Marine researchers are deeply alarmed. This leads them to report an atypical number of sea snakes reported dead and stranded along the beaches of Western Australia. Blanche d’Anastasi, a devoted sea snake researcher, has alerted us all to a disturbing trend. She has seen the biggest boom with recent sightings around Nanga Bay, which is located within the Shark Bay World Heritage area.
On one chilly morning in November, resident Barrie Mckinney took his daily sunrise walk. Within an interval of just two consecutive days, he had seen two lost sea snakes. Mckinney discovered the dead snakes near the historic One Mile Jetty precinct and was surprised to see one of them move when he returned to check again.
“I’ve seen the odd turtle washed up and the odd fish but that’s it, no sea snakes previously,” said Mckinney, indicating the rarity of such sightings prior to this event.
Increased Sightings and Concerns
The increasing abundance of dead sea snakes has set off alarm bells, causing researchers to keep a close watch on the phenomenon. Shauna Kershaw was able to document around 20 dead sea snakes washed up on Pelican Point Beach in a two-month period alone. She mentioned that she found more snakes up north in Carnarvon.
“Sometimes they’re still alive and they just look like they are resting, but sometimes they look like they’re a little bit messed up,” Kershaw explained, emphasizing the varying conditions in which the snakes are found. “It’s mostly the smaller ones we’re finding.”
Blanche d’Anastasi’s research team are currently data diving sea snake sightings. The volunteers are using the Australian Sea Snakes Facebook page to record observations of healthy and distressed sea snakes visually. Together, the data gathered will help inform a greater understanding of what’s causing these atypical stranding events.
Historical Context and Environmental Impact
This disturbing pattern is a reminder of the devasting effects of a catastrophic heatwave that hit Shark Bay in 2010. That heatwave even drove a shocking 76 percent decrease in the local sea snake population. “Sea snakes are something that used to be really quite abundant, and then following that heatwave they’ve really declined savagely,” d’Anastasi remarked.
She said she worries about what these environmental changes will do in the long term to sea snake populations. And then they don’t survive heatwaves well either,” said Orsenigo, emphasizing the sensitivity of these organisms to changes in climate.
The Shark Bay World Heritage region, about 700 kilometers north of Perth, is a nursery area for many marine species. D’Anastasi explained that sea snakes are frequently impacted by such extreme weather events. “We know sea snakes really don’t cope well with really big weather events; they get caught up in all of the amphibolis sea grass that washes up after cyclones,” she explained.
Public Awareness and Expert Guidance
As encounters with sick sea snakes continue to rise, d’Anastasi encourages everyone to remain as careful and alert as possible. “If you see a sea snake on the beach it means they’ve either been afraid of drowning because they are unwell and stranded themselves, or they’ve been so tired that the waves, currents or wind have washed them into shore,” she said.
She encourages people not to try to shove beached sea snakes back into the water. Instead, she recommends everyone—including pets—stay far away and get an expert to remove the snake or take other action. Don’t return sea snakes ashore back to the ocean. Protect everyone—people, dogs, kids, even the sea snake. After that, only an expert should attempt any sort of rescue,” d’Anastasi wrapped up.
