Chris Wilcox

The protection and regulation of international trade of Australia’s native species is legislated by its Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999. In response to overwhelming evidence that the Act is ineffective at protecting biodiversity, the Australian Government is currently reforming its environmental laws. One problematic component of the Act is in cases where threatened species interact with multiple regulatory and management frameworks, such as commercially fished marine species that are traded as seafood. Here, we analyzed international seafood trade data and found that Australia exports four threatened fish species listed under the Act and additional species acknowledged as globally threatened. In light of our analysis, we have three recommendations for Australia’s new environmental legislation: 1) apply the same precautions to commercially harvested species as to other threatened species; 2) review the status of all threatened species annually; and 3) assess species listed on global conservation conventions. These recommendations will help ensure that Australia’s marine biodiversity is protected, despite its commercial value.

Aim: Biodiversity hotspots in wide‐ranging marine species typically overlap with regions of high productivity, which are often associated with nutrient‐rich waters. Here we investigate how element concentrations in feathers vary among highly mobile seabirds in global seabird biodiversity hotspots.Location: Southern Hemisphere.Time period: Contemporary.Major taxa studied: Fifteen species in the order Procellariiformes.Methods: We collected data on the concentration of 15 elements in feathers for 253 seabirds sampled across Australia and New Zealand and compared the “fingerprint” of micronutrient element profiles to feathers of related seabirds from global hotspots using principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis and permutational analysis of variance (PERMANOVA).Results: Breast feather concentrations of some elements, including aluminium, iron, cobalt, chromium, manganese, nickel, arsenic and cadmium, were tens‐to‐hundred‐fold higher in smaller (<400 g) than larger species (≥400 g). We suggest these results reflect the dominance of pelagic crustaceans in the diet of smaller seabirds, blooms of which are influenced by input of limiting ocean nutrients. Cluster analysis revealed three broad groups of feather elements: large seabirds, and small seabirds in each of the South Pacific and South Atlantic Ocean basins. High concentrations of some elements in feathers match seawater availability and are detectable in lower‐trophic feeding seabirds with local movements. Conversely, the element fingerprints of longer‐distance, higher‐trophic foragers, including albatrosses, do not match availability in seawater at the collection site.Main conclusions: The feather element concentrations of shorter‐range foraging, lower‐trophic feeding seabirds vary significantly among ocean basins, reflecting availability in seawater, while longer‐range, higher‐trophic species do not. We propose that geographically diverse availability of micronutrients, in addition to primary productivity, may play an underrecognized role in seabird biogeography and intra‐hemispheric migration, though more research is needed. This study has important implications, considering the role of element availability in supporting biodiversity hotspots for dispersive marine predators and for the designation of protected areas.

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a major contributor to ocean pollution, with extensive social, economic, and environmental impacts. However, quantitative ALDFG estimates are dated and limited in scope. To provide current global estimates, we interviewed fishers around the world about how much fishing gear they lose annually and multiplied reported losses by global fishing effort data. We estimate that nearly 2% of all fishing gear, comprising 2963 km ² of gillnets, 75,049 km ² of purse seine nets, 218 km ² of trawl nets, 739,583 km of longline mainlines, and more than 25 million pots and traps are lost to the ocean annually. These estimates represent critical baselines that can inform solutions targeted to ALDFG reduction strategies.

Protein from fish is essential for feeding the world’s population and is increasingly recognized as critical for food security. To ensure that fisheries resources can be sustainably maintained, fisheries management must be appropriately implemented. When logbook and landing records data are not complete or are incorrect, it is challenging to have an accurate understanding of catch volume. Focusing on Indonesian longline vessels operating in the Indian Ocean from 2012–2019 (n = 1124 vessels), our aims were to (1) assess compliance through identification of landing sites and potentially illicit behavior inferred by interruptions in VMS transmission, and (2) understand how the fishery operates along with quantifying the spatio-temporal distribution of fishing intensity by applying a Hidden Markov Model, which automatically classified each VMS position as fishing, steaming and anchoring. We found vessel compliance gaps in 90% of vessels in the dataset. Compliance was questionable due both to the widespread occurrence of long intermissions in relaying VMS positions (mean = 17.8 h, n = 973 vessels) and the use of unauthorized landing sites. We also observed substantial changes in fishing effort locations among years. The introduction of regulatory measures during the study period banning transshipment and foreign vessels may be responsible for the spatial shift in fishing activity we observed, from encompassing nearly the whole Indian Ocean to more recent intense efforts off western Sumatra and northern Australia.

