FINAL REPORT Scoping a Seascape Approach to Managing and Recovering Northern Australian Threatened and Migratory Marine Species Project A12 - Australia’s Northern Seascape: assessing status of threatened and migratory marine species (Phase 1) Project Leader: Peter Kyne, Charles Darwin University July 2018 Research Plan v3 (2017) www.nespmarine.edu.au Enquiries should be addressed to: Peter Kyne [email protected] Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods Charles Darwin University Darwin NT 0909 Australia Preferred Citation Kyne, P.M., Brooke, B., Davies, C.L., Ferreira, L., Finucci, B., Lymburner, L., Phillips, C., Thums, M. & Tulloch, V. (2018). Final Report. Scoping a Seascape Approach to Managing and Recovering Northern Australian Threatened and Migratory Marine Species. Report to the National Environmental Science Programme, Marine Biodiversity Hub. Charles Darwin University, Darwin. 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/ Acknowledgements This work was undertaken for the Marine Biodiversity Hub, a collaborative partnership supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Programme (NESP). NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub partners are the University of Tasmania; CSIRO, Geoscience Australia, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Museum Victoria, Charles Darwin University (CDU), the University of Western Australia, Integrated Marine Observing System, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, NSW Department of Primary Industries. The authors thank all those who generously contributed their knowledge and relevant unpublished observations and data. We appreciate the trust shown to us by Indigenous community members, who willingly shared information about the views and values during consultations. We acknowledge the provision of fisheries TEPS interaction data by the NPF Industry, SOCI fisheries interaction data from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Queensland, and fisheries effort, catch and TEPS interaction data by the Department of Primary Industry and Resources (DPIR), Northern Territory. We thank Thor Saunders and Grant Johnson from DPIR for their contribution to the section on pressures and interactions, and thanks also to Ian Leiper (CDU) for contributing a number of figures. The authors greatly appreciate the input of the many workshop and meeting participants which made valuable contributions to this project. A full list of contributors is provided in Appendix A. Numerous staff members from the Department of Energy and Environment made valuable contributions to this project and we acknowledge their input here. Particular thanks are extended to Matt Whitting and staff from the Environmental Standards Division for access to, and compilation of, EPBC Act referrals data. The authors also wish to thank Stephen Sagar, Scott Nicol, Tanya Whiteway, Rachel Nanson, Rachel Przelawski, Trevor Dhu, Paul Hedge, and Nic Bax for thoughtful discussion and review of this work. Artwork featured on title page: Berelh © Graham Rostron. 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 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Project Scope ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Objectives.................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Report Structure and Research Component Objectives ........................................... 3 2. Species .............................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 5 2.2 Objectives.................................................................................................................. 5 2.3 Methods..................................................................................................................... 5 2.4 Results .................................................................................................................... 10 2.4.1 Sawfishes and River Sharks ............................................................................... 10 2.4.2 Marine Turtles ..................................................................................................... 16 2.4.3 Shorebirds ........................................................................................................... 19 2.4.4 Marine Mammals ................................................................................................. 24 2.5 Discussion and Conclusions ................................................................................... 27 2.6 References .............................................................................................................. 38 3. Pressures ......................................................................................................... 42 3.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 43 3.2 Methods................................................................................................................... 44 3.2.1 Mapping Data on Historic and Existing Pressures............................................... 44 3.2.2 Mapping Data on Future Pressures ..................................................................... 46 3.2.3 Mapping Multiple Pressures to Identify Hotspots ................................................ 48 3.3 Results .................................................................................................................... 51 3.3.1 Historic and Current Pressures ........................................................................... 51 3.3.2 Climate Drivers .................................................................................................... 65 3.3.3 Ongoing and Future Pressures ........................................................................... 67 3.3.4 Hotspot Mapping ................................................................................................. 75 3.4 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 79 3.5 References .............................................................................................................. 81 4. Indigenous Priorities ....................................................................................... 84 4.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 85 4.2 Consultations .......................................................................................................... 88 4.3 Northern Territory .................................................................................................... 93 4.3.1 Borroloola Region, Western Gulf ......................................................................... 93 4.3.2 Darwin Region ..................................................................................................... 93 4.3.3 Daly River ............................................................................................................ 94 4.3.4 Maningrida .......................................................................................................... 94 4.3.5 South East Arnhem Land .................................................................................... 94 4.3.6 Tiwi Islands ......................................................................................................... 95 4.3.7 North East Arnhem Land including Dhimurru and Laynhapuy IPAs .................... 96 4.4 Queensland ............................................................................................................. 96 4.4.1 Southern Gulf including Nijinda Durlga and Thuwatha/Bujimulla IPAs ................ 96 4.4.2 Mapoon ............................................................................................................... 97 4.4.3 Pormpuraaw ........................................................................................................ 97 4.4.4 Kowanyama ........................................................................................................ 98 4.4.5 Napranum ........................................................................................................... 98 4.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................................