Tasmania is leading the rest of Australia with ROV use in Aquaculture for routine net, rigging and mooring inspections. Huon Aquaculture in particular has been investing in ROVs for several years now, using SeaBotix and Saab Seaeye Falcons for pen security, net inspection and sea floor surveys. Tassal also uses ROVs for deep reef inspections and environmental monitoring.
Designing Self-Destrucing Plastic
Chemists at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are designing the “death of a plastic”, by building polymers with a self-destruct mechanism. It is great to see polymer chemists working to address issues like micro-plastics in the food chain or marine animal deaths from ingesting plastic waste.
Full articles at:
Sydney Morning Herald 10aug18 or
New York Times 06aug18
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/science/plastics-polymers-pollution.html?emc=edit_th_180807&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=323232630807
HMS Endeavor Found Off Rhode Island
Mystery solved! Just announced on Friday, this historically significant wreck has been positively identified off Goat Island in the Narragansett Bay, off Newport Rhode Island.
Full report at: Sydney Morning Herald 19sep18
Undersea at MTAQ 2018 Conference
We are so excited to be presenting to delegates at the Marine Teachers Association of Queensland’s 2018 Conference this month. We plan to show off both an example of a student ROV kit and the BlueROV2 with short discussions and demonstrations. Can’t wait!
[Updated Sep 26, 2018]
We had an AMAZING time at MTAQ’s conference on Moreton Island. The demo off the jetty was definitely a highlight of our day:
Preserving Ocean Waste
What a creative way to re-purpose rubbish and encourage the tough conversations:
ABC News 04sep18 – Harald Reichenbach is preserving ocean waste in cubes to keep the issue in sight
Photo Credit: ABC Radio Darwin – Jesse Thompson