Illegal fishing is a widespread, global phenomenon that is affecting already heavily depleted wild fish stocks, threatening marine habitats and contributing to marine pollution through discarded fishing gear. Many different measures have been implemented by nation states to deter and prevent illegal fishing. These include coastal surveillance and policing, policies and regulation, and education. In this paper, we examine the case of Australia through an analysis of regulative arrangements, policies and guidelines that form the governance framework to better understand the changing seascape of illegal fishing. We argue that joint efforts with neighbouring states such as Indonesia and regional fisheries management authorities have contributed to a decrease in illegal fishing in and around the Australian EEZ. Finally, we discuss current and future challenges, opportunities, recent advancements and technological approaches for reducing illegal fishing around the world.

Pollution by plastic and other debris is a problem affecting the world's oceans and is increasing through time. The problem is so large that prioritizing solutions to effect meaningful change may seem overwhelming to the public and policy makers. Marine megafauna are known to mistakenly eat anthropogenic debris and die from consequent gastrointestinal blockages, perforations and malnutrition, as well as suffer sublethal impacts. We collated information on which specific items were ingested and responsible for causing death across 80 marine species, including cetaceans, pinnipeds, sea turtles, and seabirds. We evaluated which items were responsible for the highest mortality, and which, if reduced by policy responses or other means, could result in the largest reduction in debris mortality. A limited number of consumer items were shown to be responsible for most megafauna deaths. Flexible plastic is responsible for the largest proportion of debris deaths, primarily due to gastric obstructions. Disproportionately lethal items included plastic bags/sheets/packaging, rope/fishing nets, fishing tackle and balloons/latex. Smaller items, including “microplastics,” though abundant, were seldom implicated in mortality. We provide suggestions to directly curb debris deaths of marine megafauna by prioritizing policies that would reduce or eliminate the input of disproportionately hazardous items into the marine system.

Marine debris is a growing threat to hundreds of marine animal species. To understand the consequences of marine debris to wildlife populations, studies must go beyond reporting the incidence of wildlife and debris interactions and aim to quantify the harm resulting from these interactions. Tubenosed seabirds are globally threatened, with a near universal risk of debris ingestion and an unquantified risk of mortality due to eating plastics. In this paper, we explore the mortality risk narrative due to the acute effects of debris ingestion, and quantify behavioural and ecological factors including age, diet and foraging method. We examined ingested debris loads, types and mortality of 972 adult and immature seabirds across 17 albatross, shearwater and prion species in a global seabird biodiversity hotspot. Though age and foraging method interact to influence the incidence and number of items ingested, age and diet were the most important factors influencing mortality. Mortality is influenced by debris load and type of debris ingested and there is selectivity for items that visually resemble a seabird’s prey. Immature birds that forage on cephalopods are more likely to ingest and die from eating debris than are adults. Conversely, the risk of death to seabirds that forage on crustaceans is linked to the number of plastic items ingested and is higher in adults. Debris ingestion is an under-recognised cause of tubenose mortality and is likely negatively affecting rare and threatened species.

Bottled water is one sector of the beverage industry that has recently experienced substantial growth. The littering of plastic water bottles and the carbon emissions produced from bottled water production results in harmful effects on the environment. To reduce the harm of bottled water production and litter, government and non-government organisations have implemented litter abatement and behavioural change strategies targeting bottled water consumption and subsequent loss of bottles to the environment. Our study evaluated the success of one of these strategies, which is a filtered water refill station, implemented along the Brisbane River in Queensland, Australia. We found plastic bottle litter decreased after a water refill station was put into operation. However, given the location of the refill station, we suggest the behavioural change strategy employed did not reach its full potential. We highlight factors that could be employed to achieve maximum benefits when implementing similar behavioural change strategies.