As much as 84 percent of the rubbish found on Australian beaches in the past ten years is plastic.

Almost half of all the debris originates from land-based sources (littering, dumping on land, etc), and seven percent from dumping activities at sea.

The remaining 42 percent could not be traced to a specific source as they had broken down into smaller fragments, which would eventually become microplastics.

Remember those large table corals (tabular Acropora) at the Great Barrier Reef?

A new study had shown them to be “extraordinary ecosystem engineers”, with the ability to regenerate coral reef habitats at the iconic reef at a rate 14 times higher—more than 20 years faster—than any other coral type.

In essence, the research indicated that overall reef recovery would slow significantly if these corals declined or disappeared at the reef.

Australia, 11 January 2021: Entries are now open for the Underwater Tour Awards 2021. We have added two new awards this year to include not just photographers, but also creatives and eco-citizens everywhere.

Guru Awards These awards feature five Categories, a publicly-voted People’s Choice prize, plus the ultimate prize for the top-scoring photographer across all the categories, the Grand Guru prize!

After hitting a low of 300 individuals 30 years, humpback whale numbers off Australia’s east coast are soaring. Researchers from Australia’s Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans (ORRCA) are hoping for an increase in whale migration numbers this year. Census results from the past 21 years indicate an annual 10-15 per cent increase in whale migration numbers.

Researchers in Australia have uncovered a massive “detached” coral reef off the Queensland coast, the first of its kind to be discovered in more than 120 years. The discovery was made about 80 kilometres east of Cape Grenville, approximately 150 kilometres south of the tip of the Cape York Peninsula.