Ocean 'Tropicalisation' Radically Changing Southern Coastal Environments, Senate Inquiry Hears

ABC Rural - David Claughton


Fears Tasmania's giant kelp forests almost extinct (ABC News)

Warming water moving south along the New South Wales and Western Australian coasts from their tropical north is leading to fisheries contamination, more frequent storms and the destruction of kelp forests, a Senate inquiry has heard.
The 'Current and future impacts of climate change on marine fisheries and biodiversity' inquiry has completed hearings in Sydney and Hobart, and is due to report by June 30.
Senators heard that fishermen have registered warm ocean currents making their way down the NSW coast, bringing fish contaminated with toxins such as ciguatera.
The toxin is only present in larger Spanish mackerel, which led to a food poisoning outbreak and subsequent ban on the larger fish at the Sydney Fish Market.
"Three people off Evans Head got ciguatera so we've had to stop catching large mackerel and the fish market won't take any ... over 10 kilograms," said Tricia Beattie, the chief executive of the Professional Fishermen's Association.
The inquiry also heard that coral fish are migrating much further south on the warmer currents leading to radical change in the underwater environment.
The migrating fish are eating plant life, including kelp, which underpins major fisheries in southern waters.
In Tasmania, kelp forests have almost disappeared due to rapidly warming waters and the spread of sea urchins.
Adriana Verges of the University of NSW said the tropical fish are destroying seaweed beds all along the east and west coasts of Australia, affecting key industries based on lobster and abalone stocks.
"It's the seaweeds that provide the habitat," she says.

"They can overgraze them and that causes a profound shift, whereby the entire ecological community changes and that's already been shown in northern NSW and the west coast of Australia."

Rabbitfish feed on kelp, filmed by researchers investigating its disappearance in southern oceans. (Supplied: Adriana Verges)

One kelp species has already been listed for protection, but researchers want more to be protected.
Professor David Booth from the Centre for Environmental Sustainability at University of Technology Sydney singled out the need for more resources to protect the ocean environment in places like the 2,900 square kilometre Perth Canyon on the west coast.
"I don't think we have enough data on what is actually in some of these areas and we're flying blind with a lot of the management," he said.

Cameras on the sea floor recorded migrating coral fish feeding where kelp has disappeared. (Supplied: Enric Ballesteros)

While Professor Booth said the oceans can not be climate proofed, he said they could be made climate ready, including the addition of additional marine sanctuaries in Commonwealth and northern trawl fishery waters.
Fishermen are opposed to an increase of ocean sanctuaries arguing that the industry has suffered too many cuts in recent years, and pollution and the causes of climate change itself need to be dealt with first.

'Slapped' by twin bleaching events
The coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef was happening more frequently, Professor Booth told the inquiry, occurring in 1998, 2004, 2006, 2011 and the past two years.

Storms in January damaged the Rockpool kiosk at Tuncurry. (Supplied: Wallis Lake Fishermen's Cooperative)

"Two bleaching events in a row, that's devastating," he said.

"It's like being slapped twice and not having a chance to recover.

"You can see there's a bit of a gap between them, but now we're now talking 2016-17 and if we get 2018 as well ... uncharted waters is a good way to put it."
NSW fishermen have also registered more frequent storms, the latest in January damaging processing facilities, retail outlets and slipways on the state's north coast.
Ms Beattie said the Wallis Lake Cooperative suffered a lot of damage.
"They lost their roofs, they lost their slipway ... pipes were broken, it was like a small hurricane had gone through the area," she said.

Links

• Kelp forests of Tasmania dying as water warms, dive operator says
• 'No longer casual observers': Global warming making oceans sick, scientists warn
• Current and future impacts of climate change on marine fisheries and biodiversity
• Barrier Reef coral bleaching 'could cost $1b in lost tourism'
• Dramatic images show bleached coral covered in slime
• Next term of government will seal Great Barrier Reef's fate, report warns
• Only 7pc of Great Barrier Reef escapes bleaching: survey

Climate Change Is Killing The Great Barrier Reef

PBS NewsHour - Miles O'Brien


Coral reefs are more than examples of natural beauty; they harbor fish that feed millions and shield us against storms and floods. Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the largest living structure on the planet, is dying. As ocean waters steadily warm, extensive coral destruction continues, part of an unprecedented global crisis. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports on what's at stake.

Judy Woodruff: The Great Barrier Reef along the coast of Australia is considered one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. It actually consists of more than 2,900 smaller reefs and 900 islands and countless species of fish.
But its health and future are very much in doubt.
Miles O'Brien has the story for our weekly segment on the Leading Edge of science and technology.

Miles O'Brien: Half the size of Texas, spanning 1,400 miles, Australia's Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet. It is rich in beauty and diversity, but it is dying, as the ocean waters steadily warm.
David Wachenfeld, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority: It's a very confronting situation. And I hope the people of the world take this as a call to action to do more about climate change.

