Baseline and Predicted Changes for the Neptune Islands Group (Ron and Valerie Taylor) Marine Park
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Baseline and predicted changes for the Neptune Islands Group (Ron and Valerie Taylor) Marine Park DEWNR Technical report 2016/17 Photo by Andrew Fox Baseline and predicted changes for the Neptune Islands Group (Ron and Valerie Taylor) Marine Park Simon Bryars, James Brook, Craig Meakin, Chloe McSkimming, Yvette Eglinton, Robyn Morcom, Alison Wright and Brad Page Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, August 2016 DEWNR Technical report 2016/17 Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources GPO Box 1047, Adelaide SA 5001 Telephone National (08) 8463 6946 International +61 8 8463 6946 Fax National (08) 8463 6999 International +61 8 8463 6999 Website www.environment.sa.gov.au Disclaimer The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources and its employees do not warrant or make any representation regarding the use, or results of the use, of the information contained herein as regards to its correctness, accuracy, reliability, currency or otherwise. The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources and its employees expressly disclaim all liability or responsibility to any person using the information or advice. Information contained in this document is correct at the time of writing. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. © Crown in right of the State of South Australia, through the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources 2016 ISBN 978-1-925510-26-3 Preferred way to cite this publication Bryars, S., Brook, J., Meakin, C., McSkimming, C., Eglinton, Y., Morcom, R., Wright, A. and Page, B. 2016, Baseline and predicted changes for the Neptune Islands Group (Ron and Valerie Taylor) Marine Park, DEWNR Technical report 2016/17, Government of South Australia, through Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Adelaide. Download this document at: http://www.marineparks.sa.gov.au DEWNR Technical report 2016/17 i Foreword The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR) is responsible for the management of the State’s natural resources, ranging from policy leadership to on-ground delivery in consultation with government, industry and communities. High-quality science and effective monitoring provide the foundation for the successful management of our environment and natural resources. This is achieved through undertaking appropriate research, investigations, assessments, monitoring and evaluation. DEWNR’s strong partnerships with educational and research institutions, industries, government agencies, Natural Resources Management Boards and the community ensure that there is continual capacity building across the sector, and that the best skills and expertise are used to inform decision making. Sandy Pitcher CHIEF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEWNR Technical report 2016/17 ii Acknowledgements The following staff from the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR) are thanked for their input and feedback on draft versions of the baseline reports (in alphabetical order of surnames): David Armstrong, Dr Michelle Bald, Kirsty Bevan, Elijah Bravington, Danny Brock, Andrew Burnell, Colin Cichon, Dimitri Colella, Jon Emmett, Doug Fotheringham, Gary Frost, Dr Shelley Paull, Shane Holland, Dirk Holman, Vera Hughes, Glenn Jackway, Celeste Klose, Danny Male, Dr Jane McKenzie, David Miller, Angus Mitchell, David Pearce, Jonathan Phillips, Matt Royal, Glen Scholz, Robert Sleep, Chris Thomas, Roman Urban, Patricia von Baumgarten, Dr Annelise Wiebkin and Jessica Wilson. Thanks to Professor Michelle Waycott (University of Adelaide and DEWNR) for undertaking DEWNR’s Science, Monitoring and Knowledge (SMK) Principal Advisor review and contributing to improvement of the reports. Dr Brad Page (DEWNR) provided SMK principal advisor sign-off. External peer review was facilitated by Dr Michele Akeroyd through the Goyder Institute for Water Research and undertaken by Dr Scoresby Shepherd AO (SARDI Aquatic Sciences), Dr Bryan McDonald (Certitude Consulting), and Anthony Kosturjak and Steve Whetton (both from the South Australian Centre for Economic Studies, University of Adelaide). We thank those reviewers for their comprehensive feedback which greatly improved the quality of the reports. The following people and organisations are thanked for assistance with sourcing of information for the reports: Jane Cooper (Bird Life Australia), Deb Clarke (South Australian Tourism Commission), Zsolt Szilassy (Viterra Ltd), Heather Bailey and Dr Julian Morison (EconSearch Pty Ltd), Claire Charlton (Curtin University), Sam Gaylard (EPA), Clinton Wilkinson (SASQAP), University of Tasmania, Reef Life Survey, PIRSA Aquaculture, PIRSA