Solitary Islands Marine Reserve (Commonwealth Waters) Management Plan

2. Management Framework 2. Management Framework

2. Management Framework

2.1 National and International Context

The Reserve and the Park are part of the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas (NRSMPA). The NRSMPA aims to establish and manage a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of marine protected areas and to contribute to the long-term ecological viability of marine systems, to maintain ecological processes, and to protect Australia’s biological diversity at all levels (ANZECC 1999). One of the secondary goals of the NRSMPA is to provide for the special needs of threatened species, migratory species, and species vulnerable to disturbance. Marine protected areas within the NRSMPA have been established especially for the conservation of biological diversity and have a secure status.

The Commonwealth Government’s commitment to the NRSMPA was reaffirmed through Australia’s Oceans Policy (Environment Australia 1998), which identifies the need to protect marine biodiversity through Marine Protected Areas. The NRSMPA is being implemented cooperatively by Commonwealth, State and Northern Territory Governments, through the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council, under the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment.

Establishment of the Reserve assists Australia in meeting its obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity 1992. This Convention requires parties to pursue the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components. A key feature of the Convention is the establishment of a system of protected areas where special measures need to be taken to conserve biological diversity.

Management of the Reserve will also be consistent with obligations for migratory species listed under the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention), the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling, the Japan–Australia Migratory Birds Agreement (JAMBA) and the China–Australia Migratory Birds Agreement (CAMBA).

2.2 Legislative Context

The Solitary Islands Marine Reserve is a Commonwealth reserve under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Administration, management and control of Commonwealth reserves are the function of the Director of National Parks. The Director’s functions and powers in relation to the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve and other Commonwealth marine reserves have been delegated to the head of the Marine and Water Division of Environment Australia.

The EPBC Act requires the Director to prepare management plans for Commonwealth reserves. When prepared, the plans are given to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage for approval. A management plan is a “disallowable instrument”, and when approved must be 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, subject to being revoked or amended earlier by another management plan for the reserve.

Under the EPBC Act (s. 367) a management plan for a Commonwealth reserve must provide for the protection and conservation of the reserve and must assign the reserve to one of the following IUCN (World Conservation Union) protected area categories:

– Ia strict nature reserve;

– Ib wilderness area;

– II national park;

– III natural monument;

– IV habitat/species management area;

– V protected landscape/seascape; or

– VI managed resource protected area.

In preparing a plan the EPBC Act (s.368) also requires account to be taken of various matters. In respect to the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve these matters include:

– regulation of the use of the reserve for the purpose for which it was declared; and

– the interests of any Indigenous persons interested in the reserve; and

– the interests of any person who has a usage right relating to land, sea or seabed in the reserve that existed (or is derived from a usage right that existed) immediately before the reserve was declared[1]; and

– the protection of the special features of the reserve, including objects and sites of biological, historical, palaeontological, archaeological, geological and geographical interest; and

– the protection, conservation and management of biodiversity and heritage within the reserve; and

– the protection of the reserve against damage; and

– Australia’s obligations under agreements between Australia and one or more other countries relevant to the protection and conservation of biodiversity and heritage.

The EPBC Act (s. 354) imposes a range of controls and restrictions on activities in Commonwealth reserves. Certain acts are prohibited except in accordance with a management plan. These acts 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.

These controls and restrictions do not affect certain traditional activities by Indigenous people. In addition, special provisions apply if prior usage rights exist over seabed in a marine reserve. Mining operations are also prohibited unless the Governor-General has approved them and they are carried out in accordance with a management plan.

As noted earlier, the Reserve was declared under the NPWC Act, which was replaced by the EPBC Act on 16 July 2000. The EPBC Act has also replaced four other Commonwealth Acts. They were the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974, Endangered Species Protection Act 1992, Whale Protection Act 1980 and World Heritage Properties Conservation Act 1983. These other parts of the EPBC Act will also be relevant to the management of the Reserve and the taking of actions in and in relation to the Reserve.

