National
The Australian Government is committed to establishing a National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas by 2012. To date, 3200 nautical miles of our commonwealth waters are highly protected around the country and the government is in the process of extending this through a bioregional planning process, looking at Australia’s ocean assets in four bioregions
The South-west of Australia is currently being assessed for protection with the process for identifying threats to the ecology and conservation of the area currently under way. Conservation priorities need to be identified, and then proposals for MPAs will be explored. To view the Australian government’s Marine Bioregional Planning process.
As part of that process, the government is taking advice from ‘stakeholders’ or people connected to the ocean for any reason (be it recreational or commercial), for their view on marine management. It is utterly crucial for everyone who has an interest in the future health of our oceans to have their say in this process.
One example of how citizens are engaging in the process of marine conservation can be seen at www.saveourmarinelife.org. Here you can see how conservation organisations are working with individuals to put the case for strong marine protection.
Networks of Marine National Parks exist to varying degrees around the country in other state waters.
Case Study: Ningaloo Marine Park
Case Study: Great Barrier Reef
Western Australia has thirteen multiple use marine parks, marine management areas and marine nature reserves, covering 11.7% of the state waters, with a high level of protection offered to 2.4% of the state waters. For more information visit:http://www.marineparks.sa.gov.au
South Australia has twenty one wilderness protected areas, aquatic reserves, shipwreck reserves, defence zones and the Great Australian Bight Park offering a high level of protection to 1% of their state waters. They are currently undergoing a planning process to identify a comprehensive, adequate and representative network of multiple use marine parks for the state. The outer boundaries for the network have recently been confirmed, covering 44% of the state waters. They are now developing the zoning for this network. For more information on this process go towww.environment.sa.gov.au/marineparks/index.html.
Queensland is fortunate to be home to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the largest marine park in Australia. 70% of Queensland’s coastal waters are in six multiple-use marine protected areas, with 22% of the state highly protected (including in the GBRMP).
http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/parks_and_forests/marine_parks/
In New South Wales the Marine Park Authority oversees twelve aquatic reserves and six multiple use parks which cover approximately one third of state waters, with a variety of access permitted ranging from recreational and commercial fishing to non-extractive uses. High protection is afforded to 6.7% of the coastal waters. Some of the 62 national parks in NSW also include marine components. NSW state waters have been divided into six bioregions and are being assessed to identify the need for additional marine protected areas.
In Victoria there are thirteen marine national parks and eleven smaller sanctuaries that offer a high level of protection to 5.3% of the Victorian coast and include a range of ecosystems and species. There are also four multiple use marine parks.http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1bays.cfm
The Northern Territory currently has one marine park encompassing less then 4% of NT coastal waters. The Government has committed to developing a MPA strategy, which will path the way for establishing a network of marine parks across the NT. The strategy was due to be released in 2007 but has encountered serious delays.
http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/parks/find/gariggunak.html
Ningaloo was first declared as a marine park in 1987 and has been since extended twice. Covering 5070 sqare kilometres along the coast of Western Australia, Ningaloo Marine Park is a joint state and commonwealth reserve. It is the longest fringing reef in Australia and the only example in the world of an extensive fringing coral reef.
This reserve is special for the way in which the depth of the water varies from 30-500m with rapid drop-offs. The waters are in a transitional zone and so host both tropical and temperate flora and fauna. With huge diversity of species and unique geomorphic features, Ningaloo provides biological and ecological links to deeper off-shore environments.
Ningaloo Marine Park is home to dugongs, manta rays, four species of turtle, four types of shark and at least five types of dolphins. It is on the migratory route of shore birds and waders, the spectacular whale shark, and is the home to over 200 types of corals and over 460 species of reef fish.
Recreational fishing and commercial tourism is permitted and commercial fishing is partly restricted. In 2009, only 34% of the marine park is fully protected.
http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/mpa/ningaloo/index.html
The Great Barrier Reef is an icon of the natural world and its reservation as a marine park has been a boon to the ecology, economy and social capital of Queensland and beyond.
Just north of Bundaberg and extending to the tip of Cape York, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system. It boasts the status of both marine park and World Heritage Area. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) covers 344 400 square metres, is more than 2000 km in length and several hundred kilometres wide in some parts, and has been classified into 70 bioregions. It was initially established in 1975 and was declared a World Heritage Area in 2004. It has a number of zones to accommodate various uses such as recreational and commercial fishing, tourism and conservation, with 33% of the area highly protected.
The GBRMP is home to a vast array of species that are protected at an international, national and state level making it a critical habitat zone. With over 2900 reefs, 900 islands the GBRMP biodiversity hosts protected species such as seahorses, pipefish, barramundi, Maori wrasse, whale, grey and great white sharks, and these are just a tiny fraction of the life that lives there.
