National assessment guidelines for dredging

source: Dept. of the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts
"A healthy marine environment is essential for Australia’s current and future well being. Australia has entered international agreements and implements legislation to help preserve marine ecosystems and prevent marine pollution. The international agreement relating to the dumping of wastes and other matter in Australian waters, including dredged material, is called the London Protocol. Australia implements its obligations under the London Protocol through the Commonwealth Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981 (the Sea Dumping Act).Through the Sea Dumping Act, the Australian Government assesses proposals to load and dump wastes and other matter at sea, permits acceptable activities, and places conditions of approval, to mitigate and manage environmental impacts.The National Assessment Guidelines for Dredging set out the framework for the environmental impact assessment and permitting of the ocean disposal of dredged material."

Mercury sources, distribution and bioavailability in the North Pacific Ocean

Source: Global biogeochemical cycles, vol.23 (2009)
"Scientists have known for some time that mercury deposited from the atmosphere to freshwater ecosystems can be transformed into a highly toxic form of mercury called methylmercury. In contrast to the growing knowledge base on the processes leading to the production of methylmercury in freshwater ecosystems, very little is known about marine systems. This new paper provides a significant step toward understanding oceanic methylmercury sources."

Marine litter: a global challenge

Source: UNEP
"Marine litter is a global concern affecting all the oceans of the world. It poses environmental, economic, health and aesthetic problems that are rooted in poor solid waste management practices, lack of infrastructure, indiscriminate human activities and behaviours and an inadequate understanding on the part of the public of the potential consequences of their actions. The report’s findings indicate that despite several international, regional and national efforts to reverse marine pollution, alarming quantities of rubbish thrown out to sea continue to endanger people’s safety and health, entrap wildlife, damage nautical equipment and deface coastal areas around the world."

Shellfish reefs at risk: a global analyis of problems and solutions

Source: Nature Conservancy
"Once dominant features in many temperate estuaries around the world, native oyster reefs are critically important ecologically and economically. Centuries of intensive fisheries extraction exacerbated by more recent coastal degradation have put oyster reefs near or past the point of functional extinction globally, but sensible solutions that could ensure conservation of remaining reefs and even reverse losses to restore ecosystem services are available. These solutions involve wider application of area-based conservation approaches, improvements in fisheries management, enhanced restoration for multiple ecosystem services (e.g., water filtration, nutrient removal, shoreline protection and fish habitat provision), and partnerships to improve water quality."

Ocean acidification: from ecological impacts to policy opportunities

Source: Current: the journal of marine education, vol.29,no.1 (2009)
"This issue of Current highlights ocean acidification, a term used to describe the ongoing global scale changes in seawater chemistry caused largely by human combustion of fossil fuels. Ocean acidification will have severe consequences for marine life and humankind, and has been nicknamed global warming’s “evil twin.” The articles in this special issue focus on multiple facets of ocean acidification, including threats to marine organisms, economic implications for fisheries and ecosystem services, and policy options for mitigating negative impacts. Because the dangers posed by ocean acidification are so serious, responsible carbon policy must be implemented immediately at all levels of government and individuals must do their part to curtail carbon consumption, in the hope of safeguarding the future of our oceans."

Doom and boom on a resilient reef: climate change, algal growth and coral recovery

Source: PLosONE, vol.4, no.4 (2009)
"In 2006, mass bleaching of corals on inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef caused high coral mortality. Here we show that this coral mortality was followed by an unprecedented bloom of a single species of unpalatable seaweed (Lobophora variegata), colonizing dead coral skeletons, but that corals on these reefs recovered dramatically, in less than a year. Unexpectedly, this rapid reversal did not involve reestablishment of corals by recruitment of coral larvae, as often assumed, but depended on several ecological mechanisms previously underestimated."

Marine safety investigation report: loss of containers from Pacific Adventurer off Cape Moreton

Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau
"One focus of the Aust Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) probe into the March 11 oil spill from the container ship Pacific Adventurer in Qld waters will be the adequacy of the loading and lashing of containers that broke free in heavy seas and punctured the vessel's fuel tanks. In a preliminary report, ATSB said it took less than a minute for 31 of 50 containers containing ammonium nitrate to fall overboard as the ship rolled up to 45° in 5m-8m waves caused by former tropical Cyclone Hamish. ATSB said its probe would cover the adequacy and condition of the container-lashing equipment, the condition and stability of the Pacific Adventurer, the actions of its crew, and safety management and risk assessment systems."

An assessment of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sediments and bivalves of the US coastal zone

Source: NOAA Mussel Watch Program
"NOAA scientists, in a first-of-its-kind report issued today, state that Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs), chemicals commonly used in commercial goods as flame retardants since the 1970s, are found in all United States coastal waters and the Great Lakes, with elevated levels near urban and industrial centers. The new findings are in contrast to analysis of samples as far back as 1996 that identified PBDEs in only a limited number of sites around the nation. "

A rising tide of ocean debris and what we can do about it

Source: Ocean Conservancy
"The report features the organization’s annual Marine Debris Index the world’s only country-by-country, state-by-state analysis of trash in our ocean and waterways. The trash was collected and the data recorded by the nearly 400,000 volunteers around the world who combed their local beaches and waterways during the 23rd International Coastal Cleanup the largest volunteer effort of its kind. Volunteers removed nearly seven million (6.8 million) pounds of debris, from 6,485 sites in 104 countries and 42 U.S. states and the District of Columbia with a common mission of improving the health of the ocean. This year’s report zeroes in on the hazardous impacts of trash on wildlife and the resilience of our ocean in the wake of rising sea levels, warming and acidification, some of the most serious effects of global climate change."

