Turning the Tide Newsletter – Summer 2025
AMCS Turns 60
2025 marks 60 years since the Australian Marine Conservation Society was formed by a community of scientists and ocean conservationists who came together to protect our marine life.
Throughout 2025 we celebrate our crew of incredible supporters – the hundreds of thousands of you who continue to create change with AMCS. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to fight for the urgent protections that our amazing oceans and marine wildlife need. We are deeply grateful for your continued support and involvement, and we look forward to another 60 years of success together.
From strength to strength; together, we’ve achieved so much for our oceans since 1965. Here are a few top highlights:
1965: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park secured. One of the defining moments in Australian environmental history, AMCS co-led a national campaign to protect the Great Barrier Reef from oil drilling and coral mining.
1980 – today: Global ban oncommercial whaling. Australia’s government banned whaling in 1979, and in 1986, the global whaling ban took effect. AMCS played a leading role in securing a 2014 ruling that Japan’s Antarctic whaling program violated international law, ending whaling in the Southern Ocean.
2004: Live shark finning banned. Live shark finning at sea was declared illegal in Australia. In 2023 AMCS campaigned to close a loophole, and live shark finning was comprehensively banned.
2011: Ningaloo Reef protected from marine development. In 2003, AMCS and allies protected Ningaloo, Australia’s largest fringing reef, from a major marina development, then secured 34% of the Ningaloo Marine Park as green zones, and achieved World heritage listing in 2011.
2012: Creating the largest marine park network on Earth. AMCS campaigned to achieve the largest network of marine reserves on Earth and showed the world that Australia means business when it comes to protecting our oceans.
2023: Stopped the largest offshore oil and gas seismic exploration proposal globally. In 2023, AMCS launched a campaign against offshore oil and gas in Australia’s oceans. In 2024, working with local communities, we stopped the largest seismic blasting proposal on record in Australian waters from going ahead off the Victorian and Tasmanian coastline.
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From strength to strength; together, we’ve achieved so much for our oceans since 1965.