Protecting Western Australia s big blue backyard SAVE OUR MARINE LIFE Collaboration SAVE OUR MARINE LIFE WWW.SAVEOURMARINELIFE.ORG.AU Contents The Save our Marine Life Collaboration of global, Since 1967 the Conservation Council of Western Australia Prepared for the Save our Marine Life Collaboration national and state-based environment organisations (CCWA) has been the state’s peak non-government by the Australian Conservation Foundation environment organisation. CCWA informs the public is built around a common vision to conserve Australia’s © 2009 Australian Conservation Foundation and governments on key environmental issues and unique marine life through working with local All rights reserved. communities, governments, industry stakeholders participates in government and community processes and Traditional Owners to secure a network of large that seek to restore and protect the natural environment. Text and production: Chris Smyth Australian Conservation Foundation no-take reserves in Australia’s marine environment. The Wilderness Society (TWS) is a national, Executive summary 2 Save our Marine Life collaborators community-based environmental advocacy organisation Editor: Cathy Coote formed in 1976 whose mission is protecting, promoting The Pew Environment Group is the conservation arm Design: Jon Chuo, Carla Hackett and restoring wilderness and natural processes across www.jonchuo.com of the Pew Charitable Trusts. The mission of the Australia’s lands and seas for the survival and ongoing Western Australia’s Pew Environment Group is to strengthen environmental evolution of life on Earth. Pre Press: Spitting Image policy through targeted initiatives aimed at producing big blue backyard: Printer: Egoprint concrete and measurable conservation gains in both WWF-Australia is part of the WWF International Network, www.egoprint.com terrestrial and marine systems worldwide. Pew works the world’s largest and most experienced independent unique and unprotected through partnerships to secure policy reforms and conservation organisation. Its mission is to stop the Map illustrations: Tracey Grady Rising to the challenge 4 on-ground outcomes that curb global warming, protect degradation of the planet’s natural environment and www.traceygrady.com Protecting Western Australia’s ocean life and preserve wilderness. Pew has joined with to build a future in which humans live in harmony with ISBN 978-0-9805237-2-0 The Nature Conservancy to establish the Wild Australia nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity; threatened marine lifestyle 7 program, a joint three-year program that seeks to ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources Distribution of ‘as is’ copies of this report Maintaining Australia's international is sustainable; and promoting the reduction of pollution conserve large natural areas in Australia, both on for non-commercial purposes is permitted. reputation in marine protection 10 land and sea. and wasteful consumption. With active projects in Australia and the Oceania region, WWF works to The many benefits of marine protection 10 The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a leading conserve Australia’s plants and animals, by ending land conservation organisation working around the world clearing, addressing climate change, and preserving to protect ecologically important lands and waters for and protecting our fresh water, marine and What’s so special about nature and people. TNC has been working in Australia land environments. for 10 years. Working with partners, TNC’s Australia Western Australia’s program has impacted more than 48 million hectares The Australian Marine Conservation Society is a through conservation action planning and has supported not-for-profit charity, dedicated to creating marine big blue backyard? national parks, making fisheries sustainable and the protection and management of more than Current affairs 14 3.6 million hectares. protecting and recovering ocean wildlife. It is an independent scientifically based charity that has been Taking the tropics south 15 For over 40 years the Australian Conservation Foundation defending Australia's oceans for over 40 years. Creating a unique marine region 15 (ACF) has been a strong voice for the environment, The Society was formed in 1965 to legally contest promoting solutions through research, consultation, and successfully defeat an application to mine coral Building a connection between people education and partnerships. ACF works with the on the Great Barrier Reef. This victory was followed and the region’s marine world 16 community, business and government to protect, by Australia's largest sea-based campaign which restore and sustain Australia’s environment. Western Australians connecting culminated in the formation of the Great Barrier Reef with their marine environment 21 Marine Park World Heritage Area. Crustaceans and molluscs rule 22 The Houtman hotspot for marine life 27 The Leeuwin, larvae and lobsters 27 Life on the shelf 28 Trouble for the big reef fish 28 Down the continental slope 28 Diving deep into the grand Perth Canyon 35 Perth’s playground, penguins and the ‘porsche’ 35 The pollution connection between land and sea 36 Sheltering seagrasses, sharks and seals 45 Fractures, rifts and plateaus 46 Seek and we shall find 46 SAVE OUR Cooler and stormier waters with granite reefs 51 Canyon country, whales and orange roughy 51 MARINE LIFE 105 islands and a pirate 52 Collaboration The Leeuwin Current’s long and important journey 52 How to protect Western Australia’s big blue backyard Protecting Western Australia’s big blue backyard 62 References, Photographers and Acknowledgements 65 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Protecting Western Australia’s big blue backyard The marine environment from Kalbarri to Eucla With 90 per cent of the world’s large predatory fish is the first report by Save our Marine Life, is globally significant for its unique and threatened already gone, no nation can be complacent about a new collaboration of global, national and species, underwater features and ecosystems its use of living marine resources. Commercial state-based environment organisations that including: and recreational fishing in this region is placing is built around a common vision to conserve – globally high levels of unique marine species enormous pressure on popular fish species. Australia’s unique marine life through working (70–90 per cent found nowhere else on Earth) Monitoring in many no-take areas around the with local communities, governments, industry as a result of geological isolation, an unusual world has shown fish abundance is higher in stakeholders and Traditional Owners to secure major southerly current bringing temperate no-take reserves than in areas that continue to a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative and tropical species together, and a history be fished. Research by the Australian Institute (CAR) network of large no-take reserves in free of major environmental disturbance in of Marine Science and James Cook University Australia’s marine environment. geological time confirmed this for the Great Barrier Reef Marine A Comprehensive conservation reserve network – a series of hotspots for marine life including the Park in 2008. The coral trout, for example, is one in which all major bioregions have Houtman-Abrolhos Islands, the Perth Canyon, has been found to be twice as abundant in reserves within them. Adequate refers to the Geographe Bay, Cape Mentelle, the Naturaliste some of the no-take zones as it is in fished areas. number, size, configuration and level Plateau, the Diamantina Fracture Zone, the Despite the critical importance of the region to of protection of the reserves within a bioregion. Albany Canyons and the Recherche Archipelago Western Australia and the nation, its unique and The reserves also need to be Representative relatively intact nature, and the increasing impacts of the ecosystems within the bioregions. – critical habitat for a range of significant species including the world’s largest animal, the and threats from use, levels of protection are The Conservation Council of Western Australia, endangered blue whale. Perth Canyon is one of inadequate. Less than one per cent of the region the Australian Conservation Foundation, only two blue whale feeding grounds known in is secured in any type of marine protected area. The Wilderness Society, WWF-Australia, Australia. It is a key to the survival and recovery This is in contrast to the protection afforded the the Australian Marine Conservation Society, of blue whales eastern seaboard of Australia and Australia’s The Nature Conservancy and the Pew global commitment to manage and conserve the Environment Group have established the – one of the world’s largest sharks, the threatened huge marine environment in its care. Save our Marine Life Collaboration. white shark; and the world’s largest marine turtle, the endangered leatherback turtle Australia values highly its international leadership The area of focus for the Collaboration’s first position in the conservation of marine life and report, Protecting Western Australia’s big – a greater southerly range for major tropical coral habitats. This is demonstrated by our commitment blue backyard, is the southern half of Western reefs than anywhere else in the Indian Ocean to the Convention on Biological Diversity and Australia’s immense coastline, from Kalbarri to – an unusual collection of fish life and habitats other important international conventions. Eucla. This is the Western Australian component as a result of low nutrients, clear water