Tackling marine debris in the 21st century

Source: National Academies Press
"Marine debris from ships and other ocean-based sources-including trash and lost fishing gear-contributes to the spoiling of beaches, fouling of surface waters and the seafloor, and harm to marine animals, among other effects. Unfortunately, international conventions and domestic laws intended to control marine debris have not been successful, in part because the laws, as written, provide little incentive to change behavior. This book identifies ways to reduce waste, improve waste disposal at ports, and strengthen the regulatory framework toward a goal of zero waste discharge into the marine environment. Progress will depend on a commitment to sustained funding and appropriate institutional support."

Over the limit: eating too much high-mercury fish

Source: Oceana
"Real people have been sickened by mercury in fish according to a new report released today, demonstrating the importance of strong FDA advice about mercury in fish. The new report, Over the Limit, shares stories like those of Dan Deeter, Will Smith and Wendy Moro, who each ate enough store-bought fish to suffer mercury’s effects, according to their physicians. From New Jersey to Wisconsin to California, these stories show that seafood contamination is a very real problem that should not be ignored."

Status of corals reefs of the world 2008

Source: ReefBase
"This Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008 report is the 5th global report since the GCRMN (Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network), was formed in 1996 as an operational network of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI)".
NB: You will need to register (free) in order to read the full report.

2007 water quality report: Great Barrier Reef catchments and inshore ecosystems

Source: QLD EPA
"This report focuses on catchments identified as priorities by the Reef Plan and near-shore marine ecosystems of the Reef. It applies a pressure–state–impact–response framework across land management, water quality and reef health. It compiles best available data from a variety of sources and is a first step in providing a comprehensive, integrated and statistically robust assessment for the Reef and its catchments."

Dolphin tourism: impact of vessels on the behaviour and acoustics of inshore bottlenose dolphins

Source: CRC Sustainable Tourism
"The primary aim of this study is to examine and assess the influence of human encounters on the group cohesion and communication of wild populations of inshore bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.)in the Byron Bay area exposed to low levels of human activities."

Tackling marine debris in the 21st century

Source: National Academies Press
"Current measures to prevent and reduce marine debris are inadequate, and the problem will likely worsen, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council. The United States and the international maritime community should adopt a goal of “zero discharge” of waste into the marine environment, and a system to assess the effectiveness of existing and future marine debris prevention and reduction actions should be implemented. In addition, better leadership, coordination, and integration of mandates and resources are needed, as responsibilities for preventing and mitigating marine debris are scattered across federal organizations and management regimes."

Scientific assessment of harmful freshwater algal blooms

Source: NOAA
"Freshwater HABs pose serious threats to human and ecological health. This report assesses the state of knowledge about freshwater HABs in the U.S. and sets research priorities to improve the ability to minimize or even prevent impacts of these events."

Assessment of the threat of toxic microalgal species to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

Source: Reef & Rainforest Research Centre
"Prerequisites for the assessment of the threat of introduced and invasive marine pests to a particular ecosystem are knowledge of species present, their current distributions and abundances. This information, however, largely does not exist for microalgal communities in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA). This review will provide an overview of current knowledge of toxic microalgae with a focus on toxic dinoflagellates. It will briefly describe dinoflagellate characteristics, which impede identification and molecular tool development, provide an overview of microalgal toxins and associated human health issues, and summarise information available on the distribution of toxic microalgae in the GBRWHA and Australasia and their threats to the region."

Sunscreens cause coral bleaching by promoting viral infections

"Coral bleaching (i.e., the release of coral symbiotic zooxanthellae) has negative impacts on biodiversity and functioning of reef ecosystems and their production of goods and services. This increasing world-wide phenomenon is associated with temperature anomalies, high irradiance, pollution, and bacterial diseases. Recently, it has been demonstrated that personal care products, including sunscreens, have an impact on aquatic organisms similar to that of other contaminants." in Environmental Health Perspectives, vol.116,no.4 (April 2008)

Draft threat abatement plan for the impacts of marine debris on marine vertebrate life

"In August 2003, ‘Injury and fatality to vertebrate marine life caused by ingestion of, or entanglement in, harmful marine debris’ was listed as a key threatening process under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). This threat abatement plan (TAP) aims to provide a coordinated national approach to the implementation of measures to prevent and mitigate the impacts of harmful marine debris on vertebrate marine life. Detailed information supporting this TAP is provided in the Background paper for the threat abatement plan for the impacts of marine debris on vertebrate marine life (Commonwealth of Australia, 2008). The background paper describes in more detail the key threatening process and its management via prevention, removal and mitigation."

COAST's national status and trends report

Source: NOAA
"NOAA scientists have released a 20-year study showing that environmental laws enacted in the 1970s are having a positive effect on reducing overall contaminant levels in coastal waters of the U.S. However, the report points to continuing concerns with elevated levels of metals and organic contaminants found near urban and industrial areas of the coasts."