Australian Marine Conservation Society

23/08/2026

📣 PERTH
🪸 Catch a free screening of the award winning doco Corals’ Last Stand this September. 🪸
Corals’ Last Stand celebrates the stunning but fragile Scott Reef that Woodside wants to drill next to for polluting gas.

These screenings are powerful events that bring people together to celebrate our ocean and stand up for its protection. Please join AMCS and partners at a free screening near you next month.

Featuring our Patron Tim Winton, the film showcases the reef’s breathtaking beauty and the scale of what we stand to lose. Since Corals’ Last Stand was released, new scientific analysis has found that the climate pollution from Browse could result in the loss of coral colonies on the Great Barrier Reef during future mass bleaching events.¹

The risk to Scott Reef goes far beyond drilling alone. Browse would bring ongoing seismic blasting, industrial noise, pollution, habitat disturbance and the risk of spills and blowouts to this extraordinary coral ecosystem.

The more we learn about Browse, the clearer it becomes: this project is too damaging and too risky to go ahead.

🙅 We can still stop this with your support.

Join other ocean lovers to be inspired and take action. Each event includes a live Q&A and a chance to connect with others who care deeply about protecting our oceans.

🎟️Get your free ticket from here: https://events.humanitix.com/ellison-the-reef-that-saved-them-all-or-amcs-x-patagonia-i-brisbane-community-screening

References:
Australian Conservation Foundation. (2026). ‘Gamechanger’: New information about coral death demands Browse reconsideration.

23/08/2026

BREAKING: Bird flu has been confirmed in a marine mammal for the first time on the Australian mainland.

The long-nosed fur seal was found at Beachport, South Australia. It’s a grim milestone for Australians, and South Australians in particular as bird flu deaths rise in the midst of the ongoing ecological crisis of the algal bloom.

Long-nosed fur seals, Australian fur seals, and Australian sea lions are at risk of experiencing mass mortalities due to this virus, as we have seen occur overseas.

Like many, our organisation is grieving these heartbreaking wildlife deaths. If you are too, please know you’re not alone, and reach out to your ocean loving community and professionals for support.

We cannot wait any longer to act. The government must urgently commit to establishing a dedicated wildlife resilience fund of at least $200 million over the next two years. Add your name to our action here: https://www.marineconservation.org.au/actions/bird-flu/

22/08/2026

Last year, Minister Watt announced nature law reforms that would deliver ”stronger environmental protections.”

A key element of the reforms was strong, clear, measurable, outcome-based National Environmental Standards.

This week’s new National Environmental Standards fall short of the clear, enforceable protections needed for Australia’s ocean and coasts.

They leave Australia's threatened marine species exposed to culminating threats including bird flu and climate change, especially in light of recent H5 bird flu mass mortality events.

Find out more: https://www.marineconservation.org.au/new-environmental-standards-a-missed-opportunity-to-protect-australias-oceans-and-coasts/

22/08/2026

What do you think about the amount of plastic the big supermarkets use in Australia? 🤔

We want to know! Our 2026 investigation into supermarket plastic use is now open!

Learn more and sign-up to help hold the big supermarkets accountable for their plastic use: unwrapped.org.au 🔎🕵️🛒

21/08/2026

Every winter, up to 250 000 giant cuttlefish gather in the shallow waters off Whyalla for one of the ocean's most extraordinary natural spectacles, a frenetic, colourful mating aggregation found nowhere else on Earth. This year, divers report finding the reefs largely empty.

Today, the SA government published survey data confirming numbers of less than 2,000, with some surveys finding zero cuttlefish.

“It was incredibly confronting to visit Whyalla and to see so few of the spectacular giant cuttlefish that are normally there - but to see this absence backed up by data in PIRSA’s report is truly devastating.” - Australian diver and filmmaker Woody Spark of Grumpy Turtle films, who kindly supplied this footage.

20/08/2026

🚨An Australian icon is under threat, again.

We've taken on the mining and oil industries - and won.

However, today there are even greater threats to the Great Barrier Reef: climate change, water pollution and unsustainable fishing all put a large question mark over the future of the Reef.

Your support can help us take the fight to leaders and decision-makers, both local and around the world.

Please donate to Operation: Protect the Reef:
https://bit.ly/operation-protecttheReef

20/08/2026

Victoria has begun what is reportedly the world’s largest H5 bird flu vaccination program for wild birds, which includes vaccination of little penguins at Phillip Island and St Kilda.

The vaccine is administered in two doses, delivered two weeks apart, before it provides the intended immunity. Little penguins make good candidates for vaccination as they return to the same burrows each night. Vaccinating wild animals is incredibly challenging, but will hopefully provide an important line of defence for certain species.

Unfortunately, we don’t yet have vaccines for some high-risk species, like the endangered Australian sea lion. As the virus spreads, we must do more to protect our wildlife from the impact of H5 bird flu. The more we are able to reduce threats and increase our wildlife’s resilience, the better chance it has of surviving this virus.

Add your name to call for a $200 million wildlife resilience fund to do just that.
https://www.marineconservation.org.au/actions/bird-flu/

19/08/2026

📃 Newly revealed documents show that millions of kilograms of marine life are caught inside our offshore Australian Marine Parks every year! Some of this catch comes from destructive bottom trawling.

We need to increase offshore marine sanctuaries which act like national parks in the ocean, fully protecting marine life from threats like destructive bottom trawling.

ℹ️ Right now, the Australian Government has launched a 60 day consultation to hear from YOU about what protection improvements are needed across a vast part of Australia’s offshore ocean. This moment only happens once every 10 years.

Add your name now to support expanding offshore marine sanctuaries and getting destructive activities out of our Australian Marine Parks: https://www.marineconservation.org.au/actions/60-days-to-protect-australias-ocean/ 👈🌏🏝️🌊🐋🐬

The review of Commonwealth marine parks will consider new areas to protect, and the activities allowed within them – including industrial fishing practices such as bottom trawling.

18/08/2026

Add your name to join our 2026 investigation into supermarket plastic use: unwrapped.org.au

🔎🕵️🛒 We need eyes in every store around Australia to find out the truth about how the big supermarkets use plastic.

References:
1. Clean Up Australia (2025). Litter report FY25.

17/08/2026

Our 2026 investigation into plastic use in the big supermarkets is already making news! 📰🛒

Join our Plastic Investigation Unit to be a part of it: unwrapped.org.au 👈🕵️

https://au.news.yahoo.com/aussie-shoppers-urged-to-spy-on-coles-woolworths-aldi-and-iga-need-eyes-in-every-store-233728860.html

A scathing report came out last year, a leading conservation group wants to check supermarkets' progress.