Advocates against nets say sharks can easily swim underneath and drone surveillance is more effective
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Experts, marine conservation groups and an MP are all urging the New South Wales government to ban anti-shark nets, which kill large numbers of turtles and dolphins, after 51 nets were installed along the state’s coastline.
Last summer more than 90% of marine animals caught in shark nets were not sharks, while more than half of the 208 non-target species caught – such as turtles, dolphins and smaller sharks – were killed, data showed.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
09/01/2024 - 10:00
09/01/2024 - 08:20
Alex Baldock wants to keep gadgets out of landfill as UK’s largest electricals retailer embraces repair and reuse
The UK government should slash VAT on refurbished electrical products to keep gadgets out of landfill, according to the boss of Currys.
“It has already been charged once on these products,” said Alex Baldock, the head of the UK’s largest electrical goods retailer. “I would like to see a radical reduction or entire cut on these products.”
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09/01/2024 - 08:00
I’ve discovered the perfect way to avoid the stress of travel, the mosquito bites and the overtourism. Plus, I can stay at home and tend my tomatoes while knowing I’m saving the planet
I haven’t been on holiday this summer, but don’t start tuning the tiny violins. I derive an unusual satisfaction from working when others aren’t (burning martyr is my preferred summer fragrance) and I don’t like change, or strange pillows. Plus, what would Susan, the pigeon who lives on our roof, and my bounteous crop of five unripe tomatoes do without me?
A summer holiday just doesn’t appeal. Is that weird? It feels as if the climate crisis is killing the notion of summer as something to look forward to and holiday hotspots (literally) are losing their lustre, with Greek islands reaching fatal temperatures and Sicily stricken with catastrophic drought.
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08/31/2024 - 11:00
Ironically named Great Outdoors Initiative that would pave over acres of state parks sent steadfast allies over the edge
In the end, it wasn’t culture war feuding over restricting LGBTQ+ rights, thwarting Black voters or vilifying immigrants that finally broke Republicans’ DeSantis fever in Florida.
Nor was it his rightwing takeover of higher education, the banning of books from school libraries, his restriction of drag shows, or passive assent of neo-Nazis parading outside Disney World waving flags bearing the extremist governor’s name that caused them to finally stand up to him.
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08/31/2024 - 01:00
Exclusive: Figures reveal just 16% of company-controlled sites of special scientific interest are in good condition
Water companies are allowing important natural landscapes they own to fall into disrepair, data shows, with only 16% of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) under their control in good condition.
The companies have been accused of “polluting for profit” by not investing to improve the status of their SSSIs.
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08/30/2024 - 19:00
Heat building up in country’s centre and driving south-east is causing ‘really unusual’ heatwave that is breaking winter records
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Australia’s winter runs from June to August, but swathes of the country have felt like summer the past week with temperatures topping 40C and records tumbling.
“It doesn’t matter how you slice and dice it,” said Dr Linden Ashcroft, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne. “The temperature records have been gobsmacking.”
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08/30/2024 - 19:00
Photographer Paul Hilton shadowed Captain Robert Bergholz on his boat Restless to see how a local prawn trawler’s day unfolds
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08/30/2024 - 19:00
Environment minister’s cultural site declaration draws accusations of torpedoing a $1bn NSW project but she insists it was vital to protect Aboriginal heritage
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A goldmine in the central-west of New South Wales attracted plenty of heated headlines this week.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, expressed disappointment over a decision by the federal environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, that has put the future of the proposed project in doubt.
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08/30/2024 - 13:00
Australian scientists hail finding as a step in unlocking secrets of planet’s protective magnetic field
By travelling to the centre of the Earth via seismic waves scientists have discovered a ring-like structure within the swirling pool of molten metal known as the outer core.
Research published in the journal Science Advances has identified a doughnut-shaped region within the outer core, parallel to the equator.
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08/30/2024 - 08:00
Many of the roughly 100,000 units are illegal and do not conform to codes, making them a hazard for fires and floods
Josh Alba had lived in an illegal basement apartment in Queens, New York, for almost five years. Despite the low ceilings, he savored his chance to afford housing without roommates. But his tenure there ended during Hurricane Ida.
He’d been asleep on his couch as the rain started falling. He only woke up when his cat smacked him in the face, and he noticed water coming in from outside, rising to at least an inch on the floor.
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