Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
Sea lion camera reveals mother taking pup on educational foraging expedition in the wild
Feb 10, 2026
This article by hub researcher Nathan Angelakis is republished from The Conversation. Australian sea lions are different. They have an 18-month breeding cycle, out of sync with the seasons, which has puzzled scientists for years. So compared to other seals, Australian sea lion mothers spend an extra six months or more nursing their pups. Why this is…
Watching, listening, and carrying forward the understandings shared by Sea-Kin
Dec 5, 2025
Cultural Custodians joined representatives from Aboriginal organisations, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and Parks Australia. The meeting was convened by Dr Chels Marshall, Dr Jodi Edwards and Natalia Baechtold from the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security at the University of Wollongong. Their project is investigating the relationships that Aboriginal Peoples hold with cetaceans and other marine cultural keystone species across south-eastern Australia. Engaging with Sea-Kin Communities engage with their Sea-Kin – dolphins, humpback whales,…
Southern right whale: 50 years of aerial surveys and counting
Sep 7, 2025
For the full-screen experience, this story can can also be viewed on ArcGIS StoryMaps [external link].
Developing Integrated Pest Management for feral pigs
Sep 5, 2025
The Marine and Coastal Hub project is led by the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd (NAILSMA). It was co-designed with Daluk Rangers, Juunjuwarra Rangers and Madjaybana Rangers who are also collaborating in the field research. Fieldwork is being conducted at three sites in northern Australia to capture different environments: Kakadu National Park, Cape…
Supporting shorebird recovery across the East Asian–Australasian Flyway
Sep 5, 2025
An early Marine and Coastal Hub project 1.21 analysed population trends for 15 key species. This research directly contributed to the listing of eight species as nationally threatened under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. However, it was not all bad news; the numbers for several species appeared to be stabilising, suggesting some…
Making unseen reefs visible: new maps support better decisions for northern Australia’s marine life
Sep 5, 2025
In the remote, sediment-rich waters of northern Australia, these reefs had remained largely hidden. Absent from official maps, they have mostly been invisible to decision-makers. As such, despite providing habitat for a wide range of marine life, they are overlooked in conservation and development planning. The hub project team, led by the Australian Institute of…
Slow increase in Australia’s eastern grey nurse shark population shows conservation actions are on track
Sep 5, 2025
Scientists collected biopsy samples from more than 300 grey nurse sharks off the coast of New South Wales. The DNA of these sharks was profiled to reveal family relationships that can help to estimate population size. Based on this work, the number of adults in the eastern grey nurse shark population is estimated to have…
Lights, cameras, pilchards and whales: surveying life in Hunter Marine Park
Sep 4, 2025
At depths below 50 metres, their cameras are capturing the wonderful world of fiddler rays, catsharks, Port Jackson sharks, hermit crabs, leatherjackets, lobsters, nannygai, bellowfish, serpent eels, sea whips, wobbegongs and snappers. The three-week survey began on 12 August, and is working around the weather. It is led by Dr Jacquomo Monk of the Institute…
Seeing ocean life through eDNA: new insights from south-eastern Australia
Sep 2, 2025
The voyages, conducted in July 2023 and May 2024, were part of the South-East Australian Marine Ecosystem Survey (SEA-MES) on the CSIRO Research Vessel (RV) Investigator. More than 500 eDNA samples were collected and analysed from 91 survey sites along the continental shelf between Tasmania and southern New South Wales. This is the first comprehensive…
Black rockcod find refuge in ‘no-take’ zones amid overall population decline
Jun 17, 2025
It’s a go-to zone for scuba divers who descend to 12–18 metre depths and watch grey nurse sharks parade through rocky gutters. For some there’s an even rarer sight . . . the appearance of a large black rockcod. This legendary fellow is estimated to be 50–70 years old. Divers first noticed him in 1988,…