In particular, actions that would or are likely to have a significant impact on a specified matter of “national environmental significance” will be subject to the assessment and approval provisions of the EPBC Act. The matters of national environmental significance identified in the Act as triggers for the Commonwealth assessment and approval regime are:

– World Heritage properties;

– wetlands of international importance (Ramsar wetlands);

– listed threatened species and communities;

– listed migratory species;

– nuclear actions;

– the marine environment; and

– such further actions as are prescribed by the EPBC Regulations under the Act.

The Solitary Islands Marine Reserve is a “Commonwealth marine area” for the purposes of the Act. The taking of an action in a Commonwealth marine area (including the airspace above it) that will or is likely to have a significant impact on the environment, or the taking of an action outside a Commonwealth marine area that will or is likely to have a significant impact on the environment in a Commonwealth marine area, will be subject to the assessment and approvals provisions of the EPBC Act. The person proposing to take the action must refer proposed actions that may require approval from the Commonwealth Environment Minister.

The EPBC Act also contains provisions that prohibit and regulate actions in relation to threatened species, migratory species, cetaceans (whales and dolphins), and ‘listed’ marine species. Civil and criminal penalties may be imposed for breaches of the Act.

2.3 Management of the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve

The Reserve is managed for the Director under a cooperative management agreement with the NSW MPA. The terms of the agreement are established in a Schedule to the Memorandum of Understanding that details the management, operational and resourcing arrangements pertaining to the cooperative management of the Park and the Reserve. The NSW MPA generally undertakes the day-to-day management of the Reserve on behalf of Environment Australia.

The strategic objectives, management goals and management strategies for the Reserve will, to the maximum extent possible, be consistent with the management regime to be developed by the NSW MPA for the Park. Accordingly, the zones applied to the Commonwealth Reserve have similar provisions to the zones used in the adjoining State marine park.

The Reserve overall is assigned by the Plan as an IUCN protected area management category VI (managed resource protected area). The Plan then divides the Reserve into three zones and assigns them to IUCN categories (see Figure 2).

1 General Use Zone (IUCN category VI) applies to most of the Reserve, allowing for all ecologically sustainable activities currently undertaken within the Reserve to continue, in conjunction with measures to maintain its biological diversity and other natural values;

2 Sanctuary Zone (IUCN category Ia — strict nature reserve) encompasses the area within a 500 metre radius around the centre of Pimpernel Rock and provides a ‘no-take’ area, primarily to protect the pinnacle benthic communities, established ecological processes, and associated sensitive marine species such as grey nurse sharks;

3 Habitat Protection Zone (IUCN category IV — habitat/species management area ) encompasses the Sanctuary Zone and protects a representative sample of whole reef complex, including soft substrate sediments and subtidal reef habitats, deep water biotic communities and predator-prey assemblages, mammals and seabirds.

The provisions of a management plan for a Commonwealth reserve must be consistent with the Australian IUCN Reserve Management Principles for the IUCN category to which the reserve or zone of a reserve is assigned by the plan. The principles, prescribed by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000 (EPBC Regulations), identify the purpose or purposes for which a Commonwealth reserve, or zone of a reserve, assigned to the category is primarily to be managed. Principles relevant to the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve are described in Attachment 2.

Commercial fishing in the Reserve is mainly managed by NSW Fisheries under the Fisheries Management Act 1994 (NSW). This is done pursuant to arrangements made under the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (Commonwealth) whereby a State is given jurisdiction for a particular fishery that occurs in both the coastal waters of the State and in Commonwealth waters. There are also a number of Commonwealth fisheries active in the Reserve that are managed by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) under the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (Commonwealth).

