As Australia faces pressure to end use of fossil fuels, a new fight is emerging in Bass Strait against gas developments. Recently campaigners went to King Island to protest seismic tests for gas, with concerns the explosions may harm marine life. We caught up with Ally King from Surfriders Southern Tasmania and Tom Allen from the Wilderness Society to find out more.Find out more:No Gas Across The BassSurfriders Tasmania - Facebook, InstagramWilderness SocietyIPCC reportInternational Energy Agency report on ending fossil fuel explorationNature study on leaving fossil fuels in the ground 

Out of the Blue

No gas across the Bass!

In this episode, we hear from Luke Halpin, who recently discovered that giant centipedes are eating his seabird research subjects on a tiny island off Norfolk Island. We hear about the difficulties of seabird research and why it's so important for ocean conservation. Find out more on The Conversation.Also, we get an update on the Melbourne Sea Slug Census from Nicole Mertens of the Victorian National Parks Association. Divers were able to squeeze in a winter survey between lockdowns in July. You might be surprised to hear how many types of sea slugs live in the waters close to Melbourne! Find out more about the census here. Image: A sea slug, Phyllodesmium serratum, under Blairgowrie Pier. Andrea McIntyre/Flickr CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0. 

Seabird-eating centipedes and the Melbourne sea slug census

Toondah Harbour on the coast near Brisbane is a globally significant wetland and a vital stopover for shorebirds such as the critically endangered Eastern Curlew. It's under threat from a property development and campaigners are calling for the project to be stopped. We speak to campaigner Andrew Hunter from Birdlife Australia. Find out more at: https://www.actforbirds.org/savetoondahStaying in Queensland, we also speak to Dr Zoe Richards from Curtin University, about an alarming new reef study. Although parts of the reef are recovering after mass coral bleaching, she's found 60 species (16%) of coral have disappeared from around Lizard Island. We chat about what that means for a possible listing of the Great Barrier Reef as a World Heritage site "in danger". Read more about the study: https://theconversation.com/almost-60-coral-species-around-lizard-island-are-missing-and-a-great-barrier-reef-extinction-crisis-could-be-next-163714

Saving Toondah Harbour and a worrying reef study

There's been plenty of talk about Tasmania's salmon farming industry lately. Award-winning author Richard Flanagan's latest book Toxic makes a number of alarming claims about the industry's impact on Tasmania's marine ecosystems. So where can we turn to if we're concerned about eating salmon farmed in Tasmania? In this show, James speaks to Adrian Meder from the Australian Marine Conservation Society about the GoodFish guide, which rates Australian seafood on its sustainability. He says there are a number of great Australian alternatives we can try. ResourcesToxic, Richard FlanaganGoodFish, Australian Marine Conservation SocietyFactsheets, Huon AquacultureTassie Salmon Facts, Tasmanian Salmonid Growers Association

Squeamish about salmon?

In this episode, James talks to Dr Chayya Chaudhary, a post-doctoral fellow at the Goethe Institute, about how climate change is upending the pattern of life in the oceans. Tropical species are moving south, which is bad news for temperate species, and all the people who depend on marine life in tropical oceans. Read more about her research on The Conversation. And we hear about some of Australia's most threatened sharks and rays. Dr Leonardo Guida from the Autralian Marine Conservation Society tells us about a new study finding that 10 species of shark and rays, all of them found only in Australia, are at immiment risk of extinction due to fishing. Moreover none of them are protected under Australian law. Read more about the report. 

Saving Australia's unique sharks and rays

How do you keep track of what's happening in the oceans? Since 2008 the Reef Life Survey has completed more than 13,000 underwater surveys on every continent, led by hundreds of volunteer divers. It's an unparalleled insight into how our oceans are changing, and they've uncovered some startling and worrying trends. In this episode, James catches up with volunteer diver John Turnbull to find out what's changed in Port Phillip Bay over the past decade. You can find out more about the Reef Life Survey, and explore the data, at https://reeflifesurvey.com/Image: A crab under a jetty in Port Phillip Bay. Source: John Turnbull/Flickr CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Dive into Port Phillip Bay

The Antarctic Peninsula is one of the fastest changing environments on the planet. Warming rapidly, its also seeing increasing pressure from fishing, tourism, and scientific expeditions. Recently a group of women wrote a letter in the journal Nature calling for the seas around the Peninsula to be protected. James speaks to Dr Carolyn Hogg from the University of Sydney about why this region must be protected, and about the Homeward Bound program for women in STEMM. Read the Nature letter: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02939-5And conservationists in Tasmania have recently had a huge win: reintroducing 42 critically endangered Red Handfish to the rocky reefs off the island's coast. James speaks to Dr Jemina Stuart-Smith about these extraordinary fish, which have never been bred in captivity before, and the difficulties of releasing them back into the wild. Find out more about the Handfish Conservation Project and what you can do to help: https://handfish.org.au/

