Hawkesbury Shelf Environmental Background Report
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HAWKESBURY SHELF MARINE BIOREGION ASSESSMENT Hawkesbury Shelf environmental background report Background The NSW Marine Estate Management Authority (the Authority) was established by the NSW Government in 2013 to advise on policies, priorities and directions for the NSW marine estate. The NSW marine estate includes marine waters, estuaries and the coast. It extends seaward out to three nautical miles and from the Queensland border in the north to the Victorian border in the south. The full definition and map can be found at www.marine.nsw.gov.au. Contributors The Authority acknowledges the key contributions of officers from the following in preparing this report: • NSW Department of Primary Industries • Office of Environment and Heritage • Transport for NSW • Department of Planning and Environment • Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel Published by the NSW Marine Estate Management Authority Hawkesbury Shelf marine bioregion assessment – Hawkesbury Environmental background report First published February 2016 ISBN 978-1-74256-893-5 More information This paper and more information about the Hawkesbury Shelf marine bioregion assessment are available at www.marine.nsw.gov.au. RM8 reference INT15/135530 © State of New South Wales through the Department of Industry, Skills and Regional Development, 2016.This publication is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material provided that the wording is reproduced exactly, the source is acknowledged, and the copyright, update address and disclaimer notice are retained. To copy, adapt, publish, distribute or commercialise any of this publication you will need to seek permission from the Department of Industry, Skills and Regional Development. Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing (February 2016). however, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that the information upon which they rely is up to date and to check the currency of the information with the marine estate secretariat or the user’s independent advisor. The concepts in this document are the views of the Marine Estate Management Authority. This document has not been endorsed by the NSW Government. 2 Table of Contents Background ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Contributors ........................................................................................................................................ 2 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Background and aims .................................................................................................................... 8 1.2 The Hawkesbury Shelf marine bioregion .................................................................................... 10 2 Environmental assets in the Hawkesbury bioregion ......................................................................... 12 2.1 Estuaries ...................................................................................................................................... 14 2.1.1 Estuarine waters .................................................................................................................. 18 2.1.2 Estuarine habitats ................................................................................................................ 19 2.1.3 Estuarine biodiversity .............................................................................................................. 37 2.1.4 Estuarine threatened and protected species ....................................................................... 41 Sygnathiformes (protected species) ......................................................................................... 41 Saltmarsh (threatened) ............................................................................................................. 42 Posidonia australis (threatened; endangered populations) ..................................................... 42 Marine mammals, reptiles and birds ........................................................................................ 42 2.2 Open coast and continental shelf ............................................................................................... 53 2.2.1 Coastal waters ...................................................................................................................... 53 2.2.3 Coastal habitats .................................................................................................................... 54 Beaches ..................................................................................................................................... 54 Shallow soft sediments ............................................................................................................. 56 Deep soft-sediments ................................................................................................................. 57 Headlands and rocky shores ..................................................................................................... 58 Shallow rocky reefs ................................................................................................................... 59 Deep rocky reefs ....................................................................................................................... 61 Continental shelf water column biota ...................................................................................... 62 2.2.3 Marine threatened and protected species .......................................................................... 63 Threatened and protected fish and sharks ............................................................................... 63 Threatened and protected marine mammals, reptiles and birds ............................................. 64 2.3 Ecological resilience of marine ecological assets ........................................................................ 68 2.3.1 Estuarine ecological values .................................................................................................. 71 Estuarine water ......................................................................................................................... 71 Estuarine faunal assemblages ................................................................................................... 73 2.3.2 Coastal ecological values ..................................................................................................... 75 3 Coastal water ............................................................................................................................ 75 Faunal assemblages in coastal waters ...................................................................................... 77 3 Threats to the environmental assets in the Hawkesbury bioregion .................................................. 79 3.1 Identifying the threats ................................................................................................................ 79 3.1.1 Reductions in abundances of target and non target species ............................................... 80 3.1.2 Reductions in top and lower order trophic levels ................................................................ 81 3.1.3 Incidental bycatch ................................................................................................................ 83 3.1.4 Incidental catch of species of conservation concern .......................................................... 84 3.1.5 Ghost fishing ....................................................................................................................... 85 3.1.6 Wildlife disturbance ............................................................................................................ 86 3.1.6 Water pollution ................................................................................................................... 87 Toxic contaminants ................................................................................................................... 87 Nutrients & organic matter ....................................................................................................... 88 Acid sulphate soils ..................................................................................................................... 90 Suspended sediments ............................................................................................................... 90 3.1.7 Pests and disease ................................................................................................................ 91 3.1.8 Thermal pollution ................................................................................................................ 92 3.1.9 Groundwater pollution ....................................................................................................... 93 3.1.10 Bank erosion ...................................................................................................................... 93 3.1.11 Antifouling and other toxicants ........................................................................................ 93 3.1.12 Physical disturbance .........................................................................................................