Temperature Extremes and Fishing Gear Threaten Large Marine Animals
An international team of marine scientists has identified and assessed major threats to marine megafauna.Lead authors PhD student Michelle VanCompernolle and Associate Professor Ana Sequeira, from University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute and School of Biological Sciences, worked with more than 300 contributors from 51 countries on the paper published in Conservation Biology.The study assessed the vulnerability of 256 marine megafauna species including whales, sharks, bony fish, turtles, seabirds, polar bears, seals and sirenians (dugongs and manatees), to 23 threats that originate from
Six Illegal Foreign Fishers in Australian Waters Plead Guilty
fishing in Australian waters in three separate cases at Darwin Local Court on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.The first matter arose from an incident on September 27, 2025, where Australian authorities identified, intercepted and apprehended an Indonesian vessel fishing illegally near Cassini Island, Western Australia. ABF seized 500 kg of sea cucumber, 90 kg of salt used to process and preserve catch and a quantity of fishing equipment. The crew were detained and transported to Darwin for further investigation by AFMA. The vessel was seized and destroyed in accordance with Australian law. The
Down Under
hydrographic survey can improve accuracy and dramatically reduce fuel consumption, and Baker is seeing much wider acceptance and adoption of autonomous systems in Australia’s maritime domain. In May, a USV developed by EGS Australia successfully completed its first major deployment offshore Western Australia, powered by Greenroom Robotics’ GAMA autonomy system. Deployed 100 kilometers east of Esperance for a 42-day mission, the USV Fremantle 01 was tasked with conducting extended hydrographic survey operations in remote offshore waters. The vessel operated through rough conditions, including
Underwater Autonomous Glider Departs to Circumnavigate the Globe
.Redwing’s first leg will see it ride the Gulf Stream south of Martha’s Vineyard toward Europe, before sweeping south to stop at Gran Canaria off the coast of North West Africa. Its next leg will take it to Cape town in South Africa, before crossing the Indian Ocean to stop at Perth in Western Australia, then on to Wellington, New Zealand. It will then navigate the Antarctic Circumpolar Current — the most powerful current on Earth — taking it on its longest leg to the Falkland Islands. From here there will be possible stops in Brazil and the Caribbean before heading back to Cape
Unique Group’s USV Wins UK Ports Innovation Award 2025
and Awards Ceremony on September 3, 2025.The UK Ports Committee nominated Unique Group for the award in recognition of its advancements in subsea robotics and hydrographic surveying. The committee was impressed by the company’s deployment of the Uni-Mini Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) in Western Australia, the first commercial project globally to utilize the Norbit iWBMS multibeam sonar for shallow-water survey applications, demonstrating capability in complex marine environments.The Uni-Mini has also proven its capabilities closer to home in the UK. Earlier this year, Unique Group successfully
Western Australia Can’t Wait [for a Decommissioning Hub]
changes.Australia doesn’t have the recycling facilities needed for the job, although the government has been taking some action on the issue. It published a decommissioning roadmap in 2024 and has set up an Offshore Decommissioning Directorate.The Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, Western Australia (WA), has previously been flagged as the most promising site for a decommissioning hub, but, says local environmental organizations and unions, along came AUKUS.“In late 2024, the federal government announced that Henderson would be developed as a base for servicing nuclear-powered submarines
Wine Down Under
Brad Adams, co-founder of Subsea Estate in Western Australia, has just retrieved vats of his latest wine from the seabed just off the coast of Augusta.Partnered with wife and co-founder Jodee Adams and chief wine maker Emmanuel Poirmeur, he is creating a product unique in the southern hemisphere.For the last two years, Subsea Estate has produced Semillon and Shiraz that has undergone its secondary fermentation 15 meters deep in the Southern Ocean.The idea was originally inspired by the 1998 discovery of thousands of bottles of 1907 Heidsieck & Co Monopole Goût Americain Champagne on the
Call for Australia to Push for Robust Global Plastics Treaty
12,000 microplastics per square meter in Sydney Harbour and Adrift Lab researchers recently found so much plastic inside seabird chicks on Lord Howe Island that the young birds crunched when handled;● in Victoria, Beach Patrol collected 738 kg of rubbish from Discovery Bay in under 2.5 hours;● in Western Australia, Tangaroa Blue Foundation coordinated 7.3 tonnes of rubbish being removed from beaches across the state;● in Queensland, 80% of green sea turtles have ingested plastic;● in South Australia, microplastics have been detected inside seafood;● in Tasmania; high levels of microplastics have been
Nortek Nucleus Supports Coral Reef Photogrammetry Project
In a collaboration between the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), University of Sydney, California Academy of Sciences (CalAcademy), Oceanly, University of Western Australia, and University of Auckland, supported by Inkfish, the University of Sydney’s Seeker AUV, equipped with a Nortek Nucleus 1000, worked alongside divers to create a 3D map of a coral reef off the coast of Tonga.Researchers from NTNU, the University of Sydney, and CalAcademy are working together to investigate how mesophotic reefs (low-light coral reefs in middle-depth waters) support the genetic diversity
August 2025
