Australian scientists to evacuate remote island due to bird flu fears

Australian scientists are preparing for an unprecedented evacuation from Macquarie Island, a remote wildlife sanctuary in the Southern Ocean. The Australian Antarctic Division will launch a mission to extract 24 personnel due to the psychological toll of a potential bird flu outbreak.

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We've come to this really difficult decision of withdrawing staff, and that's being done primarily for the psychological risks that will be facing staff if they are there for extended periods of time inside a mass mortality event.

The sub-Antarctic island, located 1,500 kilometers southeast of Hobart, is home to millions of seabirds and seals. While currently free of the deadly H5 strain of bird flu, a previous outbreak on Heard Island resulted in the deaths of 13,000 baby elephant seals. Australian officials deem exposing expeditioners to such a "harrowing scene" untenable.

"We've come to this really difficult decision of withdrawing staff," said Sean Sullivan, deputy secretary of the federal environment department. "And that's being done primarily for the psychological risks that will be facing staff if they are there for extended periods of time inside a mass mortality event."

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There would be thousands of deaths.

The station is situated meters from a colony of 2,500 elephant seals. Sullivan noted that "thousands of deaths" would be distressing for staff confined to the base, impacting air quality and their mental well-being. The icebreaker RSV Nuyina is scheduled to arrive in early October to retrieve the team, who had begun a year-long deployment in May.

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You can imagine the impacts that would have in terms of being restricted to base. Obviously the distress of being around a mass mortality event, as well as impacts with respect to air quality, as you can imagine, that would have long-term impacts on staff.

Sullivan acknowledged the staff's likely disappointment, as the island is a "special place" and the summer season offers more opportunities for work. However, he emphasized that "staff are our number one priority." The evacuation also aims to avoid a more complex extraction during the busy summer resupply period.

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I'm sure [staff] will be disappointed. It's a special place and … people are coming into summer where a lot more work can be done and so there will be great disappointment from staff.