Human Use Patterns and Impacts for Coastal Waters of the Kimberley Lynnath E
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Human use patterns and impacts for coastal waters of the Kimberley Lynnath E. Beckley (Editor) Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia Western Australian Marine Science Institution, Perth, Western Australia WAMSI Kimberley Marine Research Program Final Report Project 2.1.1 June 2015 WAMSI Kimberley Marine Research Program Initiated with the support of the State Government, the Kimberley Marine Research Program is co-invested by the WAMSI partners to provide regional understanding and baseline knowledge about the Kimberley marine environment. The program has been created in response to the extraordinary, unspoilt wilderness value of the Kimberley and increasing pressure for development in this region. The purpose is to provide science based information to support decision making in relation to the Kimberley marine park network, other conservation activities and future development proposals. Ownership of Intellectual property rights Unless otherwise noted, copyright (and any other intellectual property rights, if any) in this publication is owned by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution. Copyright © Western Australian Marine Science Institution All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted, all material in this publication is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en) Legal Notice The Western Australian Marine Science Institution advises that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based on scientific research. The reader is advised and needs to be aware that such information may be incomplete or unable to be used in any specific situation. This information should therefore not solely be relied on when making commercial or other decision. WAMSI and its partner organisations take no responsibility for the outcome of decisions based on information contained in this, or related, publications. Front cover images (L-R) Image 1: Satellite image of the Kimberley coastline (Image: Landgate) Image 2: Tourist boats negotiating the white water at Horizontal Falls. (Image: Lynnath Beckley) Image 3: Boat trailers at Entrance Point, Broome (Image: Lynnath Beckley) Image 4: Recreational activity at a secluded coastal creek at Cape Bertholet on the Dampier Peninsula, Kimberley. (Image: Lynnath Beckley) Year of publication: June 2015 Metadata: http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=577dffcc-e88f-4479-aa54- 7bf8ac5c5111 Citation: Beckley, LE (Ed) (2015). Final Report of Project 2.1.1 of the Kimberley Marine Research Program Node of the Western Australian Marine Science Institution, WAMSI, Perth, Western Australia. 121 pp. Author Contributions: LEB and CBS conceived and designed the surveys. LEB, CBS and EAF conducted the surveys. CBS and LEB analysed the survey data, EAF analysed the cruise vessel data, CD analysed the boat launch data. JT reviewed the literature on impacts and HD prepared some figures. LEB wrote the most of the text with contributions from CBS, EAF, JT and CD. Corresponding author and Institution: Beckley LE (Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia) Funding Sources: This project was funded by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution as part of the WAMSI Kimberley Marine Research Program, a $30M program with seed funding of $12M provided by State government as part of the Kimberley Science and Conservation Strategy. The Program has been made possible through co-investment from the WAMSI Joint Venture partners. WAMSI and Murdoch University were the major funding sources for the project. The Western Australian Department of Fisheries contributed to the funding of CBS and EAF. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Acknowledgements: WAMSI, Murdoch University and the WA Department of Fisheries are thanked for funding this research project. Broome Air Services provided excellent pilots (Craig Ross, Trent Poletti and Phil Wetzig) and diligent adherence to the flight schedule throughout the study. Matt Harvey at Ocean Vision Environmental Research provided ongoing support for the ASA software and Karina Ryan, Marianna Cochrane, Stuart Blight and Norm Hall from WA Department of Fisheries assisted with aspects of the project. Ross Lantzke helped with formatting the final document and Susan Moore and Halina Kobryn provided helpful discussions during the study. Collection permits/ethics approval: No collection occurred in the production of this report. Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................... I KEY FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT .................................................................................. II PRODUCTS AND TOOLS .............................................................................................................................................. IV KEY RESIDUAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS................................................................................................................................. IV COMMUNICATION ........................................................................................................................................... V CHAPTER 1: A SPATIALLY EXPLICIT BENCHMARK OF HUMAN USE ALONG EIGHTY MILE BEACH PRIOR TO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MARINE PARK ........................................................................................................ 1 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS ..................................................................................................................... 2 STUDY AREA ...............................................................................................................................................2 SURVEY DESIGN ...........................................................................................................................................2 DATA COLLECTION .......................................................................................................................................4 CATEGORIES FOR COASTAL ACTIVITIES ..............................................................................................................4 ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................................................................6 3 RESULTS ................................................................................................................................................... 7 AERIAL SURVEYS ..........................................................................................................................................7 3.1.1 Shore activities .................................................................................................................................7 3.1.2 Boat-based activities ........................................................................................................................8 4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................... 13 5 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 15 6 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 2: AERIAL SURVEY OF HUMAN USE ALONG THE COAST AND ADJACENT WATERS OF THE DAMPIER PENINSULA, WESTERN KIMBERLEY ................................................................................................. 21 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 21 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS ................................................................................................................... 22 STUDY AREA .............................................................................................................................................22 SURVEY DESIGN .........................................................................................................................................22 DATA COLLECTION .....................................................................................................................................24 CATEGORIES FOR COASTAL ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................................25 ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................................................27 3 RESULTS ................................................................................................................................................. 28 AERIAL SURVEYS ........................................................................................................................................28 SHORE-BASED ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................................................28 BOAT-BASED ACTIVITIES ..............................................................................................................................36 4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ..........................................................................................................