Figure 2. The Great Australian Bight Marine Park showing management zones
Part 1 Introduction
1. Establishment and previous management
1.1 Proclamation of the Park
The Great Australian Bight Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters) (the Park) was proclaimed on 17 April 1998 under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975, which was replaced on 16 July 2000 by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The proclamation for the Marine Park was amended on 4 November 2004 to make changes to the boundary description to take account of current mapping practice and to correct minor technical problems and errors.
The reasons for proclaiming the Park were:
1. To complement the adjacent Great Australian Bight Marine National Park (the State Park) for the primary purpose of protecting the endangered southern right whale and Australian Sea-lion. On 26 September 1996 the South Australian Government declared the State Park, which encompassed the Great Australian Bight Marine Park Whale Sanctuary at the Head of Bight. The State Park was declared primarily for the protection of the calving waters of the southern right whale and important populations of the Australian Sea-lion. It is made up of the Great Australian Bight Marine Park Whale Sanctuary proclaimed on 22 June 1995 under the Fisheries Act 1982 (SA) and the Great Australian Bight Marine National Park proclaimed on 26 September 1996 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 (SA).
2. To protect a representative strip of the unique seafloor (benthic) environment in line with the development of a National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas under Australia’s Oceans Policy and international agreements (see Section 2.8).
The Park continues as a Commonwealth reserve under the EPBC Act pursuant to Schedule 4 of the Environmental Reform (Consequential Provisions) Act 1999, which deems the Park to have been declared for the following purposes:
the preservation of the area in its natural condition; and
b. the encouragement and regulation of the appropriate use, appreciation and enjoyment of the area by the public.
1.2 Conservation significance
The Park is in a relatively undisturbed area of Australia’s marine jurisdiction. It contains features that are unusual or unique including key habitat for species listed in the EPBC Act; a broad shelf that is largely uninfluenced by run-off from the land; endemic species; and, compared to other Australian marine areas, relatively low human visitation and use, apart from past use by the whaling industry. It protects a relatively large sample of these features as part of Australia’s National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas, which aims to conserve marine biodiversity. It provides a scientific reference area, that is, an area that is relatively undisturbed and that can be compared with other areas outside the Park.
The particular conservation values that the Park protects are:
1. Habitat for the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis).
2. Habitat for the Australian Sea-lion (Neophoca cinerea).
3. Habitat for other species of conservation significance.
4. A transect representative of the seabed on the continental shelf and slope of the Great Australian Bight.
The EPBC Act protects the southern right whale as a listed threatened species (endangered). The World Conservation Union (IUCN) considers that the survival of this species depends on conservation. The Head of Bight, where southern right whales aggregate each winter to give birth and breed, is the most significant site for the recovery of this species in Australian waters. The exact habitat requirements for southern right whales visiting the Head of Bight region are unknown. At the time of preparation of this Plan research to determine these requirements is underway.
The Great Australian Bight Marine Park is designed to protect the aggregating population, with a particular emphasis on protecting mothers and calves. Any alteration in the behaviour of a mother could threaten the survival of a calf, with implications for the recovery of the species. The Park’s Marine Mammal Protection Zone complements the adjacent Sanctuary and Conservation Zones of the State Park in minimising the risk of human interference with the annual aggregation of southern right whales, protecting the individual and social behaviour of southern right whales and their habitat during their annual migration, and minimising disturbances to that habitat at other times.
The Australian Sea-lion is also a listed threatened species (vulnerable) under the EPBC Act. It is Australia’s only endemic pinniped (seals and sea-lions) species. Colonies of Australian Sea-lions occur on the coast under the Bunda Cliffs adjacent to the State Park and include 10 breeding sites. Australian Sea-lions are benthic (seafloor) feeders that are expected to forage in the Park. The species is unusual in that it breeds every 17 months and has an asynchronous breeding cycle, meaning that various colonies could be breeding at different times. Genetic studies suggest that females may return to the same sites for breeding events. Current theories suggest that Australian Sea-lions are unlikely to recolonise areas from which they have been removed, noting that there are few colonies remaining in Bass Strait.
Other species of conservation significance occur in the Park, including species protected under the EPBC Act (Part 13) such as the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), cetaceans, seals, albatrosses, petrels and other protected seabirds, various marine turtles at the limit of their range (e.g. Dermochelys coriacea), and various seahorses, seadragons and pipefish. The Park’s Marine Mammal Protection Zone was intended mainly to protect habitat for the southern right whale and Australian Sea-lion but also protects the habitat of other species of conservation significance.
