeing in my portfolio of the Pacific, China seeking to secure a military base in the region,' said Conroy, who has previously made the same assessment. 'We're working very hard to be the primary security partner of choice for the region, because we don't think that's a particularly optimal thing for Australia.' China inked a secretive security pact with Pacific nation Solomon Islands in 2022. Although the details have never been published, the United States and close ally Australia fear it may be the prelude to some kind of permanent Chinese base. Australia wants 'a balanced region where no one is dominated and no one dominates', Conroy said. China's embassy in Fiji this month insisted claims that it wanted to set up a military base in the region were 'false narratives' driven by 'ulterior motives'. Beijing has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building sports stadiums, presidential palaces, hospitals and roads in Pacific island nations. Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Nauru have in recent years severed longstanding diplomatic links with Taiwan in favour of China. — AFP