Miles O'Brien: Coral reef ecologist David Wachenfeld is director for reef recovery at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. It's the second consecutive summer of extensive coral destruction, or bleaching, on the reef.
David Wachenfeld: We are using aerial surveys and underwater surveys to try and cover that whole enormous area of the Great Barrier Reef to get a handle on the extent and severity of the event. But, certainly, this year is shaping up to be another very bad year, as was last year.

Miles O'Brien: Last year, two-thirds of the corals in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef died, the worst die-off in history. As for this year, it is too early to tell. But the outlook is grim, as this is one big piece of an unprecedented global coral crisis.
C. Mark Eakin, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coral Reef Watch: Since June of '14, we have had continuous bleaching somewhere in the world. Globally, over 70 percent of the coral reefs around the globe have been exposed to the high temperatures that cause bleaching.

Miles O'Brien: Coral reef ecologist Mark Eakin is the coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Watch.
He relies on data from scientific satellites operated by NOAA, the Europeans, and the Japanese that measure ocean water temperature. He, along with David Wachenfeld, is co-author of a new study published in the journal "Nature" documenting the link between warm waters and dying coral in the Great Barrier Reef.
C. Mark Eakin: What we did here at Coral Reef Watch was to provide the satellite data that gives the information on the areas where the high temperatures occurred.
So, there are charts in there showing where the bleaching was worst and where the temperatures were highest for the longest time, and the correlation between that heat stress and where the bleaching occurred was very high.

Miles O'Brien: Coral reefs are the rain forests of the sea, brimming with mind-boggling diversity that is still not fully explored.
Jennifer Smith, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD: Despite the fact that coral reefs occupy a very small footprint of the overall Earth's surface, less than 0.1 percent, an area about the size of the country of France, they're home to more species of marine organisms than any other marine ecosystem on the planet.

Miles O'Brien: Jen Smith is associate professor in marine biology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego.
We met at Scripps' Birch Aquarium, home to some spectacular displays of reef ecosystems to nurture curious minds and, behind the scenes, an extensive nursery to nurture the coral itself.
Most corals are nourished through a symbiotic relationship with algae, that convert sunlight into energy, which the corals tap into.
Jennifer Smith: So, it's like having a garden growing in your stomach where 90 percent of your daily nutrition comes directly from that garden in your stomach.

Miles O'Brien: The pigments in the algae are the source of the vivid rainbow of colors in a healthy coral reef. But the algae are very temperature-sensitive. A few degrees warmer than normal, and their photosynthesis is enhanced. That may sound good, but the unfortunate byproduct is a toxin.
So, the coral is forced to spit out its food source, revealing its white color, thus the term bleaching. Jen Smith showed me Birch's display of an unhealthy bleached coral reef.
Jennifer Smith: As long as you still see white skeleton, that's usually an indication that the coral is still alive, because, as soon as the tissue starts dying, your seaweed will start settling on that skeleton and start growing over it.
So, within a matter of a few weeks or even a month during a bleaching event, you will have an idea of whether that coral is dead and getting overgrown by seaweed, or whether it's on its way to recovery.

Miles O'Brien: The sustained global bleaching event is not giving corals a chance to recover. Many coral reefs are further stressed by other types of human activity: runoff from sewage, agriculture, and overfishing.
But scientists say the current bleaching is happening whether those local factors are present or not. It is clear warming water is the culprit, and reducing our use of fossil fuels is the only solution.
Scientists say the world must adhere to obligations to do just that made by 195 nations in Paris in 2015.
C. Mark Eakin: This is really the only thing that's going to deal with this global coral bleaching problem. Even if we do, though, we're going to lose a lot of coral reefs.

Miles O'Brien: But the Trump administration is filled with climate change skeptics pushing to roll back Obama-era regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gases.
So, what if we do nothing to slow climate change?
Jennifer Smith: Corals reefs as we know them will not exist in the next 10, 20, 30 years. We could single-handedly be responsible for the extinction of an entire ecosystem.

Miles O'Brien: Coral reefs are more than spectacular, vivid examples of nature's beauty. The fish they harbor are also a food source for a half-billion people, and natural barriers against storms and floods.
But, before too long, they may only exist behind glass.
Miles O'Brien, the PBS NewsHour, La Jolla, California.

Judy Woodruff: Clearly, they are a global treasure. Let's hope more attention is paid to how to save them.

Links

• Coral Crisis: The Great Barrier Reef Needs Us To Speak Up
• Shed A Tear For The Reefs
• Coral Reefs' Only Hope Is Halting Global Warming, Study Says
• Year-On-Year Bleaching Threatens Great Barrier Reef’s World Heritage Status
• Great Barrier Reef Bleached For Unprecedented Second Year Running
• 'Significant Event': Coral Bleaching Returns To The Great Barrier Reef
• Images Of New Bleaching On Great Barrier Reef Heighten Fears Of Coral Death

Coral Crisis: The Great Barrier Reef Needs Us To Speak Up

Fairfax - Peter Hannam

The Great Barrier Reef is dying on our watch, and that's almost all we're doing.
The scale of the second mass bleaching in two years won't be known for several weeks but early indications suggest the corals in the tourist heartland between Townsville and Port Douglas have been hammered.

