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Draft North-West Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Management Plan 2017, Director of National Parks, Canberra

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Draft North-West Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Management Plan 2017, Director of National Parks, Canberra © Director of National Parks 2017 This document may be cited as: Director of National Parks 2017, Draft North-west Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Management Plan 2017, Director of National Parks, Canberra. ISBN: This management plan is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Director of National Parks. Requests and enquires concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the: Manager North-west Marine Parks Network 203 Channel Highway Hobart TAS 7050 Photography credits Front cover Coral at Rowley Shoals (Michelle Glover) DRAFT North-west Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Management Plan 2017 1 FOREWORD Australia is surrounded by magnificent oceans and a marine environment that is the envy of the world. Our oceans are distinctive and diverse, home to marine life found nowhere else. Our oceans support people’s livelihoods and the Australian lifestyle. They provide places for people to watch wildlife, dive and snorkel, go boating and fish. Importantly, they create jobs in industries like fishing and tourism, and are a source of food and energy. Establishing marine parks is recognised as one of the best ways to conserve and protect marine species and habitats. In 2012, the Australian Government established 40 new marine parks around the country (formally called Commonwealth marine reserves). This was a significant achievement, expanding the total coverage of Australia’s National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas to 3.3 million km2—some 36 per cent of our oceans. Individual marine parks have been carefully located to include representative examples of Australia’s marine habitats and features. This builds the resilience of our marine environment to withstand pressures such as climate change, cyclones, marine pollution and invasive species. Australian Marine Parks are for all Australians and managing them is a balancing act. We need to protect important habitats and features while supporting communities and livelihoods. The North-west Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Management Plan 2017 provides that balance, setting out how our marine parks can be used and enjoyed, while providing protection through active management. There are 13 marine parks off the coast of Western Australia that make up the North-west Network, covering an area of 335 341 km2. The marine parks protect important ecosystems and habitats such as coral reefs and canyons, and a diversity of native species. These provide opportunities for unique visitor experiences such as fishing, snorkelling and diving on remote offshore reefs. The marine parks also support a range of important activities such as commercial fishing, mining and shipping that contribute to economic growth, employment and wellbeing of coastal towns and communities. Australian Marine Parks are all about partnerships. We will work with you—traditional owners, tour operators, fishers, researchers, communities and conservationists—in managing the parks. This plan provides the actions we will take, supported by partnerships, in managing marine parks over the next decade. It identifies how, with your help, we will protect marine ecosystems, improve our scientific understanding, support tourism, improve awareness and appreciation of marine parks, work with Indigenous people to manage parks, and ensure the rules are followed. As an adaptive organisation we will implement a rigorous approach to monitoring, evaluation and reporting to ensure we keep track of our progress, take account of new information and change our approach if necessary, based on evidence. Australia’s environmental legislation and policy provides a strong basis for these marine parks. We also have extensive experience and expertise to draw on, including through traditional owners who have sustainably used and managed Australia’s sea country for thousands of years. This plan has benefitted from extensive input, including feedback from various public consultation processes, the independent review of Commonwealth marine reserves publicly released in 2016, advice and expertise of traditional owners on managing sea country, experiences managing Australian and international marine parks, the best available science, and the Government’s policies and approaches to supporting competitive and sustainable fisheries. I look forward to working with you to manage these important places for the benefit of current and future generations. It is your passion that will make Australian Marine Parks work for all Australians. Sally Barnes Director of National Parks DRAFT North-west Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Management Plan 2017 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword .......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Part 1. Managing Australian Marine Parks ..................................................................................................... 7 Introductory provisions ......................................................................................................................... 8 Australian Marine Parks ....................................................................................................................... 8 Australian Marine Parks vision and objectives ..................................................................................... 9 Management plan overview.................................................................................................................. 9 Legislation and policy supporting marine park management ............................................................... 9 Approach to managing Australian Marine Parks ................................................................................ 12 Ways of working ................................................................................................................................. 12 Partnerships ....................................................................................................................................... 13 Management programs and actions ................................................................................................... 15 Zones .................................................................................................................................................. 15 Implementation plans ......................................................................................................................... 16 Adaptive management ........................................................................................................................ 16 Part 2. The North-west Marine Parks Network ............................................................................................. 18 The North-west Marine Region .......................................................................................................... 19 The North-west Marine Parks Network .............................................................................................. 21 Values of the North-west Network ...................................................................................................... 23 Pressures in the North-west Network ................................................................................................. 26 Management programs and actions in the North-West Network ....................................................... 29 Chapter 2 Management and prescriptions ...................................................................................................... 36 Part 3. Zoning ............................................................................................................................................... 37 Zone categories, names and objectives ............................................................................................. 38 Part 4. Managing activities ........................................................................................................................... 41 Outline of Part 4 .................................................................................................................................. 42 Rules for activities .............................................................................................................................. 42 4.2.1 General use and access ............................................................................................................ 44 4.2.2 Commercial shipping (other than commercial fishing, pearling and aquaculture vessels) ....... 46 4.2.3 Commercial fishing .................................................................................................................... 47 4.2.4 Commercial pearling (includes pearling-related activities) ........................................................ 49 4.2.5 Commercial aquaculture ............................................................................................................ 51 4.2.6 Commercial media ..................................................................................................................... 52 4.2.7 Commercial tourism (includes charter fishing tours, scuba diving, nature watching tours) ...... 52 4.2.8 Recreational fishing ..................................................................................................................
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