Turning the Tide Newsletter – Summer 2025
Ocean Lovers Heard
Ocean lovers unite to create change. Save Our Marine Life alliance campaigned and welcomed the news last October that the World Heritage-listed Heard and McDonald Islands’ Marine Reserve would quadruple in size, and fully protected sanctuary zones expanded within the park!
These remote islands and their waters, 4,000 km southwest of Perth, is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of subAntarctic islands, containing Australia’s only two active volcanoes.
The news followed over ‘over 3600 submissions made by AMCS supporters’ calling for political support of the expansion. We send our sincere thanks to ocean lovers everywhere for your action.
While the expansion has been welcomed by the alliance, more action is required to safeguard large breeding populations of seabirds and marine mammals, including threatened seals and albatross, four species of penguin, and two species of birds found nowhere else.
The news follows work by the SOML alliance to improve protections for marine life in Australia’s Macquarie Island territory, which saw an area the size of Germany protected in marine sanctuary in 2023.
Did You Know?
The Australian Marine Conservation Society and The Pew Charitable Trusts jointly lead Save Our Marine Life – an alliance of 27 environmental organisations which works with local communities, scientists, Traditional Owners and other stakeholders to protect Australia’s marine life.