Commercial fishing is an action for commercial purposes that must not be carried on except in accordance with a management plan. Under regulation 12.34 commercial fishing can be carried on in a Commonwealth reserve if authorised by a relevant Commonwealth, State or Territory law (for example, the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (Commonwealth)) or a permit issued under the EPBC Regulations. It also provides for the Director to make determinations affecting the conduct of commercial fishing. A determination may provide that: specified kinds of

fishing gear cannot be carried or used; specified kinds of fishing gear are required to be carried or used by a person who is fishing or intending to fish; specified practices in commercial fishing are prohibited; and specified practices in commercial fishing are to be followed.

In those areas of the Reserve where this Plan allows for commercial fishing a permit issued by the Director will not generally be required. Permits may be required, or determinations may be made, by the Director where the Director considers that conditions over and above those applying to Commonwealth or New South Wales fishing concessions are required to ensure the activity is compatible with the strategic objectives of the Reserve or zones within the Reserve. Such conditions may include prohibitions on fishing gear and practices.

3. Strategic Objectives

The strategic objectives for the Reserve are designed to comply with the EPBC Act, the Strategic Plan of Action for the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas; A Guide for Action by Australian Governments (ANZECC 1999), the Guidelines for Protected Area Management (IUCN 1994) and the Australian IUCN Reserve Management Principles (regulation 10.04 of the EPBC Regulations). They form the basis of this Plan and are presented below:

– Protect the conservation values of the Reserve from human induced damages.

– Protect the benthic communities of pinnacle reef habitat, established ecological processes, and associated sensitive marine species at Pimpernel Rock.

– Protect a representative sample of whole reef complex, including soft substrate sediments and subtidal reef habitats, deep water biotic communities and predator-prey assemblages, mammals and seabirds.

– Protect key habitat for listed threatened species such as grey nurse sharks Carcharius taurus and cetaceans, and implement management arrangements consistent with the species recovery plans under the EPBC Act.

– Effectively manage activities that can impact on marine wildlife, especially cetaceans and other listed threatened species, and on sensitive marine habitats.

– Allow for a range of recreational and commercial activities in the Reserve to the extent they do not conflict with above objectives and are consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development (Attachment 3).

– Develop management arrangements for the Reserve that are consistent with and complementary to the management regime for the Park to the extent possible.

– Manage the Reserve as part of a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of marine protected areas to contribute to the long-term ecological viability of marine and estuarine systems.

4. Description of the Solitary Islands
   Marine Reserve

4.1 Summary

The following description of the Reserve is largely drawn from the report on the State of the Environment of the Solitary Islands Marine Park (Zann 2000), the Solitary Islands Marine Park and the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve Planning Issues and Options Paper (NSW MPA 2000) and the Coffs Harbour City Council Draft State of the Environment Report 2000 (CHCC 2000).

4.2 Conservation Values — Abiotic

4.2.1 Climate

The north coast of New South Wales experiences a subtropical climate with a mean air temperature ranging from 13.7°C to 23.2°C. This is characterised by warm humid conditions in summer when the easterly trade winds dominate from January to March, and dry cool conditions in winter. Average annual precipitation for the area is 1,700mm, with the majority of rainfall occurring between December and May.

4.2.2 Geomorphology

The geological structure of the coastline adjacent to the Reserve consists of the Clarence Morton Basin, which is a sedimentary structure formed during the Triassic to early Cretaceous period. It comprises a sequence of Mesozoic sediments and volcanics resting on a basement of folded Palaeozoic rocks. Quaternary fluvial sediments are extensive around major rivers. The New England fold belt is the most eastern geological province of mainland Australia and it is composed of late Paleozoic complexes intruded by Permian and Triassic granites.

CONTINENTAL SHELF

The physical environment of the Australian continental shelf is almost entirely soft sediments with offshore rocky reefs comprising a very small proportion of the shelf.

The continental shelf near the Reserve is around 12–20 nautical miles wide. Beyond the shelf break, the continental slope falls steeply into deep abyssal waters. The shelf sediments consist mainly of terrigenous material from rivers and streams, and relic quartzose and carbonate rich sands.

Subtidal reefs in the Reserve are mostly derived from marine sediments of the Coffs Harbour sequence. These rocks have been folded and metamorphosed i