Mapping and Characterising Reef Habitat and Fish Assemblages of the Hunter Marine Park
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Mapping and characterising reef habitat and fish assemblages of the Hunter Marine Park Joel Williams, Tim Ingleton, Michael Sutherland, Peter Davies, Jacquomo Monk, Neville Barrett and Alan Jordan Project D3 – Implementing monitoring of AMPs and the status of marine biodiversity assets on the continental shelf December 2020 Milestone 10 www.nespmarine.edu.au Enquiries should be addressed to: Dr Joel Williams, NSW Department of Primary Industries, [email protected] Dr Tim Ingleton, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, [email protected] Preferred Citation Williams J, Ingleton T, Sutherland M, Davies P, Monk J, Barrett N, Jordan A (2020). Mapping and characterising reef habitat and fish assemblages of the Hunter Marine Park. Report to the National Environmental Science Program, Marine Biodiversity Hub. NSW Government. Copyright This report is licensed by the University of Tasmania for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia Licence. For licence conditions, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Acknowledgement This work was undertaken for the Marine Biodiversity Hub, a collaborative partnership supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program (NESP). NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub partners include the University of Tasmania; CSIRO, Geoscience Australia, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Museums Victoria, Charles Darwin University, the University of Western Australia, Integrated Marine Observing System, NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment (Formally NSW Office of Environment and Heritage), NSW Department of Primary Industries. Important Disclaimer The NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub 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. No reliance or actions must therefore be made on that information without seeking prior expert professional, scientific and technical advice. To the extent permitted by law, the NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub (including its host organisation, employees, partners and consultants) excludes all liability to any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from using this publication (in part or in whole) and any information or material contained in it. Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Hunter Marine Park Background ............................................................................... 3 1.2 NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub D3 Project ............................................................... 5 1.3 Introduction to Mesophotic Reef ............................................................................... 5 1.4 Project Aims .............................................................................................................. 9 2. Multibeam Mapping ......................................................................................... 10 2.1 Background ............................................................................................................. 10 2.2 Methods .................................................................................................................. 14 2.3 Results and Discussion ........................................................................................... 15 2.3.1 Seal Rocks (Area A) ............................................................................................ 15 2.3.2 Outer Gibber (Area B) ......................................................................................... 16 2.3.3 Offshore Broughton Island (Area C) .................................................................... 16 2.3.4 Habitat Distribution and Seabed Landforms ........................................................ 17 3. Benthic Habitat: Towed Video ........................................................................ 31 3.1 Background ............................................................................................................. 31 3.2 Methods .................................................................................................................. 32 3.3 Results and Discussion ........................................................................................... 34 3.3.1 Fieldwork and Image Acquisition ......................................................................... 34 3.3.2 Data and Preliminary Image Analysis ................................................................. 35 4. Fish Assemblages: Stereo-Baited Remote Underwater Video (stereo-BRUV)53 4.1 Background ............................................................................................................. 53 4.2 Methods .................................................................................................................. 57 4.2.1 Sampling Locations ............................................................................................. 57 4.2.2 Sampling Fish Assemblage: Baited Remote Underwater Stereo Video (Stereo-BRUV) ............................................................................................................................ 57 4.2.3 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................... 60 4.3 Results and Discussion ........................................................................................... 65 4.3.1 Number of Stereo-BRUV Deployments ............................................................... 65 4.3.2 Habitat ................................................................................................................. 68 4.3.3 Summary of Fish Assemblages ........................................................................... 75 4.3.4 Species Richness ................................................................................................ 80 4.3.5 Summary of Species of Interest .......................................................................... 82 Pink snapper, Chrysophrys auratus .................................................................... 86 Blue (grey) morwong, Nemadactylus douglasii ................................................... 90 Redfish, Centroberyx affinis ................................................................................ 93 Silver trevally, Pseudocaranx georgianus ........................................................... 96 Yellowtail scad, Trachurus novaezelandiae ........................................................ 99 Velvet leatherjacket, Meuschenia scaber .......................................................... 102 Teraglin, Atractoscion aequidens ...................................................................... 106 Pearl perch, Glaucosoma scapulare ................................................................. 109 Silver sweep, Scorpis lineolata .......................................................................... 112 Reef ocean perch, Helicolenus percoides ......................................................... 115 Sawtooth moray, Gymnothorax prionodon ........................................................ 118 Bluespotted flathead, Platycephalus caeruleopunctatus ................................... 120 Eastern Pigfish, Bodianus unimaculatus ........................................................... 123 Eastern rock lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi .................................................... 126 4.3.6 Threatened and Protected Species ................................................................... 129 4.3.7 Other Species of Interest .................................................................................. 131 Common sawshark, Pristiophorus cirratus ........................................................ 131 Banded rockcod, Hyporthodus ergastularius..................................................... 131 4.3.8 Power Analyses for Species of Interest ............................................................. 133 5. Fish Assemblage: ROV ................................................................................. 135 6. Conclusions ................................................................................................... 139 7. Recommendations ........................................................................................ 141 Metadata and Data Storage.................................................................................... 144 Outreach ................................................................................................................. 145 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 146 References .............................................................................................................. 147 Appendix A – Fish Species List ............................................................................ 155 Appendix B – Full Subset GAMM Partial Plots ..................................................... 159 List of Figures Figure 1-1. The extent of the Hunter Marine Park in relation to the directly adjoining Port Stephens