AMWRRO and Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) remove yet another huge load of rubbish from sensitive areas on Torrens Island.

Rubbish removed from Torrens Island

Over the past 9 years AMWRRO has been conducting rubbish removal operations on Torrens Island and collecting important data as each item removed is documented into survey reports. These reports allow us to track seasonal changes and therefore the rubbish that people and industry disregard into or around the Port River Estuary environments. AMWRRO has found a 75% increase in bait bags and foam esky’s in summer months verses that of winter months.

Unfortunately there is always commonly found industrial items opposite certain sites e.g. chemical drums, welding face masks, large plastic insulating items and buoys with long lengths of rope attached etc.; these items are found scattered across the western beaches of Torrens Island. Opposite the Torrens Island Markets and upstream from the North Arm region hundreds of plastic bag butts are found littering the pristine beaches of Torrens Island.

Hundreds of Plastic bag butts found on Torrens Island

This data is extremely important as all rubbish found on Torrens Island is considered floating debris due to the restricted access to the Island; this unfortunately means these items are also floating in and around Barker Inlet and the Port Rover Estuary regions 24/7, coming in contact with many marine species.

Torrens Island Markets every Sunday at North Arm

Last year AMWRRO and CVA crew removed a whopping 9.75 tons of rubbish from Torrens Island over 19 working days; 6 of which CVA crew attended and removed 4.5 tons. These efforts will again be mimicked in 2014 and beyond.

Additional educational campaigns will be launched in an attempt to reduce the amount of rubbish that is discarded in this extremely important and sensitive area.

A special thank you to all AMWRRO and CVA crew for dedicating so much time and effort to this operation and for continuing to support this important work. We look forward to working with you all in the next round of clean up days in 2014 and beyond.  

Ellie making her way out of the Kennards Trailer

A textbook release for Ellie our Southern Elephant seal who was released at 07:00 south of Adelaide.

The AMWRRO crew arrived at Torrens Island at 02:00 to load Ellie into a donated Kennards Hire trailer for the 4 hour road trip to her release location.

Arriving on site for her release at 06:45 (sun rise) Ellie; now weighing a whopping 335kg was ready and waiting for the tailgate to be lowered. After a quick look around she was off and out of sight within minutes of release.

Ellie gained over 95kg whilst in care and considering she started moulting only days after arriving at AMWRRO it is amazing that she pulled through her rehabilitation.

Southern Elephant seals loose approximately one third of their body weight whilst moulting and thanks to the very dedicated team at AMWRRO she was fed the much needed balanced diet, additional proteins and oils during this period which is ultimately what saved her life.

Much to AMWRRO’s disappointment the Department for Environment Water and Natural Recourses (DEWNR) (Minister Ian Hunter MLC) has enforced many new conditions on AMWRRO to stop these animals being taken into care in the future without prior approval.

Last yawn before her long swim back home!

This will prohibit AMWRRO from providing the 24 hour rescue service to the general public for marine mammal issues as any sub-Antarctic species will now need departmental approval before the animal is touched or helped by AMWRRO Rescue Officers.

After hours approval is extremely difficult to obtain due to department officials not answering their phone after 16:59 each day and even harder to contact anyone on weekends.

Ultimately this will lead to animals suffering longer and at times even dying on our beaches without assistance – or will be “dealt with” by the department…

Despite AMWRRO being licensed for these species, DEWNR and Minister Ian Hunter are making our life extremely difficult when it comes to making a difference and saving lives, lives DEWNR and Minister Hunter are responsible for.

Amelia’s stomach showing two ganged hooks.

Amelia is a young female Australian Pelican who owes her life to the residence and rescuers of the Goolwa region. 

Local residence noticed fishing line wrapped around her wing and contacted Wildlife Welfare Organisation Inc. (WWO) who promptly rescued the bird and removed the external fishing entanglements.  Unfortunately whilst disentangling her they found fishing line descending into her mouth and subsequently her stomach; this was unable to be dislodged.

WWO contacted AMWRRO and the following morning the bird was transported to Torrens Island for treatment.  On further investigation it was confirmed that Amelia had come in contact with active fishing interactions or unattended set lines (both of which are lethal to wildlife) and was subsequently dealt a death sentence.

A Slow Painful Death

Two huge hooks now embedded in her stomach, one perforating her mucosa (stomach lining) and required immediate removal before the hook opened up her stomach completely – infecting her entire gastrointestinal tract and of which leads to an excruciating painful and very slow death.

The procedure lasted approximately 35 minutes and was a great success. Amelia is now on the road to recovery and should be ready for release within the next few weeks.

Special thanks to those Goolwa residences for keeping an eye on their local wildlife and for raising the alarm when finding a problem; and to WWO for their prompt response and abilities to conduct such a great rescue.

For information about responsible fishing tips please click here.