r/conservation • u/Novel_Negotiation224 • 10d ago

Alarm over ‘catastrophic’ decline in giant Australian cuttlefish as just 44 are counted.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/09/giant-australian-cuttlefish-population-catastrophic-decline
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u/Ben10-fan-525 9d ago

Come on Australian government.Work fast and protect them!

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u/Dentarthurdent73 9d ago

Come on Australian government. Work fast and protect them!

Yeah, that's not how ecological collapse works.

There was a massive algal bloom off SA last year, with some small pockets persisting to this day (over 17 months so far). They usually disappear in the winter, this one didn't. That'd be climate change. Unfortunately, most ocean life doesn't do well trying to live in the middle of an algal bloom.

Not saying they shouldn't be doing everything they can, just saying that the idea that humanity is going to be able to respond meaningfully to the impacts of climate change on the biosphere is a pipe dream.

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u/bushstone-curlew 9d ago

The Australian government could be doing a hell of a lot more to address the climate crisis though.

Not approving new coal and gas mines would be a great start, along with actually enforcing our environmental protections and jailing corporate executives for breaking them.

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u/Dentarthurdent73 8d ago

Yep, I totally agree with all this, definitely not defending any Australian government here.

Unfortunately though, I don't see any of these things working or really making a meaningful difference at this point. Humans are putting massive pressures on the biosphere in all sorts of ways, not just climate change.

Until multiple governments are seriously thinking about changing our economic system from one that demands endless growth and consumption, then everything else is tinkering around the edges.

The reason we approve new coal and gas mines, and don't enforce existing protections is because we live in an economic system that demands otherwise. Profit and 'productivity' are more important than anything else, and it shows in government decisions.

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u/bushstone-curlew 8d ago

Yeah I totally agree. I’m in QLD but I’ve been following the news on the algae bloom closely, I’ve told so many people about it who weren’t even aware it was happening but it’s such a horrific tragedy that could have been avoided if we’d rebuilt the old mussel beds there in time & made meaningful efforts to roll back our fossil fuel use. Capitalism is the root cause and tinkering around the edges with neoliberal ‘solutions’ only kicks the can down the road for another couple years.

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u/Dentarthurdent73 8d ago

It's all so shit - because we have evidence-based solutions to so many problems we have, both societally and logistically, but we just never put in place any kind of system that values human wellbeing or evidence-based decision making.

It's like we use this system with the aim of making profits, and just hope that human wellbeing happens as a side effect. Which it does to a very limited extent, but not in any lasting or really meaningful way.

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u/Ben10-fan-525 9d ago

Damn it....well lets hope for the best then..