Great Barrier Reef's coral crisis

The Great Barrier Reef is on track for another year of coral decline, this year affecting prime tourism areas.

Even as scientists from James Cook University and the reef's Marine Park Authority complete aerial surveys of the 2300-kilometre natural treasure, researchers such as Line Bay from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) are returning from dives with grim tidings.
"We saw bleaching on every reef we went to," Bay tells me. "And it was quite significant", reaching as much as 90 per cent in shallow reefs.
Despite the imminent blow to their industry, tourism bodies are largely silent in calling for help for their prize asset.
Col McKenzie, who heads the Association of Marine Park Tourism Organisations, concedes the sector is reluctant to present a negative image that could turn off visitors.
"Farmers have 10 times our voice," he says, even though reef tourism alone probably keeps 70,000 people in jobs and generates about as much revenue – $6 billion a year – as mining for the Queensland.
For now, scientists aren't expecting the damage to reach last year's extent, when about 25 per cent of the reef's corals died. But that's hardly cause for celebration.

An AIMS researcher surveying thermal stress and bleaching at Taylor Reef off Mission Beach in the central Great Barrier Reef. Photo: Eric Matson, AIMS

John Gunn, AIMS' chief executive, says scientists had forecast global warming to trigger the sorts of the bleaching seen this year and last, but not for another 10-15 years.
"It is now crisis time," Gunn tells me. "If you found a massive cancer clusters and cancer deaths, you've suddenly got to restart your thinking, and say well you've got to tackle this problem now."

Corals aren’t the only organisms on the reef that suffer from bleaching – this anemone on Farquharson Reef, east of Mission Beach on the GBR, would normally have colouring similar to a healthy coral polyp. Photo: E.Matson, AIMS

But those looking for leadership at the federal or Queensland level are likely to be sorely disappointed. Attention, if anything, seems to be focused on making things worse.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was busy leading a delegation to India last week, begging Adani to begin a monster coal mine that will – if the Galilee Basin as a whole gets developed – lead to billions of tonnes of extra greenhouse gases that are already cooking the reef.

Extended periods with temperatures above normal prompt corals to expel algae, causing them to start to bleach but also to begin starving.  Photo: Eric Matson, AIMS

Claims Galilee coal is cleaner than what India would otherwise burn are debatable but anyway miss the point: the great bulk of all fossil fuel deposits must stay in the ground if corals at home or abroad are to have much of a future.
Warren Entsch, the Liberal National Party member whose electorate takes in Cairns, tells me "we need a cyclone badly" to stir up the becalmed region and provide cooling cloud cover. (And he may get his wish, with weather models suggesting the season's first cyclone off Queensland may form early next week.)

Bleaching corals display vivid fluorescent colours before turning completely white. Photo: E.Matson, AIMS

However, he has no patience for "anti-fossil fuel campaigners" – such as former Greens leader Bob Brown, who on Wednesday launched the Stop Adani Alliance to block the new mine.
"The reef should not become collateral damage," Entsch told me last week. Even so, he also had little time for researchers such as Terry Hughes, a leading scientist who is conducting this week's aerial surveys of the reef and last week published a major paper on the 2016 and previous bleaching events.

The structure of coral reefs will change as some corals rebound faster than others after bleaching and mortality events. Photo: AIMS

"He'll be having an absolute ball," Entsch told me.
The reality is more than a few scientists rely on Hughes to get the message out that the reef is in serious trouble.
As if the threat from climate change – including more acidic oceans hindering corals to form skeletons at all – weren't enough.
Even where the federal and state governments are throwing money at the reef, such as trying to limit the Crown of Thorns starfish or reducing sediment and nutrient-rich run off from farms – the efforts are likely to be insufficient.
"There's a really, really major outbreak of the crown of thorns starfish in the same area off Townsville that is bleaching at the moment," Gunn says.
And, according to WWF Australia, farmers have told the Queensland government that they want to clear more than 270,000 hectares, more than half of which are in Great Barrier Reef catchments.
"It can only have dire impacts on the reef to have so much clearing promised," Martin Taylor of WWF says. "This is a ticking time bomb."
And we need some bomb defusers in a hurry.

Links

• Fears that 'significant' coral mortality is still to come
• Great Barrier Reef tourism on the rocks
• Stop Adani's Carmichael Coal Mine
• 'Are we there yet?': Fears that 'significant' coral mortality still to come
• 'They died of thirst': Extreme conditions wipe out forest