Marine Park 4 4 Investigator Marine Park Park at a glance • The habitats inside Investigator Marine Park provide critical baselines to measure any changes to the Investigator Marine Park is located off the west coast of State’s marine ecosystems that may arise over time South Australia. It includes the surf beaches south of Elliston, from, for example, pollution or climate change. the offshore Investigator group of islands and Cap Island Conservation Park. • Communities of plants, fish and other animals around the islands are influenced by the unusual conditions created At 1,185 km2, it represents 4% of South Australia’s by the mixing of the warm Leeuwin Current from the marine parks network. west and the cold Flinders Current from the south-east. Community and industry • The Nauo-Barngarla Aboriginal people have Boundary description traditional associations with the region. The Investigator Marine Park comprises • Commercial fishers target greenlip and blacklip the four areas set out below. abalone, southern rock lobster and scalefish species • The area bounded by a line following the seaward limit of such as snapper and King George whiting. the coastal waters of the State surrounding Pearson Island, • Historical features in the park include Veteran Isles and Dorothee Island. architectural relics of the sealing industry and • The area bounded by a line following the seaward limit of two shipwrecks, the Lady Flinders and Kapara. the coastal waters of the State surrounding Ward Islands. • Recreational fishing, and charter boat fishing, • The area (exclusive of Flinders Island above median high as well as diving in the waters surrounding water) bounded by a line following the seaward limit of Pearson Island and Topgallant Island, are popular. the coastal waters of the State surrounding Flinders Island and Top-Gallant Isles. Fauna and flora • The golden roughy (which is not known anywhere • The area bounded by a line commencing on the else in Australia) and the western blue groper rely coastline at median high water at a point 135°14’38.76”E, on important areas within this marine park. 34°8’27.2”S (at or about Point Drummond), then running progressively: • White-bellied sea eagles and ospreys nest on coastal cliffs, headlands and islands. ○ north-westerly along the geodesic to its intersection with the seaward limit of the coastal waters of the • Little penguins and other seabirds nest and roost State at a point 135°11’56.62”E, 34°6’21.82”S; on islands inside the marine park, including Ward, Dorothee, Veteran and Pearson Islands. ○ generally north-westerly along the seaward limit of the coastal waters of the State to a point 134°52’11.78”E, • Australian sea lions and New Zealand fur 33°42’45.97”S; seals breed and rest in the park. ○ north-easterly along the geodesic to its intersection Habitat with the coastline at median high water at a point • Investigator Marine Park includes parts of the 134°54’25.78”E, 33°40’23.56”S; and Eyre Bioregion. ○ generally south-easterly along the coastline at • Habitats typical of this region include: median high water (inclusive of all bays, lagoons ○ granitic island mountains, intertidal and deep-water and headlands) to the point of commencement. boulder reefs, NOTE: This boundary description is indicative only. It does ○ sheltered seagrass meadows in the lee of some islands, not describe inclusions and exclusions of specific land parcels. For this detailed information, please refer to the DEH website: ○ cliffs and high-energy surf beaches along 4 www.marineparks.sa.gov.au or Surveyor-General’s office the mainland coast. for the relevant marine park plan (known as a Rack Plan). For more information visit: FIS 90349 www.marineparks.sa.gov.au or call 1800 006 120 Investigator Marine Park 134°10'0"E 134°20'0"E 134°30'0"E 134°40'0"E 134°50'0"E 135°0'0"E 135°10'0"E Laek Newland CP 33°30'0"S 0 33°30'0"S 5 - Marine Park Waldegraev State Waters Jurisdiction Ils and s CP LITTLE Parks and Reserves WALDEGRAVE - ISLAND 20 Bathymetry Contours - 10 Roads SALMON POINT -30 Elliston -30 - Coastline (median high water) 33°40'0"S 30 -10 -20 33°40'0"S 10 - - - 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 3 3 - - - TOP-GALLANT 20 -2 - 0 - 0 2 2 - -30 ISLES 0 WARD FLINDERS LOCH WELL ISLANDS 0 ISLAND -3 BEACH -10 -50 33°50'0"S -2 33°50'0"S 0 -5 0 Inev ts igator Group CP - 20 0 10 SHERINGA -5 BEACH 0 Kms -2 0 0 5 - -50 -3 PEARSON 0 0 ISLES CAP ISLAND 3 - -50 0 VETERAN 5 ISLES - 34°0'0"S DOROTHEE 34°0'0"S ISLAND Adelaide - -50 1 0 POINT Eyre Bioregion DRUMMOND 34°10'0"S 34°10'0"S -2 0 Produced by Coast and Marine Conservation - - 30 2 Department for Environment and Heritage 0 0 -3 GPO Box 1047 Adelaide SA 5001 0 - www.environment.sa.gov.au/coasts -5 2 0 Data Source Topographic Data, Marine Bioregions NPWSA Reserves, Bathymetry - 2 Ro ykc Ils and 0 Marine Park Locations - DEH (North) CP Compiled 9 January 2009 Projection Geographic Datum Geocentric Datum of Australia, 1994 © Copyright Department for Environment and Heritage 2008. 