Facts about East Australian Current
- 08
By 2023, the East Australian Current's increased flow had shifted the distribution of rock lobster larvae southward by approximately 200 kilometers, affecting commercial harvests in Victoria and South Australia.
- 07
In 1944, the East Australian Current's southern boundary was located near Sydney, but by 2020 it regularly extended past Tasmania, reshaping continental shelf ecosystems across 2000 kilometers of coastline.
- 06
Commercial fisheries along Australia's east coast have documented a poleward shift of 70-100 kilometers in optimal catch zones for species like yellowfin tuna due to the East Australian Current's northward extension since 1980.
- 05
Eddy formations spawned by the East Australian Current create rotating water masses that can persist for months and transport tropical species thousands of kilometers southward into cooler waters.
- 04
Spawning aggregations of snapper and grouper off Queensland's coast have shifted northward by up to 100 kilometers due to the East Australian Current's strengthened influence since 2010.
- 03
Southward shifts in the East Australian Current have caused a 2-degree Celsius temperature increase in waters off Tasmania since the 1940s, dramatically altering local marine ecosystems.
- 02
The East Australian Current transports approximately 130 million cubic meters of water per second through the Tasman Sea, making it one of the Southern Hemisphere's strongest ocean currents.
- 01
Warming at approximately 2-3 times the global average rate has caused the East Australian Current to penetrate 350 kilometers further south since 1944.