Latest news with #seagrass
ABC News
21-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Power out, roads cut, thousands isolated in record breaking NSW floods
On today's program: Hundreds of people are rescued from floodwaters and rooftops across the Mid North Coast and Hunter region of New South Wales as flooding rain continues to fall. Out on the land farmers in the Hunter region and mid north coast have been isolated by the flood waters with some are saying they have never seen anything like it in generations of farming. Reporter: David Claughton and Fiona Poole Dugongs in the Exmouth Gulf may be forced to range further for food as an extended marine heatwave wipes out critical seagrass habitats. Reporter: Alistair Bates (Karratha) The State Government in Victoria is moving ahead with its renewable energy transition, unveiling a draft proposal for its second transmission plan. The Government says the plan is a crucial step as the State moves away from coal, but some farmers are threatening to lock the gate to developers. Reporter: Danielle Pope (Sale)
Times
19-05-2025
- Science
- Times
Chelsea Flower Show celebrates ‘unsung hero' of the plant world
It usually spends its life underwater, overlooked and under threat, but for the first time, seagrass will be taking centre stage at the Chelsea Flower Show. The Seawilding Garden will feature a saltwater pool of seagrass, some of which has been harvested from seed in a laboratory in Devon. The rest has been relocated from a threatened seagrass meadow near the ferry crossing between Mull and Iona in the Inner Hebrides. It will be the first time the humble seagrass, also known as common eelgrass, has been exhibited alongside the fancier, flashier plants at the show in west London. When the show is over, the seagrass will be replanted on the ocean floor, as part of a wider effort to restore the depleted habitat of
ABC News
19-05-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Marine heatwave poses growing risk to dugong population in Exmouth Gulf
An ongoing marine heatwave has left dugongs facing a critical food shortage in one of their most abundant feeding grounds off Western Australia's coast. Researchers say persistently high ocean temperatures in the Exmouth Gulf, about 1,200 kilometres north of Perth, have scorched half of its seagrass species and could force herds of dugongs into less-sheltered waters. It adds to the list of flow-on effects from a devastating marine heatwave that has gripped much of the WA coast since September. "Previously there were four main species [of seagrass] there," Edith Cowan University (ECU) research associate Nicole Said explained. Seagrass meadows carpeting large areas of the gulf have made it home to the second largest population of dugongs in WA, trailing only Shark Bay to the south. Ms Said expected the marine flowering plant to be impacted by the warm conditions. "We're not really sure what will happen from this," she said. "Will [dugongs] change their preferred food source and start feeding on the species that's done really well? "Or what we've seen in the past is that dugongs have moved out of the gulf into other areas to feed." Heatwaves, heavy storms, and cool spells have diminished seagrass stock in the past, pushing dugongs out as pastures rebound — a process that can take two to three years. Aerial surveys since the 1980s have revealed the gulf's 1,000-strong dugong population tends to migrate towards Ningaloo or Barrow Island when its main habitat is challenged. Amid a marine heatwave in the summer of 2010–2011, the number of dugongs in the region dropped to a handful, with scientists recording a spike in deaths due to starvation. ECU megafauna researcher Amanda Hodgson said more frequent and prolonged warming events, like the one underway, could put ecosystems on the verge of collapse. "We haven't previously considered that Barrow Island area, where dugongs aren't necessarily normally found in high numbers, as an important dugong habitat," Dr Hodgson said. "We need to consider that there are areas that might not normally represent critical habitat but, in fact, are becoming more critical as these extreme climate events keep happening more often." Dr Hodgson's view is shared by Exmouth local and ecotourism operator Amelia Armstrong. She described the situation as "horrifying" and called for immediate action. "This whole system is connected and what we're doing here is going to have ongoing effects," Dr Armstrong said. Dr Armstrong, who holds a PhD in manta ray research, was among the dozens of Exmouth residents at a community information session the state government's Exmouth Gulf Taskforce held last week. The taskforce convened its final meeting the same day, ahead of delivering its report to recently appointed WA Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn by the end of next month. In 2021, the state government pledged to create marine parks in southern and eastern portions of the gulf and appointed the taskforce to determine whether more areas needed to be protected. An interim report made public last year recommended the whole of the Exmouth Gulf be conserved. Dr Hodgson said the present marine heatwave strengthened community resolve to fight for the whole of the gulf to be made a marine park and reduce industrial pressures. In contrast, residents who attended a community session in Onslow told the ABC they were worried wider protections could hamstring their local economy. Retiree Felicity Brennan agreed the gulf's south, which includes a major prawn fishery and marine nursery, should be protected. But she warned too broad a brush could come at the expense of a town that lacks the same tourist pull as Exmouth. "This place is a working town," she said. Mr Swinbourn defended his government's approach. "The scale of the heatwave is beyond our small population and large coastline," he said. Mr Swinbourn said he was confident the Exmouth Gulf Taskforce could incorporate the early effects of the heatwave into its report, and that the DBCA would continue to monitor its long-term impact.