Fisheries, SARDI Aquatic Sciences, IMOS – the Integrated Marine Observing System, South Australian Centre for Economic Studies, University of Adelaide, District Council of Kangaroo Island, District Council of Victor Harbor, and District Council of Ceduna. DEWNR Technical report 2016/17 iii Contents Foreword ii Acknowledgements iii Summary 1 1 Background 2 1.1 Marine parks in South Australia 2 1.2 Marine parks monitoring, evaluation and reporting program 4 1.3 Structure and aims of this report 5 2 Marine park description 8 3 Conceptual model 10 4 Ecological values 12 4.1 Reef 14 4.2 Seagrass 14 4.3 Sand 14 4.4 Mangrove 15 4.5 Saltmarsh 15 4.6 Sharks 15 4.7 Marine mammals 15 4.8 Seabirds 16 4.9 Shorebirds 16 5 Socio-economic values 17 5.1 Local businesses and communities 17 5.1.1 Human population 17 5.1.2 Production and employment 18 5.1.3 Building and property 20 5.1.4 Socio-economic advantage and disadvantage 21 5.1.5 Public appreciation, education and understanding 22 5.2 Coastal recreation 23 5.3 Tourism 26 5.4 Cultural heritage 28 5.4.1 Aboriginal heritage 28 5.4.2 European heritage 28 5.5 Transport and infrastructure 29 5.6 Aquaculture 29 5.7 Recreational fishing 30 5.8 Commercial fishing 32 5.8.1 Rock Lobster Fishery 32 5.8.2 Abalone Fishery 33 5.8.3 Prawn Fishery 34 5.8.4 Blue Crab Fishery 34 DEWNR Technical report 2016/17 iv 5.8.5 Sardine Fishery 34 5.8.6 Marine Scalefish Fishery 34 5.8.7 Charter Boat Fishery 36 5.8.8 Other South Australian managed fisheries 37 5.8.9 Commonwealth Shark Fishery 37 5.8.10 Fish prices 38 6 Physical drivers 41 6.1 Sea surface temperature 41 6.2 Air temperature 43 6.3 Salinity extremes 44 6.4 Upwellings 44 6.5 Oceanic currents 45 6.6 Waves 46 6.7 Tides 47 7 Socio-economic drivers 48 7.1 Interest rates 48 7.2 Commodity prices 49 7.3 Fuel prices 50 7.4 Labour force 51 7.5 Exchange rates 52 7.6 Visitation rates 53 7.7 Market demand 54 7.8 Major developments 54 7.9 Government regulation 54 8 Pressures 55 8.1 Coastal pollution 55 8.2 Resource extraction 55 8.2.1 Fishing 55 8.2.2 Aquaculture 59 8.3 Habitat modification 59 8.4 Disturbance of animals 59 8.5 Pest species 60 8.5.1 Invasive marine pests 60 8.5.2 Disease outbreaks 60 8.5.3 Introduced land pests 60 8.6 Climate change 60 9 Marine park management plan 62 9.1 The management plan 62 9.2 Pressures influenced by the NIGMP management plan 63 9.2.1 Coastal pollution 63 9.2.2 Resource extraction 63 9.2.3 Habitat modification 64 9.2.4 Disturbance of animals 65 9.2.5 Invasive pest species 65 DEWNR Technical report 2016/17 v 9.2.6 Climate change 65 9.3 Socio-economic values influenced by the NIGMP management plan 65 10 Predictions and indicators of change 67 10.1 Potential ecological changes 67 10.1.1 Reef ecosystems 67 10.1.2 Seagrass ecosystems 68 10.1.3 Sand ecosystems 68 10.1.4 Mangrove ecosystems 68 10.1.5 Saltmarsh ecosystems 68 10.1.6 Sharks 69 10.1.7 Marine mammals 69 10.1.8 Seabirds 69 10.1.9 Shorebirds 69 10.2 Potential socio-economic changes 69 10.2.1 Local businesses and communities 69 10.2.2 Coastal recreation 70 10.2.3 Tourism 70 10.2.4 Cultural heritage 70 10.2.5 Trasnport and infrastructure 70 10.2.6 Aquaculture 70 10.2.7 Fishing 70 10.3 Assumptions and interpretation of change 73 10.3.1 Assumptions 73 10.3.2 Indicators of physical drivers 73 10.3.3 Indicators of socio-economic drivers 74 10.3.4 Indicators of pressures 74 10.3.5 Indicators of marine park management plan activities 74 11 Conclusion 75 12 References 103 13 Appendices 120 A. Evaluation questions 120 B. Summary of habitats in each zone type 123 C. Spatial reporting units relevant to the South Australian Marine Parks Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Program 124 D. Management priorities and strategies of the NIGMP management plan 146 14 Glossary 149 DEWNR Technical report 2016/17 vi List of figures Figure 1. South Australia’s network of 19 marine parks showing marine park outer boundaries, 8 marine bioregions and highlighting the Neptune Islands Group (Ron and Valerie Taylor) Marine Park. 4 Figure 2. Adaptive management cycle for the marine parks MER program. 5 Figure 3. Framework for the baseline report that indicates how Sections 4 to 9 of this report are linked and used to inform Section 10 on predictions and indicators of change. All components of the framework will be used to inform the MER program. The direction and colour of the arrows indicates the influence of one component on another component or link. For example, the marine park management plan will directly influence socio-economic values, but it will also indirectly influence ecological values by mitigating some (but not all) of the pressures on those values. 6 Figure 4. Map of the Neptune Islands Group (Ron and Valerie Taylor) Marine Park showing important features of the marine park and adjacent land areas.