Article
Who’s talking about offshore wind energy?
Nov 21, 2023
The two-day workshop was organised by Dr Karen Evans of CSIRO, leader of a hub project focussed on threatened species datasets relevant to the Gippsland Declared Area for Offshore Energy Infrastructure. Almost 60 people attended, either at CSIRO Hobart, or online. They included researchers, consultants, Commonwealth and state government regulators, and proponents of offshore wind…
Annual survey detects potential slowdown in ‘western’ southern right whale recovery
Nov 5, 2023
Leader of the hub project, Dr Joshua Smith of Murdoch University, says preliminary results of the 2023 annual survey also show very low sightings of southern right whales, with the numbers substantially down from the previous several years. “While 2022 had the lowest number of unaccompanied animals (whales without calves) since the aerial surveys began…
Understanding grazing impacts on Torres Strait seagrass meadows
Sep 11, 2023
To understand this link, scientists from James Cook University TropWATER, under the Marine and Coastal Hub, conducted experiments in the region with Indigenous rangers from Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) and Traditional Owners from Mabuyag Island. Using exclusion cages to prevent dugongs and turtles from feeding on small patches of seagrass meadow in the declining regions, scientists measured seagrass inside and outside the cages. The…
Marine and Coastal Hub Research Showcase held at Canberra
Aug 15, 2023
At this inaugural event, Hub leaders and researchers outlined our strategy, projects and findings for an audience of more than 100 colleagues and research users from national and state agencies Australia-wide. The presentations included: Browse or download the combined presentations below.
Scientists attend foraging school with ‘sea lion cam’
Jul 14, 2023
The cameras were attached to the backs of two sea lions at at Olive Island near Streaky Bay (off South-Australia’s Eyre Peninsula) and four sea lions at Seal Bay (Kangaroo Island). Each camera deployment recorded 12 hours of footage, showing beautiful and captivating imagery of the sea lions’ journeys, diving and foraging for food. Further…
Building national capacity for marine and coastal restoration
May 25, 2023
The Marine and Coastal Hub is consolidating what we’ve learned from past research and setting strategic and technical guideposts for the next research phase including the need for: Several tools and guidance documents have been delivered through the hub projects including: This article was first published in NESP News, the quarterly newsletter of the National…
Australia’s first living shorelines database showcases nature-based solutions to coastal hazards
Feb 21, 2023
Living shorelines harness natural ecosystems to reduce coastal erosion and flooding, and provide co-benefits such as carbon sequestration. They may consist of dunes, wetlands and biogenic reefs: either alone (soft approach) or together with hard structures (hybrid approach). Land managers and community groups engaged in shoreline restoration can benefit greatly from a national repository of…