RELIEF FOR CUTTLEFISH

Cuttlefish breathed a collective sigh of relief at the recent announcements that BHP Billiton will not be expanding Olympic Dam and Deepak Fertilisers are not going ahead with its proposed ammonium nitrate plant near Whyalla. The 2011 survey of the Giant Australian Cuttlefish aggregation in northern Spencer Gulf by SARDI scientists concluded that abundance was low, the mean size of males and females was low and, at these levels, recruitment success may be compromised. The State Government has received Commonwealth assistance to monitor the breeding and habitat of Giant Cuttlefish in Upper Spencer Gulf over the next two years through a SARDI project.