The continental shelf seabed in the Great Australian Bight supports some of the highest levels of seafloor (benthic) marine diversity and endemism found anywhere in Australia, particularly among red algae (sea weed), ascidians (sea squirts), bryozoans (lace corals), molluscs (shellfish) and echinoderms (sea urchins and sea stars). The Park’s Benthic Protection Zone is a transect across the continental shelf, the continental slope, the Ceduna Terrace in the continental slope, and part of the Nullarbor Canyon, which captures a representative sample of the seafloor life (benthos). The Benthic Protection Zone minimises human sources of direct disturbance to the benthos, mainly by preventing seabed or ‘demersal’ trawl fishing. It provides a reference area for ‘inside vs. outside’ comparisons of human induced environmental change. The Park also extends to 1000 metres below the seabed.
At the time of preparation of this Plan:
Nationally, the southern right whale population is recovering strongly. The potential sources of human induced disturbance to southern right whale habitat include noise (aircraft, vessels and seismic operations), entangling materials, vessel strikes, research activities and pollutants.
Recent data suggest numbers of Australian Sea-lions appear to be declining over parts of the species’ range. National research, including in the Park, is underway to determine population recruitment, where Australian Sea-lions forage, and on what species they feed. The potential sources of disturbance to Australian Sea-lion habitat include entangling materials (especially demersal gill nets), reduction in food supply, human disturbance and pollution.
Surveys suggest the continental shelf benthos is more diverse inside than outside the Park. The potential sources of disturbance to the benthos in the Park include introduced pest species, demersal trawling, sedimentation from drilling discharges and some scientific research.
1.3 Previous Management Plan
This is the second Management Plan for the Park. The first Management Plan came into operation in 2000 to remain in force until 16 May 2005. A committee consisting of the Great Australian Bight Marine Park Steering and Consultative Committees reviewed the first Management Plan towards the end of its period of operation. The committee completed its review in May 2004. This Management Plan takes the review’s findings into account.
1.4 Structure of this Management Plan
Part 1 of this Management Plan explains the context of managing the Park, including the legal context. Part 2 sets out prescriptions about how the Park will be managed and has been structured to reflect the Parks Australia Strategic Planning and Performance Assessment Framework. The framework consists of seven Key Result Areas:
Key Result Area 1 (KRA1): Natural heritage management
Key Result Area 2 (KRA2): Cultural heritage management
Key Result Area 3 (KRA3): Joint management
Key Result Area 4 (KRA4): Visitor management and park use
Key Result Area 5 (KRA5): Stakeholders and partnerships
Key Result Area 6 (KRA6): Business management
Key Result Area 7 (KRA7): Biodiversity knowledge management
The Director of National Parks has developed outcomes for each Key Result Area under the framework (see Appendix B).
Note: KRAs 2, 3 and 7 are not relevant to the Park and KRA 4 is most relevant to commercial activities in the Park. Research and knowledge management issues are dealt with under KRAs 1 and 4. The framework, under continual development, helps to ensure reporting of management achievements is consistent across all Commonwealth reserves. Section 8.4 of this Management Plan sets out the way the Park’s performance will be assessed under the framework. Appendix B sets out the outcomes under each Key Result Area relevant to the Park.
Most sections of this Management Plan contain:
Aims that describe the desired result of park management activity
Performance indicators that can be used to measure whether management of the Park is effective in achieving the aims
Background that explains why the section is needed
Prescriptions that set out controls on activities in the Park and strategies for managing the Park.
2. Legal context
Section 1.1 of this Management Plan explains the legal context of the proclamation of the Park and the continuation of the Park as a Commonwealth reserve under the EPBC Act.
2.1 Director of National Parks
Administration, management and control of Commonwealth reserves are the function of the Director of National Parks (the Director), a corporation under the EPBC Act (s.514B). The Director can delegate all or any of the Director’s powers or functions under the EPBC Act (s.515).
2.2 Requirement to prepare and comply with a management plan
The EPBC Act requires the Director to prepare management plans for the Park. When prepared, a plan is given to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage (the Minister) for approval. A management plan is a ‘legislative instrument’ for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, and when approved must be registered under that Act and tabled in each House of the Commonwealth Parliament. Either House of the Parliament may disallow a plan. A management plan for a Commonwealth reserve has effect for seven years, unless it is revoked and replaced by a new management plan.
The Director must exercise the Director’s powers and perform the Director’s functions to give effect to a management plan in operation for a Commonwealth reserve; and the Commonwealth and Commonwealth agencies must not perform functions or exercise powers in relation to the reserve inconsistently with the Plan (s.362).
2.3 Activities prohibited unless allowed by a management plan or permit
The EPBC Act (s.354) prohibits certain actions being taken in a Commonwealth reserve except in accordance with a management plan. These actions are:
kill, injure, take, trade, keep or move a member of a native species; or
damage heritage; or
carry on an excavation; or
erect a building or other structure; or
carry out works; or
take an action for commercial purposes.
The EPBC Act (s.355) also prohibits mining operations in a Commonwealth reserve unless the Governor-General has approved them and they are carried out in accordance with a management plan.
Civil and criminal penalties may be imposed for breaches of the EPBC Act.