From 9m agoKey events9m ago‘Staggering’ 740 fossil fuels projects approved by flawed laws, climate council reveals42m agoVoice is last best hope for reconciliation, Noel Pearson to tell press club53m agoWelcomeFilters BETAKey events (3)Australia (4)19m ago17.05 EDTEmily Wind
Good morning everyone! Thank-you to Martin Farrer for kicking things off this morning. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be with you on the blog today.
If you see anything that needs attention, you can always email me at emily.wind.casual@theguardian.com.
And with that, let’s get into it – it’s shaping up to be another big day.
25m ago16.58 EDT
Long-term decline of dugong populations along Great Barrier Reef
Dugong populations along the Great Barrier Reef are in long-term decline according to the results of aerial surveys.
Researchers from James Cook University say surveys from Mission Beach to Moreton Bay that were conducted in 2022 confirmed a declining trend of 2.3% per year since 2005.
Lead dugong researcher, JCU TropWATER’s Dr Chris Cleguer said:
We observed a decline in overall dugong numbers, with the area of most concern being the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef from the Whitsundays to Bundaberg.
Alarmingly, we observed very few calves in this region, and only two mother-calf pairs spotted in the Gladstone area.
Our report reinforces the urgency in addressing threats to dugongs.
The 2022 aerial survey confirmed areas of high dugong numbers in specific regions, including Hinchinbrook, the Townsville area, and Shoalwater Bay.
Hervey Bay, located south of the Great Barrier Reef, showed the most significant estimated rate of population decline at 5.7% per year between 2005 and 2022.
Some of the decline is linked to floods in 2022 which caused extensive seagrass loss, depriving dugongs of their primary food source.
Gillnets are also a major threat to dugongs. Earlier this year the federal government announced it would phase out commercial gillnet fishing in the Great Barrier Reef world heritage area by 2027 and create new net-free zones.
Simon Miller, the Great Barrier Reef fisheries campaign manager at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said:
If that keeps on going you could be talking about local extinctions on the southern Great Barrier Reef, which is why we urgently need better protections for our dugongs.
The most pressing policy change I think we need to see is for dugong protection areas to be closed to gillnet fishing.
The departure of Daniel Andrews
There’s plenty of time before that Labor caucus vote in Spring Street later and what better way to spend it than to read some of our analysis and comment the departure of Daniel Andrews from the political stage.
The former ABC broadcaster Jon Faine salutes Andrews as the most progressive premier for decades and one who won two reelections despite the constant…
2023-09-26 16:07:27
Article from www.theguardian.com
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