South East Marine Parks Working Group Final Report, 10 June 2009 The South East Marine Parks Working Group was established to provide advice to the Minister for Environment and Conservation with regards to preliminary zoning possibilities and consequential outer boundary amendments for proposed Marine Parks 18 and 19. It was also tasked to make recommendations in relation to local area management needs/principles that may be considered to facilitate implementation of the Marine Parks process of implementation. In coming to the first working group meeting: The Seafood Industry (in conjunction with local recreational fisher organisations) and Local Government representatives were unable to support the proposed outer boundaries as released by the South Australian Government on 29 January 2009, nor were they able to agree to all the drivers adopted by the South Australian Government behind developing the proposed outer boundaries, particularly the need for large, general managed use zones; South Australian Recreational Fishing Advisory Council (SARFAC) agreed to the outer boundaries but made a strong recommendation that access should be maintained to all beaches for the purposes of recreational fishing; The Conservation Sector agreed to discuss amendments to the proposed outer- boundaries if the Working Group could broadly agree on the size and location of significant sanctuary zones and habitat protection buffers. Local Government representatives were keen to maintain traditional arrangements valued by local communities especially as they relate to commercial and recreational fishing. At the conclusion of discussions: The Working Group was unable to come to a single set of recommendations. The Working Group members acknowledged they had undertaken a valuable and essential process which allowed meaningful engagement by all relevant stakeholders and which should be maintained throughout the entirety of the management planning process. All working group members agreed that the South Australian Government’s proposed outer boundaries for marine parks 18 and 19 could be modified and have provided two versions with significant commonality but a range of major differences (See Map 1 and Map 2) and supporting statements from the commercial and recreational fishing and local government alliance and from the conservation sector (see Attachment 1 and Attachment 2). Both proposals embraced a combination of sanctuary zones and habitat protection zones but differ markedly on the proposed number and size of sanctuary zones and the need for buffer arrangements. Neither proposal contains general managed use zones nor do they include scientific reference areas. As expected, the size and location of sanctuary zones dominated discussions and presented the most difficulty and all agreed should be subject to more detailed analysis informed by all relevant information before being finalised. Despite the differences a number of appropriate areas for enhanced protection under marine parks were identified. Two areas were agreed for investigation as potential sanctuary zones in the Coorong bioregion. One of these overlaps with an agreed aquaculture zone and will need further investigation from a policy perspective. Greater difficulty was experienced in the Otway bioregion. The commercial fishing alliance have proposed a number of habitat protection zones and some small sanctuary zones while the conservation sector have proposed larger sanctuary zones and a greater number of areas protected by a combination of habitat protection zones and sanctuary zones. In relationship to the issue of displaced effort, the submission from the commercial and recreational fishers and local government alliance provides a detailed analysis from a fishing industries perspective. This was unfortunately not available until the end of the working group process but presents a major step forward in terms of understanding the potential impact of these discussions and providing some clarity for future discussions. Progress made through the working group process has been considerable in terms of providing confidence that the South Australian Government will provide for genuine engagement of marine user stakeholder groups and local interests in marine park establishment. While the Working Group outcomes leave a range of issues open at this point, there is genuine intent by all stakeholders involved to continue to participate in a constructive dialogue and information sharing process with Government to achieve optimal outcomes. The Working Group has constructively expended considerable time and effort and developed a valuable pool of knowledge about the region and specific issues related to establishing marine parks 18 and 19. The Working Group respectfully submits the outcomes of its initial deliberations and requests an ongoing opportunity to be reconvened and involved in future outer boundary and zoning discussions and management planning related to marine parks in the South East of South Australia. 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