50Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds

50 Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds

Chapter 9 Evaluation the performance of the plan

This plan must be formally reviewed no later than five years from when it was endorsed and made publicly available. The review will determine the performance of the plan; whether the plan continues unchanged; whether the plan is varied to remove completed actions and include new conservation priorities; or whether a wildlife conservation plan is no longer necessary for the species.

The review will be coordinated by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment in association with relevant state and territory agencies, and key stakeholder groups including scientific research organisations.

Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds 51

Chapter 10 Major benefits to other migratory species, marine species, species of cetacean or conservation dependent species

There are 37 seabirds that are currently listed threatened under the EPBC Act.

To promote the recovery of listed threatened species, conservation advices and

where required, recovery plans, are made or adopted in accordance with Part 13 of the EPBC Act. Conservation advices provide guidance at the time of listing on known threats and priority recovery actions that can be undertaken at a local and regional level. Recovery plans describe key threats and identify specific recovery actions that can be undertaken to enable recovery activities to occur within a planned and logical national framework. The implementation of this Plan will benefit a number of threatened species and their habitats. Below is a table of threatened seabirds in Australia, and links to their approved conservation advice and/or recovery plans.

While the Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds focuses on identifying and developing effective management strategies for important habitats, there are also major conservation benefits for those species that share habitats with seabirds. There are a number of major benefits to species other than seabirds that may result from implementation of this Plan. For example, Hooded Plover (Thinornis cucullatus cucullatus) listed as vulnerable under the EPBC Act, shares similar habitat requirements with listed seabirds, as do nesting marine turtles in Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and Commonwealth marine areas, and may all benefit from habitat management actions. While coastal and freshwater or coastal wetlands serve as nurseries for many prey species of fish and aquatic invertebrates.

There are at least 18 species of resident shorebirds including the Banded Stilt (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus), Hooded Plover (Thinornis cucullatus) and Australian Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris) that share many habitat requirements and would also gain major benefits from the Plan’s implementation.