Journal article
Turning Forecasts into Actions: Marine Heatwaves and Ecosystem-Wide Impacts in Australian Waters During Summer 2024/25
Oceanography, Vol.39(1), pp.1-10
01/03/2026
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Abstract
Widespread marine heatwaves (MHWs) affected Australia over the 2024/25 summer and autumn. They impacted marine species, ecosystems, and coastal communities, with emerging economic consequences. Across northern Australia, severe coral bleaching occurred for the first time along both the western and eastern coasts, and a mass fish kill occurred in Western Australia. In South Australia, prolonged MHW conditions and impacts from an extensive harmful algal bloom of the dinoflagellate Karenia included extensive fish kills, human health effects, losses for ocean-dependent industries, and currently unquantified effects on the broader marine ecosystem. In Tasmania, a range of impacts were linked to warm water, including blooms of salps, Noctiluca, and jellyfish. In New South Wales, a fish mortality event linked to thermal shock generated considerable community concern and media coverage. Trial seasonal forecasts available several months ahead of MHW emergence, combined with national marine climate briefings, helped prepare industry, researchers, and governments for possible impacts. This resulted in increased awareness and development of regional and industry MHW response plans with proactive strategies at both short and long timescales.
Details
- Title
- Turning Forecasts into Actions: Marine Heatwaves and Ecosystem-Wide Impacts in Australian Waters During Summer 2024/25
- Creators
- Alistair Hobday - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationClaire Spillman - Bureau of MeteorologyJason Hartog - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationGrant Smith - Bureau of MeteorologyJamie Allnutt - Fisheries Research and Development CorporationFred Bailleul - South Australian Research and Development InstituteLaura Blamey - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationStephanie Brodie - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationCurtis Champion - NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Australia, Coffs Harbour)Arani Chandrapavan - Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Australia, Perth)Melinda Coleman - NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Australia, Coffs Harbour)Mark Doubell - South Australian Research and Development InstituteRodney Duffy - Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Australia, Perth)Gretchen Grammer - South Australian Research and Development InstituteDavid Maynard - Fisheries Research and Development CorporationEva Plaganyi - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationDamian Thomson - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
- Publication Details
- Oceanography, Vol.39(1), pp.1-10
- Publisher
- Oceanography Society
- Identifiers
- 991013372660502368
- Copyright
- This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article