The North-West Marine Bioregional Plan

The North-west Marine Bioregional Plan North-west The The North-west Marine Bioregional Plan Bioregional Profile Bioregional Profile A Description of the Ecosystems, Conservation Values and Uses of the North-west Marine Region Photo credits: Front cover – Whale shark: Glen Cowans. Front insert – Lesser frigatebird: Tom and Marie Tarrant. Humpback whale: Mark Farrell. Olive seasnake: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Back cover – Blowfish: Glen Cowans. Back insert – Trochus: Neil Gemmell, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Flatback turtle hatchling: Scott Laidlaw, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Manta ray: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Inside cover – Grey reef shark: Paradise Ink. Copyright: © Commonwealth of Australia 2008 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth, available from the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to: The Director Marine Bioregional Planning – North-west Marine and Biodiversity Division Edgar Waite Building Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts 203 Channel Highway Kingston TAS 7050 Disclaimer: While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this publication. Sourcing: This publication can be viewed or downloaded in full or in sections from: <www.environment.gov.au/coasts/mbp/north-west>. Reproduction: Information contained in this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes, subject to the inclusion of acknowledgement of the source and publisher, and provided no commercial usage or sale of the material occurs. Reproduction for purposes other than those given above requires written permission from the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Requests for permission should be addressed to: Public Affairs, Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, John Gorton Building, GPO Box 787, Parkes, ACT, 2600. Credits: Design and production by Imaginocean Productions <www.imaginocean.com.au>. Published by the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Printed on 100 per cent recycled paper (cover 70 per cent recycled). State Library Ref: The North-west Marine Bioregional Plan: Bioregional Profile ISBN: 978-642-55448-2 Ministerial Foreword As an sland contnent, Australa s responsble for around 60 000 klometres of coastlne and more than 15 mllon square klometres of ocean, an area almost twce the sze of our contnental land mass. These oceans support fishng, toursm, mneral and petroleum ndustres worth bllons of dollars each year to the Australan economy. Our marne systems extend from the tropcal seas of northern Australa to the Antarctc ce-shelf. The extraordnary natural dversty and bologcal rchness of our oceans means that globally, Australa s a promnent global steward of marne bodversty. Our natonal record n marne conservaton s a mxed one. We lead the world n the protecton of coral reef systems and n our stewardshp of conc marne anmals such as whales, turtles and sea brds. Our performance n other areas, such as haltng the declne n mportant fish stocks and takng early acton to address the cumulatve mpacts of human actvtes on the marne envronment, has not been as effectve. The Australan Government s commtted to addressng the ssues of ecologcally sustanable development and protecton of the bologcal dversty n the oceans we manage. The lmted nformaton about Australa’s marne bodversty, especally for the speces and ecosystems of the more remote and deeper oceanc areas, has been a barrer to developng a strategc approach to sustanable management of our oceans. Our lack of knowledge adds to the dfficulty n developng effectve responses to both large and small scale mpacts on ocean ecosystems, ncludng those resultng from global clmate change. Marne boregonal plannng wll help Australans better understand and protect our marne envronments and bodversty. It wll delver greater certanty to ndustry by clearly dentfyng the Government’s conservaton prortes and wll help project proponents understand ther oblgatons under Commonwealth legslaton n each Marne Regon. The North-west Boregonal Profile consoldates, for the first tme, the best avalable nformaton on ths vast and unque area that stretches from the Kmberley n the north to Nngaloo and Shark Bay n the south; from the marne communtes of the vast and shallow North-west Shelf to the 5000 metre depths of the Cuver and Argo abyssal plans. The North-west Boregonal Profile s the startng pont for developng a Marne Boregonal Plan for the Regon, due for release n md 2010. The North-west plan s one of four that together wll dentfy the conservaton values of our oceans, the actons we need to protect them, and the areas we wll look to nclude n the Natonal Representatve System of Marne Protected Areas. The natural world carres profoundly strong cultural connectons for Indgenous communtes and sea country s an ntegral part of ths world for coastal communtes. We wll be workng wth Aborgnal people to ensure ther vews and conservaton goals are ncorporated n the plannng process. The North-west marne boregonal plannng process wll complement the Kmberley Strategc Assessment beng undertaken collaboratvely wth the Western Australan Government. The Strategc Assessment and the North-west Marne Boregonal Plan wll help to ensure that development n the Kmberley and of the vast natural gas reserves of the Browse Basn does not mperl the regon’s wonderful cultural and envronmental values, and brngs substantal benefits to the naton and to the Kmberley’s Indgenous people. Peter Garrett Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts Contents Ministerial Foreword i Preface ix Executive Summary 1 The envronment of the North-west Marne Regon �� 2 Conservaton values of the North-west Marne Regon �� 5 Marne Protected Areas n the North-west �� 6 Human actvtes and the marne envronment �� 6 Next steps �� 7 Chapter 1 Introduction 9 1.1 The Boregonal Profile of the North-west Marne Regon �� 10 1.2 Supportng nformaton �� 11 1.3 Flagshp speces of the North-west Marne Regon �� 12 Key references and further readng �� 16 Chapter 2 The Marine Environment of the North-west Marine Region 19 2.1 The provncal boregons of the North-west Marne Regon �� 31 2.1.1 Northwest Shelf Transton �� 32 2.1.2 Tmor Provnce �� 36 2.1.3 Northwest Shelf Provnce �� 42 2.1.4 Northwest Transton �� 50 2.1.5 Northwest Provnce �� 53 2.1.6 Central Western Shelf Transton �� 57 2.1.7 Central Western Transton �� 61 2.1.8 Central Western Shelf Provnce �� 64 Key references and further readng �� 67 Chapter 3 Conservation Values of the North-west Marine Region 73 3.1 Key ecologcal features of the marne envronment �� 74 3.2 Natonally protected speces �� 80 3.2.1 Protected speces n the North-west Marne Regon �� 81 3.3 Protected places �� 86 3.3.1 Commonwealth marne reserves n the North-west Marne Regon �� 88 3.3.2 Hstorc shpwrecks �� 90 3.4 Consderaton of pressures on regonal conservaton values �� 91 Key references and further readngs �� 92 Chapter 4 Establishing New Marine Protected Areas in the North-west Marine Region 95 4.1 Goals and prncples �� 97 4.1.1 Goals �� 98 4.1.2 Gudng prncples �� 98 4.2 Regonal specficatons for dentfyng representatve Marne Protected

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