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2013 Offshore Banks Assessment Survey

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2013 Offshore Banks Assessment Survey Montara: Barracouta East, Goeree and Vulcan Shoals Survey 2013 Authors: Andrew Heyward, Conrad Speed, Mark Meekan, Mike Cappo, Mark Case, Jamie Colquhoun, Rebecca Fisher, Jessica Meeuwig¹, Ben Radford Report prepared by the Australian Institute of Marine Science for PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore Cartier) Pty. Ltd. in accordance with Contract No. 2013/1153 PERTH AUGUST 2013 ¹ Centre for Marine Futures, University of Western Australia, Perth 1 Australian Institute of Marine Science PMB No 3 PO Box 41775 AIMS (M096) Oceans Institute Townsville MC Qld 4810 Casuarina NT 0811 University of Western Australia Crawley WA 6009 This report should be cited as: Montara: Vulcan, Barracouta East and Goeree Shoals Survey 2013; Heyward et al 2013; Report for PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore Cartier) Pty Ltd. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth. (87pp.). © Copyright .Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore Cartier) Pty Ltd (PTTEPA) 2013 All rights are reserved and no part of this document may be reproduced, stored or copied in any form or by any means whatsoever except with the prior written permission of AIMS or PTTEPA. Acknowledgements Paul Tinkler, Marcus Stowar, Dianne McLean, Skipper and crew of the RV Solander DISCLAIMER While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this document are factually correct, AIMS does not make any representation or give any warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose of the information or statements contained in this document. To the extent permitted by law AIMS shall not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of or reliance on the contents of this document. 2 Montara: Vulcan, Barracouta East and Goeree Shoals Survey 2013 Contents List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................................. iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................................ v Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction & Background ................................................................................................................................ 4 1.1 Monitoring background ........................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Existing environmental information ..................................................................................................... 4 1.3 References .................................................................................................................................................. 6 2. Benthic community assessment for Barracouta, Vulcan, and Goeree Shoals ..................................... 7 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Methods ...................................................................................................................................................... 8 2.2.1 Benthic habitat characterisation ...................................................................................................... 8 2.2.2 Still photo analysis ............................................................................................................................... 8 2.2.3 Data management ............................................................................................................................. 14 2.2.4 Statistical analyses ............................................................................................................................. 14 Multivariate analysis of community composition across shoals and among sampling periods........................................................................................................... 14 Univariate analysis of community composition across shoals and among sampling periods........................................................................................................... 14 2.3 Results ....................................................................................................................................................... 15 2.3.1 Habitat classification ......................................................................................................................... 15 2.3.2 Multivariate analyses of community composition across shoals and among sampling periods ............................................................................................................................................................... 22 2.3.3 Univariate analysis of community composition across shoals and among sampling periods ............................................................................................................................................................... 26 2.4 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................ 33 2.5 References ................................................................................................................................................ 35 Appendix 2.1. Metadata records for date, location and activities at all sample sites ...................... 37 3. Fish community re-assessment using Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (BRUVS™) ...... 43 3.1 Background .............................................................................................................................................. 43 3.2 Methods .................................................................................................................................................... 44 3.2.1 Field sampling with stereo Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (BRUVS™) ....... 44 3.2.2 Data description: fish community and habitat ............................................................................ 47 Fish community structure – identity, abundance, and length: ........................... 47 i Australian Institute of Marine Science Dec 2013 Rev 0 Montara: Vulcan, Barracouta East and Goeree Shoals Survey 2013 Habitat data ................................................................................................................... 48 3.2.3 Statistical analyses ............................................................................................................................. 48 3.3 Results ....................................................................................................................................................... 50 3.3.1 Comparisons between 2011 and 2013 ........................................................................................ 50 Habitat ............................................................................................................................ 50 Species richness, total abundance and size ............................................................ 55 Fish assemblage structure .......................................................................................... 58 Variation in shark assemblages ................................................................................. 62 Variation in abundances of sea snakes .................................................................... 62 3.4 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................ 63 3.4.1 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................ 66 3.5 References ................................................................................................................................................ 67 Appendix 3.1 Raw data of abundances (MaxN) of fishes and sharks observed during BRUVS™ surveys in 2013 and 2011 at three shoals (BAE, GOE, VUL). .............................................................. 70 Appendix 3.2 Correlations between species and axes for principal component ordinations (PCO). Numbers in parentheses indicate percentage of total variation in the PCO explained by that axis. ............................................................................................................................................................. 79 ii Australian Institute of Marine Science Dec 2013 Rev 0 Montara: Vulcan, Barracouta East and Goeree Shoals Survey 2013 List of Figures Figure 2.1. Location of Vulcan and Barracouta Shoal study sites surveyed between 2010 - 2013 in relation to modelled relative exposure map of the oil spill in 2009.. .......................................................... 10 Figure 2.2. Towed body used for all transect surveys.. ................................................................................... 11 Figure 2.3. The AIMS towed video (Towvid) system in use on board the research vessel RV Solander during the survey.. .................................................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 2.4. Map of towed video transects
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