Media Report

The Guardian

19 September 2013

The rampant overfishing of sharks, often solely for their fins, is causing a damaging chain reaction that could significantly degrade coral reef systems, a decade-long Australian-led study has found.

The Conversation

19 September 2013

The growing demand for shark fin as an ingredient in Chinese cuisine has caused an explosion in the number of shark fisheries in recent decades. But sharks are important members of ocean food chains, and removing them can have unintended consequences. Our new study, conducted off the coast of northwest Australia, shows that killing sharks isn’t just bad for sharks; it can also harm coral reefs.

ABC News

17 September 2013

The Queensland Government will wait before beginning an expensive proposal to fix a turtle rookery at Raine Island off Cape York until it assesses the impacts of a new trial.

Northjersey.com

14 September 2013

NORMANBY ISLAND, Papua New Guinea (AP) — Katharina Fabricius plunged from a dive boat into the Pacific Ocean of tomorrow.

A bleak portrait emerged: Instead of tiered jungles of branching, leafy corals, Fabricius saw mud, stubby spires and squat boulder corals. Snails and clams were mostly gone, as were worms, colorful sea squirts and ornate feather stars. Read more

ABC News

11 September 2013

CSIRO researchers say the attitudes of north Queensland residents will help shape future management policies for coastal areas near the Great Barrier Reef.

The group is surveying residents in Mackay and the Burdekin to gauge how important the coast is and what value is placed on conservation, as well as commercial and recreational uses. Read more

The Conversation

11 September 2013

The University of Queensland

09 September 2013

Manta rays are hard to miss —big and black, stretching up to seven metres wide, but scientists are concerned about the survival of the world's largest ray. 

The University of Queensland's Project Manta is joining forces with Western Australia's Murdoch University scientists and industry partners Austral Fisheries and the TG Kailis Marine Conservation Fund to establish “Project Manta – WA”. Read more

Mother Nature Network

The Conversation

06 September 2013

Australia is surrounded by a thin green line of seagrass meadows potentially worth A$5.4 billion on international carbon markets, and which could contribute to Australia and other nations meeting carbon emissions targets. Whether that potential can be realised is very much dependent on the type of carbon management scheme our next government puts in place.

News Mail

05 September 2013

QUEENSLAND research capabilities are under the international spotlight, with scientists DNA barcoding all 870 species of plants found in south-east Queensland rainforests.

Science and Innovation Minister Ian Walker said the ground breaking work will build a global reference database, while assisting to protect rare species and map our state's biodiversity. Read more