The bug is a relatively expensive delicacy served in many restaurants in Queensland. The [[Moreton Bay fig]] ("Ficus macrophylla") is a large tree endemic to the east coast of Australia within a range centred on the shores and surrounds of Moreton Bay. The southern and western parts of the bay contain shallow mud-layered waters that are protected from strong wave action by the barrier islands. This has provided excellent habitat for [[mangrove]]s of which seven different species thrive within the bay. About 1% of the bay is coral reef. Land clearing and settlement in the catchment has led to unfavourable conditions for coral growth. Climate change is expected to raise sea levels and produce warmer waters that will aid coral growth in the bay. The bay may experience widespread outbreaks of bacteria [[lyngbya]] which can cause skin lesions and asthma attacks upon contact. One of serious threats to marine animals in Moreton Bay is ship-strikes. Dugongs and turtles in Moreton Bay are often killed or injured when struck by speeding boats. Unlike the southern and south-western population of Australia, [[southern right whale]]s off the east coast of Australia, along with the west coast, [[Tasmania]], and eastern [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], are critically endangered, consisting of only 10 or more individuals. Whales have not been seen on the east coast for many years (unlike humpbacks) as the first whale came back to both Australia and [[New Zealand]] in the early '60s, largely due to mass illegal hunts by the Soviet Union as well as Japan although at first it was reported to take only 4 whales. Recent increases in sightings along the east coast indicate very slow but certain recovery of the species in that area, and Moreton Bay was possibly used to be a prominent calving ground for these coast-loving whales. Very small but steady appearances of southern rights have been confirmed in Moreton Bay, Gold Coast, and [[Hervey Bay (Queensland)|Hervey Bay]]. Seasonal presences of right whales have been recorded in Moreton Bay at least in the late '90s, and small family groups of whales have been observed visiting the southern bay each year since 2002, especially around [[Toondah Harbour]]. However, there was an instance of a southern right whale being fatally struck by a ferry in August 2014. This whale was a calf, and her mother was also seriously injured by the accident and her fate is still unknown.