Winter Whale Tales in Bondi

Encouraging healthy Australian oceans means continuing to seek a balance. Diversity plays a key role in finding that balance. We celebrate it!

For instance, the Protect Our Coral Sea organisation had a delightful time yesterday at Bondi Beach in Sydney, NSW.

Beach goers were treated to fun and information about the variety of whales that travel through the Coral Sea on Australia's north eastern coastline.

It seems there may have been many whale tales contributed on the day too.

To find out more about the Protect Our Coral Sea please find them here at http://www.protectourcoralsea.org.au/coral-sea-help-protect-australia-s-coral-sea



www.ausmepa.org.au

Whale poop is vital to ocean's carbon cycle

Our friends at Henley Beach MDC alerted us to an article in NEWSCIENTIST; by Wendy Zukerman that gives a new ecosystem slant on the importance of whale conservation.

“Saving endangered baleen whales could boost the carbon storage capacity of the Southern Ocean, suggests a new study of whale faeces. Whale faeces once provided huge quantities of iron to a now anaemic Southern Ocean, boosting the growth of carbon-sequestering phytoplankton.”
“The amount of iron in whale faeces means that protecting Antarctic whales could swell populations of phytoplankton, which absorb carbon dioxide." 

(See the Scientist image showing krill circling the whale pooh)

"Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) feed on the phytoplankton, concentrating the iron in their tissue. And in turn, baleen whales eat the krill.”

To read the article in full click here