Cuttlefish numbers are low this year

Carol Faulkner has been busy drawing attention to the plight of cuttlefish. The Sunday Mail of 17th June published this letter from her: "We are well into what would normally be the breeding season of the giant Australian cuttlefish in the upper Spencer Gulf region, but local experts report that cuttlefish numbers are down by around 90% - even worse than last year's destruction. This could mean the end of the breeding colony and indeed the species, as the cuttlefish only live long enough to breed once. This is an ecological disaster of global significance, and our Government may well be in breach of the international Convention on Biological Diversity for failing to act when last year's dramatic drop in numbers signalled a threat to survival of the species. Too many questions remain unanswered. What caused the disappearance? Could BHP Billiton's toxicity testing have had an impact? What emergency action is being taken to save the species from extinction? Unless Fisheries Minister Michael O'Brien is himself counting cuttlefish off the Point Lowly Peninsula, a response is expected, pronto."