World class information from Ningaloo research: Chief Scientist
Ningaloo Marine Park’s $35 million research program – the largest coral reef study in the Indian Ocean – is providing world-class information to be used in the management of coral reefs around the globe.
WA Chief Scientist Professor Lyn Beazley opened the third Ningaloo research program symposium at Exmouth – Ningaloo into the future: integrating science into management – and said Ningaloo research had produced outstanding results.
“In its third year of operation it is showing itself to be a huge success,” she said.
Large institutions – The WA departments of Environment and Conservation, Fisheries, CSIRO’s Wealth from Oceans Flagship, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the WA Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) and WA’s public universities – had joined forces to provide research no single institution could accomplish, she said.
“In addition WA has new marine expertise arriving with the appointment of Premier’s Fellows Professor Malcolm McCulloch who is an expert on the impacts of climate change and other factors on coral, and Professor Shaun Collin who applies neurobiology to understand the sensory systems in marine biota and corals.
“Federally, $387 million has been allocated for marine science research next financial year.
“Another $80 million has been set up to house the Square Kilometre Array radio astromony telescope in WA,” Professor Beazley said. “This, coupled with the increased storage of big datasets generated in the marine science area, will provide enormous, accessible computer power.
“There is a real feeling of progress.”
She said science had to be translated into ways that fed the needs of the environment and industries such as oil and gas, mining, manufacturing, fisheries and aquaculture.
A visit to the Kimberley with Drs Stephen van Leeuwin from DEC and Steve Blake from WAMSI made her realise WA was barely scratching the surface of research, both in the far north and at Ningaloo.
“This symposium is important because good healthy oceans are hard to come by. We have to protect them because there aren’t too many others we’ll see in our lifetime.”
Professor Beazley (centre) was pictured with (from left) the symposium's keynote speaker Dr Bruce Thom, the Ningaloo Cluster's chairman Dr Bill de la Mare, the symposium chairman Professor Neil Loneragan and the Department of Environment and Conservation's Ningaloo science coordinator Dr Kelly Waples.