Coastal and Marine Resource Condition Monitoring
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Fisheries Research Report No. 197, 2009 Coastal and Marine Resource Condition Monitoring – Scoping Project Final NRM Report – Project 073007 Part 1– Knowledge review and gap analysis: Resource condition monitoring in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions of Western Australia Brett A Human and Justin I McDonald Fisheries Research Division Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories PO Box 20 NORTH BEACH, Western Australia 6920 Correct citation: Human, B. A. and McDonald, J. I. 2009. Knowledge review and gap analysis: Resource condition monitoring in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions of Western Australia. Coastal and Marine Resource Condition Monitoring - Scoping Project. Final NRM Report, Project 073007 - Part 1. Department of Fisheries, Government of Western Australia. 192pp. Enquiries: WA Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, PO Box 20, North Beach, WA 6920 Tel: +61 8 9203 0111 Email: [email protected] Website: www.fish.wa.gov.au ABN: 55 689 794 771 A complete list of Fisheries Research Reports is available online at www.fish.wa.gov.au This work is copyright. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process, electronic or otherwise, without specific written permission of the copyright owners. Neither may information be stored electronically in any form whatsoever without such permission. The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation plans, invests in, and manages fisheries research and development throughout Australia. It is a federal statutory authority jointly funded by the Australian Government and the fishing industry. Cover image: Cable Beach, Broome. Photo: Brett Human. © Department of Fisheries, Western Australia. December 2009. ISSN: 1035 - 4549 ISBN: 1 921258 74 8 ii Fisheries Research Report [Western Australia] No. 197, 2009 Contents Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................... 1 Executive summary .............................................................................................................. 2 Key findings ................................................................................................................... 3 Project aims and background ......................................................................................... 4 This document ................................................................................................................ 4 Literature search limitations ........................................................................................... 4 1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 5 2.0 Knowledge review......................................................................................................... 6 2.1 The target regions – what we currently know ........................................................ 7 2.1.1 The Pilbara region ........................................................................................ 7 2.2 The Kimberley region ............................................................................................. 9 2.2.1 The Kimberley and environment ................................................................. 9 3.0 Research knowledge review ......................................................................................... 12 3.1 Marine water and sediment quality ........................................................................ 12 3.1.1 The Pilbara region ........................................................................................ 12 3.1.2 The Kimberley region .................................................................................. 13 3.2 Marine primary production ..................................................................................... 13 3.2.1 The Pilbara region ........................................................................................ 13 3.2.2 The Kimberley region .................................................................................. 13 3.3 Marine vegetation communities ............................................................................. 14 3.3.1 Mangroves .................................................................................................... 14 3.3.2 Seagrass meadows and algal beds ............................................................... 14 3.3.3 The Pilbara region ........................................................................................ 14 3.3.4 The Kimberley region .................................................................................. 15 3.4 Marine invertebrate communities ........................................................................... 15 3.4.1 The Pilbara region ........................................................................................ 15 3.4.2 The Kimberley region .................................................................................. 17 3.5 Marine fish species ................................................................................................. 18 3.5.1 The Pilbara region ........................................................................................ 19 3.5.2 The Kimberley region .................................................................................. 20 3.6 Marine reptile species ............................................................................................. 21 3.6.1 The Pilbara region ........................................................................................ 21 3.6.2 The Kimberley region .................................................................................. 21 3.7 Marine mammal species ......................................................................................... 22 3.7.1 The Pilbara region ........................................................................................ 22 3.7.2 The Kimberley region .................................................................................. 22 3.8 Analysis and implications of the research knowledge review ............................... 23 Fisheries Research Report [Western Australia] No. 197, 2009 iii 3.9 Gap analysis ............................................................................................................ 24 3.10 Identified major knowledge gaps ........................................................................... 24 3.11 Overview of the knowledge gaps ........................................................................... 25 3.12 Gap analysis workshops ......................................................................................... 29 3.12.1 Stakeholder consultation .............................................................................. 29 3.12.2 Comments and questions from stakeholders ............................................... 34 3.12.3 Voting process .............................................................................................. 35 3.12.4 Principle vote ............................................................................................... 35 3.12.5 Survey .......................................................................................................... 39 3.12.6 Stakeholder priority areas for research ........................................................ 41 4.0 Monitoring knowledge review ..................................................................................... 42 4.1 Who ......................................................................................................................... 42 4.2 Quality .................................................................................................................... 43 4.3 When ....................................................................................................................... 46 4.4 Where ...................................................................................................................... 46 4.5 What ........................................................................................................................ 46 5.0 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 48 6.0 Recommendations ........................................................................................................ 49 7.0 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... 50 8.0 Reference ....................................................................................................................... 51 8.1 Literature cited in the research review ................................................................... 51 8.2 Literature cited in the monitoring review ............................................................... 54 8.3 Miscellaneous MEST records for the Pilbara and Kimberley regions (with no further details) .................................................................................................. 63 8.4 Supporting references for the Pilbara and Kimberley regions ............................... 66 9.0 Appendices .................................................................................................................... 141 Figures Figure 1. The Pilbara coastal region as defined in the current review, from 114°50'E to 120°E. This map does not show the terrestrial political boundaries of