1 For further information, please contact: Coast and Marine Conservation Branch Department for Environment and Heritage GPO Box 1047 Adelaide SA 5001 Telephone: (08) 8124 4900 Facsimile: (08) 8214 4920 Cite as: Department for Environment and Heritage (2009). A technical report on the outer boundaries of South Australia’s marine parks network. Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia. Mapping information: All maps created by the Department for Environment and Heritage unless otherwise stated. © Copyright Department for Environment and Heritage 2009. All rights reserved. All works and information displayed are subject to copyright. For the reproduction or publication beyond that permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth) written permission must be sought from the Department. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information displayed, the Department, its agents, officers and employees make no representations, either express or implied, that the information is accurate or fit for any purpose and expressly disclaims all liability for loss or damage arising from reliance upon the information displayed. ©Department for Environment and Heritage, 2009 ISBN No. 1 921238 36 4. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Preface.......................................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 South Australia’s marine parks network...............................................................................8 2 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 The importance of caring for the marine environment .......................................................11 2.2 The global need for Australian marine protected areas ......................................................11 2.3 The benefits of marine protected areas ...............................................................................13 2.4 The importance of building networks .................................................................................14 2.5 South Australia’s commitment............................................................................................15 2.6 The aims and objectives of the marine parks program .......................................................15 2.7 Community engagement and participation .........................................................................15 2.8 The recent history of marine parks development in South Australia..................................16 3 South Australia’s marine environment................................................................................... 21 3.1 Physical diversity................................................................................................................21 3.2 Biological diversity and endemism.....................................................................................26 3.3 South Australia’s marine bioregions...................................................................................27 4 Building a marine parks network for South Australia.......................................................... 44 4.1 Using the Design Principles................................................................................................44 4.2 Surrogacy ............................................................................................................................44 4.3 Information used to develop marine parks..........................................................................46 4.4 Identifying network options................................................................................................46 4.4.1 Developing landward boundaries................................................................................48 5 Auditing the boundaries – Analysis of the boundary network............................................. 57 5.1 Meeting the Design Principles ............................................................................................60 5.2 The biophysical Design Principles......................................................................................60 5.2.1 The precautionary approach........................................................................................60 5.2.2 Comprehensiveness and representativeness................................................................61 5.2.3 Adequacy ....................................................................................................................68 5.2.4 Connectivity and linkages...........................................................................................69 5.2.5 Resilience and vulnerability........................................................................................74 5.2.6 Ecological importance.................................................................................................76 5.2.7 Summary of Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests for the biophysical Design Principles 81 5.3 The community Design Principles......................................................................................82 5.3.1 Seek synergies with existing protected areas..............................................................82 5.3.2 Seek to complement existing terrestrial and marine management practices and conservation agreements.............................................................................................................83 5.3.3 Give consideration to the full diversity of marine uses ..............................................83 5.3.4 Respect indigenous interests and culture ....................................................................86 5.3.5 Give consideration to natural and cultural heritage ....................................................86 5.3.6 Ensure ease of identification, compliance and enforcement.......................................87 5.3.7 Provide for education, appreciation and recreation ....................................................88 5.3.8 Summary of the Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests for the community Principles......88 5.4 Assessing the boundary design with conservation planning software................................89 5.4.1 Using Marxan to audit South Australia’s marine parks network................................89 5.4.2 Modelling outputs.......................................................................................................90 6 Discussion of the boundary options......................................................................................... 93 6.1 Assessment of the network as a whole................................................................................93 6.2 Meeting the conservation objectives of the program..........................................................94 6.2.1 The precautionary approach........................................................................................94 6.2.2 Comprehensiveness, adequacy and representativeness (CARs).................................94 6.2.3 Connectivity and linkages, ecological importance, resilience and vulnerability........96 6.3 Meeting community expectations .......................................................................................98 3 6.3.1 Seek synergies with existing protected areas and complementing existing management ................................................................................................................................99 6.3.2 Give consideration to the full diversity of marine uses ..............................................99 6.3.3 Catering for cultural expectations and needs ............................................................101 6.3.4 Catering for compliance and enforcement, education and appreciation...................102 7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 102 8 References................................................................................................................................ 103 9 Appendices............................................................................................................................... 110 9.1 Appendix 1 – Shoreline classifications, grouping by class...............................................110 9.2 Appendix 2 – List of GIS data layers used in boundary development .............................111 9.3 Appendix 3 – Use of Marxan in conservation planning ...................................................116 9.4 Appendix 5 – Comprehensiveness and representativeness graphs for each bioregion.....118 Appendix 6 - Australian sea lion breeding site risk assessment ..................................................132 9.5 Appendix 7 – Marxan derived areas of irreplaceability for each bioregion .....................133 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The outer boundaries for South Australia's marine parks network ......................................9 Figure 2: Percent of the area of the State's subtidal benthic habitats included within the marine parks network................................................................................................................................................10 Figure 3: Percent of the length of the coastal habitats along the State’s shoreline included within the marine parks network..........................................................................................................................10 Figure 4: The climatic