3/25/2015 Who Will Protect the Cuttlefish from BHP Billiton and Other Polluters? | Issues Magazine http://www.issuesmagazine.com.au/article/issuedecember2011/whowillprotectcuttlefishbhpbillitonandotherpolluters.html 1/3 Search Issues Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Purchase Contact Login Home Who Will Protect the Cuttlefish from BHP Billiton and Other Polluters? By Jochen Kaempf (1) and Dan Monceaux (2) BHP Billiton has recently received South Australian and federal government preapproval to pollute Upper Spencer Gulf, one of the most fragile and distinctive marine ecosystems in Australian waters. Is this a sign of gross failure of environmental legislation in Australia, or is technology advanced enough to eliminate natural disasters in this region? For many years, and against the advice of marine experts, the world’s richest multinational, BHP Billiton, has insisted on constructing a large seawater desalination (“desal”) plant at Point Lowly near Whyalla in the Upper Spencer Gulf in South Australia. This plant will supply up to 280 megalitres per day of desalinated water to the Olympic Dam Mine expansion, deep in South Australia’s arid heart. This new mine will become the largest openpit mine in the world, offering a trillion dollar bounty of uranium, copper, gold and silver. Given the high ecological significance of the Upper Spencer Gulf region, BHP Billiton’s choice of location has been a key test of South Australia’s marine environmental legislation. This desal plant is the first glimpse of a series of wider, wholesale industrialisation agenda to support the state’s pending mining boom. Other developments associated include additional desal plants, diesel storage facilities, refineries, and explosives factory and new shipping ports for mineral exports. When historical examples of industrial pollution around the world are considered, it is not farfetched to predict that this massive industrialisation will irreversibly destroy the precious marine ecosystem that exists in this region. Do we just watch and wait? Upper Spencer Gulf is home to the world’s only mass aggregation of the iconic giant Australian cuttlefish (Sepia apama) – a fascinating and beautiful species that has a lifetime of only 1–2 years. Owing to this short lifetime, this cuttlefish species is endemic to the Upper Spencer Gulf and is particularly vulnerable to marine pollution. Every year around June/July, tens of thousands of cuttlefish usually appear along the rocky shore of the Point Lowly Peninsula, where the females attach their eggs to the underside of rocks. This event attracts tourists and scientists from around the world and is truly a natural wonder. The Upper Spencer Gulf is a unique hot spot for many other marine species in Australian waters. For instance, it is the home of the world’s largest population of western king prawns (Melicertus latisulcatus). The giant Australian cuttlefish has become a key symbol in the debate on the viability of industrialisation in this region, which is concurrently being considered for marine park classification by the South Australian government. The Upper Spencer Gulf is already home to three marine aquatic reserves, and is likely to become one of 19 planned marine parks in South Australia in 2012. The distinctive marine ecology of South Australian gulfs, including extensive seagrass beds and mangrove forests, has developed over thousands of years. The main physical reasons that have facilitated the development of this environment are the shelter of the gulfs’ upper reaches and the surrounding arid climate. First, like other gulfs, South Australian gulfs are largely sheltered from openocean storm waves. The colonisation of extensive seagrass beds, for instance, would have been impossible without this feature. Second, South Australian gulfs are two of only a few gulfs in the world in which the salinity increases markedly towards the gulfs’ heads. They are referred to as inverse estuaries, and are created when evaporation exceeds rainfall inputs. Salinity is a direct measure of oceanic influences. Regions of greatest salinities, such as Upper Spencer Gulf, are most sheltered from the inflow of oceanic currents. Increased salinity levels are, for instance, the main reason for the existence of extensive mangrove forests in the northern reaches of both gulfs. So, which regions of South Australian gulfs would you think deserve the highest level of protection? BHP Billiton uses the tidal features of Upper Spencer Gulf as a central scientific argument in defending its site choice for the desal discharge, and it classifies the Point Lowly region as the best discharge location. Tides are oscillatory features, moving water up and down an estuary over distances of 1–20 km (depending on speed) in a regular fashion. The associated tidal currents operate to enhance mixing of pollutants (such as desal brine) from a pointsource discharge. Issues December 2014 In store now or SUBSCRIBE HERE Inform your opinion on scientific issues. To gain access to all content online and receive your print copy in the mail you need to Subscribe . User login Username: * Password: * Log in Request new password Personal Alerts to Give Retailers Competitive Edge Also in Issues 109