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. 34°20'0"S 34°20'0"S 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 displayed is accurate or fit for any purpose and expressly disclaims all liability for loss or damage arising from reliance upon the information displayed. 134°10'0"E 134°20'0"E 134°30'0"E 134°40'0"E 134°50'0"E 135°0'0"E 135°10'0"E DEH MapID: 2008-944 Bioregions and South Australia’s marine parks network Eight biologically distinct regions have been identified off South Australia’s coastline. The State’s marine parks have been carefully designed to include parts of each bioregion and the various habitats within them. By including some examples of the marine biodiversity typical of the Eyre Bioregion, Investigator Marine Park contributes to the marine parks network’s goal of representing and protecting examples of the full diversity of South Australia’s marine life. The marine life, habitats and natural processes typical of this region include the remote offshore Investigator group of islands, as well as inshore ecosystems adjacent to the extensive coastal cliffs and high energy surf beaches of the mainland. The 14 marine park Design Principles To guide the initial identification and final selection of South Australia’s multiple-use marine parks, 14 Design Principles were defined and adopted by the Government. The seven Biophysical Principles and seven Community Principles help ensure the marine parks network meets the objects of the Marine Parks Act 2007, as well as South Australia’s national and international obligations for marine protection. The Biophysical Design Principles guided the identification of proposed marine park sites. The Community Design Principles were then applied to fine-tune site selection of the 19 multiple-use parks in the network. 4 For more information visit: www.marineparks.sa.gov.au or call 1800 006 120 Biophysical Design Principles Comprehensiveness and Representativeness Principles To meet the Principle of Comprehensiveness, examples of The seven Biophysical Principles address all habitats that occur in a bioregion need to be included environmental conservation. within whatever marine parks are in that bioregion. In the first instance, all parks were designed to To be Representative, all habitats in a region (e.g. reefs, meet the Precautionary Principle. Further, rigorous beaches, seagrass, mangroves) need to be included application of the Comprehensiveness, Adequacy across the full variety of physical situations in which and Representativeness Principles ensure the marine they occur (e.g. shallow and deep water reefs, low and parks network meets South Australia’s national and high energy beaches). This variety must be represented international marine protection obligations. within the combination of parks created in a bioregion. The remaining three Biophysical Principles helped to Habitats in the marine park include island environments, prioritise important local sites, to ensure the marine intertidal and deep water boulder reefs, sandy plains parks network maximises ecological outcomes and seagrass meadows in the sheltered lee of Pearson (South Australian Strategic Plan Target 3.4). and Flinders Islands. The Investigator group of islands The Precautionary Principle provides unusual examples of granitic island mountains The Precautionary Principle is a risk-management (inselbergs) that rise steeply from deep water. tool which requires action to be taken now in areas The shoreline of Flinders Island is a combination where scientific knowledge is not yet complete. of sheltered rocky shores, cliffs and sandy beach One of the ways the Precautionary Principle has on the eastern side and exposed sandy beaches on been applied in developing marine parks is to the western side. Habitats around other islands in include areas of unsurveyed seabed habitats. Investigator Marine Park are yet to be surveyed. 2 In the Eyre Bioregion, 14,973 km (80%) of seabed On the mainland, the coastal strip is mostly comprised habitat are yet to be surveyed. of calcarenite cliffs averaging between 40 and 50 metres As a precautionary measure, 1,098 km2 (7%) high. The cliffs are broken by high energy surf beaches of the unsurveyed habitat are included within such as Sheringa Beach.