Marine Park 3 3 West Coast Bays Marine Park Park at a glance • West Coast Bays Marine Park is influenced by Western Australian marine ecosystems via the Leeuwin Current, West Coast Bays Marine Park is on the west coast of South which flows in an easterly direction across the Great Australia and includes Sceale, Venus and Baird Bays. Australian Bight. At 789 km2, it represents 3% of South Australia’s • Land and sea are linked at important sites adjacent to marine parks network. Venus Bay, Baird Bay, Sceale Bay, Point Labatt and Nicolas Community and industry Baudin Island Conservation Parks. • The Wirangu and Nauo-Barngarla Aboriginal people have traditional associations with the area. Boundary description • Commercial fishers target abalone, rock lobster, mud The West Coast Bays Marine Park comprises the area bounded cockles and scalefish species including King George by a line commencing on the coastline at median high water whiting and snapper. at a point 134°41’42.29”E, 33°15’42.09”S (at the southern end of Rincon Beach), then running progressively: • Sceale, Baird and Venus Bays are popular holiday destinations. Swimming with bottlenose dolphins ○ westerly along the geodesic to the intersection with and Australian sea lions in Baird Bay is a highlight. the seaward limit of the coastal waters of the State at a point 134°18’53.5”E, 33°15’42.09”S; • Recreational fishing, boating and beach activities are popular pastimes around Sceale, Baird and Venus Bays, ○ generally north-westerly along the seaward limit of while Point Labatt is popular for viewing Australian the coastal waters of the State to a point 134°3’36.72”E, sea lion colonies as well as the coastal scenery. 33°0’21.94”S; • Also featured in the park are five historic shipwrecks ○ northerly along the geodesic to the intersection with the including the Elizabeth Rebecca and the Arachne. coastline at median high water at a point 134°3’36.72”E, 32°54’24.42”S (at or about Point Westall); and Fauna and flora ○ generally south-easterly along the coastline at median • The world’s smallest live-bearing starfish high water (inclusive of all bays, lagoons and headlands) (known locally as “Little Patty”). to the point of commencement. • The Australian sea lion, seabirds and migratory shorebirds visit key habitats. NOTE: This boundary description is indicative only. It does not describe inclusions and exclusions of specific land parcels. Habitat For this detailed information, please refer to the DEH website: • West Coast Bays Marine Park includes parts www.marineparks.sa.gov.au or Surveyor-General’s office for of the Eyre Bioregion. the relevant marine park plan (known as a Rack Plan). • Habitats typical of this region include: ○ very sheltered coastal embayments featuring islands and seagrass meadows, and ○ exposed coastal cliffs, headlands and beaches facing the open ocean. • The habitats inside West Coast Bays Marine Park provide critical baselines to measure any changes to the State’s marine ecosystems that may arise over time from, for example, pollution or climate change. 3 For more information visit: FIS 90349 www.marineparks.sa.gov.au or call 1800 006 120 West Coast Bays Marine Park 134°10'0"E 134°20'0"E 134°30'0"E 134°40'0"E - 3 0 Streaky Bay -20 0 32°50'0"S -3 32°50'0"S Marine Park State Waters Jurisdiction Parks and Reserves Aquatic Reserves POINT Bathymetry Contours WESTALL Roads Coastline (median high water) Sec ale Ba y CP -1 -30 0 SCEALE BAY -20 Calpatanna Waterhole CP 33°0'0"S 33°0'0"S Nioc la s Baudin Ils and CP CAPE BLANCHE - 2 0 0 10 -30 Kms Baird Bay SEARCY BAY Ils and s CP - BAIRD BAY 5 0 Venu s Ba y CP Point Labatt AR Point Labbatt CP -2 33°10'0"S 0 33°10'0"S -30 Adelaide - 5 VENUS BAY Cheetina 0 Baird Ba y Ils and s CP JONES ISLAND CAPE RADSTOCK GARDEN ISLAND Eyre Bioregion -20 POINT WEYLAND Produced by Coast and Marine Conservation Department for Environment and Heritage RINCON BEACH GPO Box 1047 Adelaide SA 5001 www.environment.sa.gov.au/coasts Data Source Topographic Data, Marine Bioregions -2 0 NPWSA Reserves, Bathymetry - -1 30 0 Marine Park Locations - DEH Compiled 9 January 2009 -5 Projection Geographic 0 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. 33°20'0"S 33°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 DEH MapID: 2008-943 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, West Coast Bays 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 sheltered, tidal embayments and islands of Baird Bay and Venus Bay as well as the exposed coastal cliffs and surf beaches in the Sceale Bay and Searcy Bay areas. 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. 3 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 The seven Biophysical Principles address of 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 meet the To be Representative, all habitats in a region Precautionary Principle. Rigorous application of the Adequacy, (e.g. reefs, beaches, seagrass, mangroves) need to be Comprehensiveness and Representativeness Principles ensure included across the full variety of physical situations in the marine parks network meets South Australia’s national which they occur (e.g. shallow and deep water reefs, low and international marine protection obligations. and high energy beaches). This variety must be represented The remaining three Biophysical Principles helped prioritise within the combination of parks created in a bioregion. important local sites, to ensure the marine parks network Habitats of West Coast Bays Marine Park include high maximises ecological outcomes (South Australia’s Strategic energy surf beaches, cliffs, and rocky headlands with Plan Target 3.4). fringing reefs and sandy plains extending rapidly into The Precautionary Principle deeper waters. In contrast, the enclosed embayments The Precautionary Principle is a risk-management tool of Venus Bay and Baird Bay provide very sheltered which requires action to be taken now in areas where conditions and support dense seagrasses, sandy scientific knowledge is not yet complete. One of the ways seafloor habitats, tidal flats and coastal saltmarshes. the Precautionary Principle has been applied in developing Baird Bay also features numerous groundwater seepages marine parks is to include areas of unsurveyed seabed habitats. creating brackish soak springs, which support marsh and In the Eyre Bioregion, 14,973 km2 (80%) of seabed habitats sedge lands and attract many types of waterbirds. are yet to be surveyed. The high tidal flow reef environments of Venus Bay include As a precautionary measure, 574 km2 (4%) of unsurveyed sponge dominated reefs. habitat are included within West Coast Bays Marine Park. The orientation of Baird and Venus Bays is a significant factor Including unsurveyed habitats increases the likelihood in their role as nursery areas for many forms of fish and other that all the habitats that exist in a region are included marine life. The mouths of both bays face the summer south- within a marine park. easterly winds, allowing the bays to receive the larvae of The Adequacy Principle summer spawning species. Adequacy is achieved if the marine park provides for both Connectivity and Linkages Principle ecosystem integrity and the viability of whole populations Connectivity describes how plants and animals move of species. between different places. A marine park is considered to have achieved Adequacy if Linkages refers to the transfer of materials (e.g. organic both it and the network it contributes to are large enough to matter) and energy flows. Connectivity and Linkages both protect the species and habitats found there and close enough depend in part on the way currents, tides and waves move to connect populations. water and on the abilities of marine life to move between West Coast Bays Marine Park covers 789km2 (3% of the whole different areas.