Veteran Diver/Tour Operator - Kelp Forests Extinct Along East Coast Of Tasmania
There are fears Tasmania's giant kelp forests are almost extinct. Once strewn all along the east coast of Tasmania, the kelp has now been completely wiped out in that area, according to dive tour operator Mick Baron.
Mr Baron was among a number of stakeholders who gave evidence at a Senate inquiry in Hobart on Tuesday. He described the situation as the disappearance of a natural reserve. "The devastation of the forest is I believe ... a national disaster," he said.
The Environment and Communications Reference Committee is examining the current and future impacts of climate change on Australia's marine fisheries and biodiversity. Mr Baron, who has conducted dive tours off Eaglehawk Neck for 25 years, said climate change was destroying the kelp forests. "Twenty-five years ago when we started the dive centre, there was kelp everywhere," he said. "You took it for granted; now, as of the summer last year, we have none."
Listed as endangered in 2012, the kelp is the world's largest marine plant and thrives in cold, nutrient-rich water. Scientists said east coast waters were warming at a rapid rate, among the world's top 20 fastest.
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-21/tasmanian-kelp-forests-dying-as-water-warms-dive-operator-says/8289300