South-West Marine Parks Advisory Committee Meeting #4 Communique 10 November 2020 Via Videoconference
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South-west Marine Parks Advisory Committee Meeting #4 Communique 10 November 2020 via videoconference The South-west Marine Parks Advisory Member attendance Committee (SWMPAC) met via Bianca Priest (Chair) videoconference on Tuesday 10 November Kirsty Alexander 2020. The meeting opened with an Clare Cane acknowledgement of country by the Chair. David Collard Bronwyn Gillanders Observers at the meeting included Lee Johnson representatives from the South Australian Tim Langlois Department for Environment and Water Gail Reynolds-Adamson (DEW) and Primary Industries and Regions Terry Romaro OAM South Australia (PIRSA). Sophie Teede Stephen van Leeuwen National highlights for Australian Melissa Nursey-Bray Marine Parks Michael Heslewood (apology) Peter Owen (apology) The Australian Government has announced a John Webber (apology) $28.4 million investment in Australian Marine Parks over the next four years. The funding South -west Network highlights by will help Parks Australia continue to take a program global lead in marine park management by: Authorisations – 10 authorisations issued in the South-west Network from May to October • delivering projects which will train, 2020 supporting commercial tourism (two), employ and deliver cultural outcomes research and monitoring (five) and for regional Indigenous communities. commercial media (three). • gaining access to new technology to Compliance – Acoustic monitoring is being boost compliance and strengthening used in the South-west Network to measure enforcement and monitoring activities activity in Australian Marine Parks, including within our marine parks. within Murat Marine Park. More information about compliance, including quarterly • further building on our understanding compliance reports are available on our of marine life and their habitats website:www.parksaustralia.gov.au/marine/m through the expansion of scientific anagement/programs/compliance/ mapping and monitoring programs. Science – research partnerships continue to reveal exciting new insights into marine parks Our Marine Park Grants – Round 2 was in the South-west. The University of Western highly competitive with the Community Grants Australia has been investigating fish Hub receiving 110 applications. The full list of assemblages in South-west Corner Marine successful projects is available on our Park. Committee Member Dr Timothy website. Langlois presented findings from this project www.parksaustralia.gov.au/marine/managem during the meeting. This work is focused on ent/partnerships/our-marine-parks- mapping the extent and biodiversity of rocky grants/round-two/ reefs on the continental shelf in part of South- parksaustralia.gov.au/marine west Corner Marine Park. A snippet of the was published on the Australian Marine Parks footage from this research is available on our Science Atlas here. website here: Tourism and Visitor Experience – With the remoteness of many of our marine parks, signs at key vantage points remain an important way of sharing information. Three updated signs have been developed for the Great Australian Bight in partnership with SA DEW and will be installed at key clifftop lookouts accessible when crossing the Nullarbor. To support the development of our Sustainable Tourism and Visitor Experience Strategy for Australian Marine Parks we are Indigenous engagement – With the examining emerging changes in Australia’s challenges of COVID-19 we have held visitor economy due to COVID-19 impacts engagement meetings via videoconference to and implications for marine park discuss management activities and exchange management. information on regional issues and activities. A focus on incorporating traditional Geographe Marine Park – Ocean knowledge in marine biodiversity hub Accounting Project research - being led by the University of Western Australia - has seen traditional The Geographe Marine Park Environmental- custodians from Wadandi Boodja work with Economic Ocean Accounts pilot project was scientist to inform survey designs and undertaken by the Department of Agriculture participate in research voyages into the Water and the Environment. The pilot project South-west Corner Marine Park. estimated the extent and condition of four Parks Protection and Management – One ecosystems in the park (seagrass, rocky environmental incident was reported when reefs, sandy bottoms and kelp forests), the three shipping containers were lost in rough multiple services and benefits provided by seas in the South-west Corner Marine Park those ecosystems, and some of the potential (south of Albany). Information was provided human induced pressures in the marine park. to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) which resulted in a direction order Further details of project findings and being issued to the shipping company to methodology has been published in a series undertake efforts to recover the containers. of technical reports, and a synthesis report on the Department’s Environmental-Economic Communications, Education and Accounting website Awareness – With face to face engagement (https://eea.environment.gov.au). limited, activities have focused on working closely with regional partners to improve access to information on Australian Marine Next Meeting Parks, including through social media. To follow Australian Marine Parks on social The next Committee meeting is proposed for media– search @ausmarineparks on your mid-2021. favourite platform: For more information about the South-west Marine Parks Network or the Committee visit parksaustralia.gov.au/south-west or email In partnership with DBCA we released an [email protected] updated Explore Marine Parks WA app on Google Play and the App Store – which now features information about the 24 Australian To report suspicious or illegal activity in Marine Parks off WA. Australian Marine Parks contact 1800 852 975 or Recent findings from a joint research project [email protected] with SA DEW on the population of Australian sea lion colonies in the Great Australian Bight parksaustralia.gov.au/marine .