Irish Times
09-05-2025
- Science
- Irish Times
Shellfish dredging wiping out key carbon-catching seagrass meadows, Coastwatch warns
Dredging for shellfish in some of Ireland's most sensitive marine areas is wiping out seagrass meadows that play a critical role in capturing vast amounts of carbon and in enriching biodiversity , according to Coastwatch . Following the environmental group's discovery this week of the latest evidence of seagrass destruction, at Elly Bay in Co Mayo, it has called on the Government to ensure 'no more bottom dredging in protected sites with sensitive features'. This was necessary 'so seagrass can do its carbon-capture job' and ensure biodiversity-rich areas are preserved in places under the umbrella of marine protected areas (MPAs), said Coastwatch director Karin Dubsky. This was needed 'to address both biodiversity and climate change crises'. Decline of seagrass underlined the need to switch to 'managed, licensed shellfish diving and gathering, with licences reserved for traditional scallop and native oyster fishermen', she said. The fishers' local knowledge and stock-protection traditions, combined with the right diving skills and scientific knowledge was the way effective MPA management could work. READ MORE Last Sunday, Coastwatch regional co-ordinator Sam Moran assessed seagrass ( Zostera marina ) meadows in Elly Bay, part of a special area of conservation (SAC) known as the Mullet/Blacksod Bay Complex. He free dived with a simple underwater camera and recorded healthy but thin seagrass with spiny crabs and other sea life, Ms Dubsky said, but also 'the odd reef hump teeming with life, interrupted by large areas of recently ripped up sea floor with empty shells. He even found a lost dredge with the damaged seabed running up to it'. This was the latest evidence of extensive damage by dredging in important marine ecosystems around the Irish coast, she added. [ Deposit return scheme leads to 'massive reduction' in plastic bottles and drinks containers found on shores by Coastwatch Opens in new window ] 'This is in one of our prime, internationally protected sites, which also hosts seagrass, the most valuable carbon store and fish nursery area. Yet we see boats licensed to dredge here. Licensed damage has to stop. We call on Government to halt dredging in and around seagrass, foster site restoration and management with local, traditional knowledge,' she said. Mr Moran said he believed the area could recover if dredging were halted. 'Looking at the ground and shelter here, there is huge potential for seagrass meadows to expand. This would provide a return in more shellfish, fish and other sea life which needs healthy seagrass meadows to flourish,' Mr Moran added. He said he was shocked this practice was going on in such an important ecological area, and by the dredge abandoned on the seabed. Spider crab in a depleted seagrass meadow in Elly Bay off Belmullet in Co Mayo. Photograph: Sam Moran Coastwatch Ms Dubsky said a Government decision to stop dredging in MPAs would be an apt 99th birthday present for environmentalist and film-maker David Attenborough, coinciding with the release of his new documentary Ocean. Separate to the film displaying 'the awe of the beauty and complexity of our underwater world', she said it conveyed 'sadness and frustration as more and more of our seas are being damaged by ever-growing variety and intensity of human activities'. While it brought some hope of turning things around before it's too late, she said the same pressures were evident on Irish seas. 'You can see both beauty and damage yourself right here in Ireland,' she added. The dredges used in Elly Bay 'aren't huge like those shown in David Attenborough's Ocean film, but we see how they can still do the seagrass damage – think of sensitive parts of your body where a poke can do real damage, while others might just get bruised and be grand'. 'Adequate monitoring and enforcement, as well as a publicity campaign to highlight this transformative change, would bring more ecotourism and a top price for shellfish selected for size right there at the seafloor,' she added. Inland Fisheries Ireland is responsible for issuing oyster dredge licences, while enforcement comes under the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS). The NPWS was asked to comment on concerns raised by Coastwtch.
