Marine life
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Gas
‘Doesn’t pass the pub test’: Push for moratorium on seismic blasting
More than 2000 seismic surveys have been conducted in waters off Australia since the 1960s, as companies map the seabed to prospect for new oil and gas reserves.
- by Bianca Hall
Latest
‘Beacon of hope’: World’s largest coral discovered in Solomon Islands
“Just when we think there is nothing left to discover on planet Earth, we find a massive coral … pulsing with life and colour,” said explorer-in-residence Enric Sala.
- by Bianca Hall
Preventing shark attacks with a clever trick of the light
Australian scientist Laura Ryan thought she could save surfers by fooling sharks. She spent months throwing boards into shark-infested waters to prove it.
- by Jordan Baker
Emperor penguin swims to Australia in longest recorded journey
The young male emperor penguin probably swam from eastern Antarctica and was malnourished on arrival. It will need to make its own way home.
- by Kieran Kelly
Exclusive
Perth
WA’s new mega-marine park ‘misses the science’ in thwarted ambition: expert
This vast plan, which attracted 22,000 public comments, has had a fatal drop in protections at the final hour and will now never do what the government promises, an expert says.
- by Emma Young
Entangled humpback whale calf freed off the coast of Sydney
The calf was freed after it was spotted near Bondi Beach entangled in a rope and buoy.
- by Frances Howe
Half Australia’s oceans to be protected in win for seals, penguins
The government has tripled the size of a marine park surrounding little-known Australian islands that teem with penguins, seals and seabirds.
- by Mike Foley
The remote Australian coast bearing the brunt of the plastic crisis
Halfway around the world, California is suing ExxonMobil, claiming the oil giant deliberately misled the public for decades about the limitations of plastic recycling.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
How 11-year-old Leah’s art ended up in a museum, and inspiring Ken Done
Ten children were inspired to draw or paint sharks or rays, endangered or at risk from overfishing. Then acclaimed artists were prompted to do their own works.
- by Julie Power
33,000 dragons and some octopuses: What happened when 5 million pieces of Lego went overboard
Nearly 30 years ago millions of Lego pieces plunged into the sea in what became known as the Great Lego Spill. They are still bobbing up today.
- by Aimee Ortiz
Russian ‘spy’ whale found dead in Norway
Hvaldimir, whose name is a combination of the word hval, the Norwegian word for whale, and Vladimir, after the Russian president, was first spotted by fishermen in Norway in 2019.
- by Kieran Kelly