Saving Antarctic seas

In this episode, James chats to Zena Cumpston, a Barkandji woman and research fellow at the University of Melbourne, to find out all about eels that still make their way through the drains of the university, following old watercourses buried under the concrete. Zena tells us about her research on Indigenous knowledge and the importance of learning about our pre-invasion environment. Find out more at The Living Pavillion. On the other side of the continent, Dr Nerida Wilson, Senior Research Scientist at the Western Australian Museum, is part of a new project calling for people to search for seadragons. Seadragons are some of the most wonderful and unique inhabitants of southern Australia's oceans, but we still know surprisingly little about them. You can help scientists learn more about them by sending in photos of any seadragons you see. Find out more at Seadragon Search. 

Strange Fish

In this episode, we speak to Monash University Phd candidate James Rule about his exciting fossil findings on Port Phillip Bay. James and his team recently discovered nine fossil seals, dating back to six million years ago when the bay was warmer, and much more dangerous. But these seals aren't like the ones found around Melbourne today: they're smaller to start with. Find out more about James' work here, and support his research by donating to the Lost World of Bayside. We also speak to Dr Ana Bugnot from the University of Sydney, about her recent research on ocean construction. Ports, pipelines, oil rigs - the oceans are full of things we've built, and they has a big impact on marine ecosystems. With much more construction planned for the near future, Ana says we need to start planning ocean infrastructure the same way we plan for building on land. Find out more about her research here. 

Tiny seals! And the ocean construction boom

Many of us are worried about plastic pollution and its impact on the environment. But we still have a lot to learn. New research shows that microplastics are found in some of our favourites seafoods - sardines, prawns, oysters. Research author Francisca Ribeiro says the findings raise more questions than answers. And Plastic Free July is the movement founded 10 years ago in Perth that asks people to give up plastic for a month. This year July was very different - thanks to the pandemic many of us can't use keep cups at cafes, and there's a lot more takeaway going on. Still, every little bit counts, says Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, founder of Plastic Free July. Rebecca has just co-authored a book on the movement with Joanna Atherfold Finn, Plastic Free. Resources: Francica Ribeiro, Microplastics in seafoodRebecca Prince-Ruiz and Joanna Atherfold Finn, Plastic Free: The inspiring story of a global environmental movement and why it matters, NewSouthPlastic Free July

Plastic is in the food we eat - what can we do?

In this episode we're all about ocean plants. In Tasmania, 95% of forest-forming giant kelp have disappeared, as waters warm along one of the fastest heating coasts in the world. We speak to Dr Cayne Layton, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, UTAS, about a new project attempting to restore the kelp. And on the other side of the continent, Phd candidate Cristian Salinas is figuring out how much carbon is lost to the atmosphere when sea grass beds are destroyed: it's a lot. 

Green Seas

In 2018 the Victorian government released new areas of seafloor for oil and gas exploration, and we'll soon find out which companies were successful in winning exploration licenses. But local campaigners are concerned about the social and environmental impacts. We spoke to Kate Wattchow from Friends of the Earth, and Samantha Hepburn, Professor of law at Deakin University, the get the low down. 

Something smells gassy

The anti-whaling movement of the 1970s was one of the first global environmental campaigns. But even though whaling has mostly stopped, whales face even more threats today, from plastic and noise pollution to climate change. In her new book Fathoms (Scribe 2020), writer and environmental philosopher Rebecca Giggs argues that whales can help us tell new stories about our impact on nature. 

A story as big as a whale

Happy Mother's Day!  A huge shout out to all the mothers out there who are raising or have raised children who are connected to the ocean.  So many people are missing the ocean and nature during these difficult times, but it will be waiting for us when this is all over.  This week, we chat about jellies, and the fact that some are considered immortal.  No need for Mother's Day if you're immortal, is there?

Immortal Jellies!!

Did you know one shorebird flew nonstop from Alaska to New Zealand across the Pacific Ocean, a journey of over 11,000 kilometres? In this episode we're all about bird journeys. We speak to Andrew Darby about his wonderful new book Flight Lines, and how he followed two grey plover on their perilous journey north to the Artic. Plus we catch up with Dr Dejan Stojanovic to talk about orange-bellied parrots, the world's most endangered parrots, and how they travel between the coasts of southern Australia and Tasmania across Bass Strait. 

Incredible bird journeys

Information about marine and coastal environments. News and interviews with marine scientists, campaigners and conservation workers. Presented by volunteer broadcasters who are passionate about marine environments, both local and across the world.

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Out of the Blue

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