South-east Marine Parks Network Draft Management Plan

Postal Address: PO Box 220
Campbelltown
SA 5074
ABN: 35 279 182 164
ARBN: 604 875 774
President: Dr Alicia Sutton
Mobile:
Email:
Director of National Parks
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
203 Channel Highway, Kingston TAS 7050

11 November 2024

Submission on the Draft South-east Marine Parks Network Management Plan
Dear Director of National Parks

The Australian Marine Sciences Association Inc. (AMSA) is pleased to provide a submission on the Draft
South-east Marine Parks Network Management Plan.

AMSA is Australia's largest professional association of marine scientists with close to one thousand members nationwide. AMSA actively promotes the advancement of marine sciences in Australia and engages in public debate where our members have specialist knowledge. Our members work across research agencies, universities, museums, government departments, and the private sector, and have expertise spanning all disciplines related to marine sciences. AMSA provides science-based position papers and statements on marine issues, and throughout its over 60-year history has been influential in the development of marine science policy in Australia. AMSA is also a member of the National
Marine Science Committee and Science & Technology Australia.

This submission has been prepared in accordance with the AMSA position paper on marine protected areas (AMSA, 2019)) and the AMSA submission on the South-east Marine Parks Network Management
Plan 2023-2033 (AMSA, 2023).

Please feel free to contact me, at the details above, for further information.

Kind Regards

Dr Alicia Sutton
President | Australian Marine Sciences Association www.amsa.asn.au
As stated in AMSA’s 2023 submission on the South-east Marine Parks Network (AMSA, 2023), AMSA would like to re-emphasize that the South-east marine region supports globally significant environmental, cultural and social values. It is also a global marine warming hotspot, having experienced warming over the past several decades at almost four times the global average rate
(Hobday & Pecl, 2014). The South-east is also a region of Australia where benthic habitats are in comparably poor condition due to historical impacts and ongoing effects of climate change (Trebilco et al., 2021). As an area of rapid growth in both the Blue Economy and coastal populations, it is also a region where these significant environmental, cultural and social values coincide with important economic activities (Commonwealth of Australia 2015; AIMS 2021). Furthermore, Indigenous people have been sustainably using and managing Australia’s Sea Country for at least 60,000 years, and
Indigenous communities of the South-east Marine Region continue to have a strong cultural and spiritual connection to the ocean, and its resources for food, traditional purposes and income.

Strengths of the Draft Management Plan

AMSA highly commends the increase in National Park (IUCN II) zoning from 42% to 70% overall.
However, please see the first point in the subsequent section Limitations and suggestions for improvement regarding zoning for individual parks.

AMSA strongly supports the creation of 11 new National Park Zones that provide protection for parts of the Great Southern Reef, and increased protection for shelf habitats (including four new shelf bioregions) and upper slope habitats (more than a 10-fold increase). Seventeen marine bioregions occur within the South-east marine region, and ten of these bioregions are now represented within
National Park Zones. Research that has come out from the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub and the
Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies has clearly demonstrated the biodiversity values of these marine parks. This includes the discovery of a population of Pink Handfish living on these deeper reefs
(Ainsworth 2021). Thought to be extinct, it is now believed that Pink Handfish live in the deep reefs of the South-east Marine Park Network. Researchers have also mapped large aggregations of Port
Jackson Sharks. The reason for these aggregations is still unknown but is likely to have significant ecological importance. Seabed mapping, towed video, baited remote underwater video, and remotely operated vehicle surveys have mapped vast extents of sessile invertebrate assemblages and associated
fish assemblages in rarely sampled low-light environments (i.e. mesophotic and rariphotic zones)
(Barrett et al, 2023, 2024; Perkins et al, 2022, 2024; Monk et al, 2016). It is still unclear how impacts such as climate change and marine heatwaves will impact these deeper reef ecosystems that are protected by the South-east Marine Parks Network, further highlighting the need for monitoring and further research.

AMSA commends the Draft Management Plan for considering potential cumulative impacts on the marine environment by prohibiting any new oil and gas titles (and associated seismic operations), seabed mining, carbon capture and storage projects and renewable energy across all zones and parks.
AMSA recommends these prohibitions are further expanded to include oil and gas pipeline construction and operation, as these can have significant direct impacts on marine environments through habitat disruption during construction and decommissioning (Cordes et al, 2016; Sih et al,
2022,), as well as indirect impacts through the extraction and use of fossil fuels and well-documented impacts of climate change throughout Australia and the rest of the world (Gervais et al 2021; Wernberg et al 2024).

Through the proposed management plan, significant seafloor features are afforded protection, and
AMSA commends increasing the number of seamounts included in zoning from four to 24 (out of
mapped 75 seamounts). There has been a significant number of biological surveys that have clearly demonstrated that these seamounts support vulnerable sessile invertebrate habitats, often referred to as deep sea coral reef, that are susceptible to anthropogenic impacts such as fishing. Furthermore, these habitats provide areas for spawning oceanic eels and deep-sea skates. These seamounts are also important to key fishery species such as Orange Roughy and Dories. The scientific evidence is clear that no-take zones protect critical habitat and can lead to increases in fisheries if they are large, well- managed, and with enforced compliance (Edgar et al., 2014)

AMSA commends the Draft Management Plan for incorporating the Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Improvement (MERI) framework. The MERI framework is essential to enable assessment of the effectiveness of management and biodiversity outcomes, and to inform adaptive management into the future.

Limitations and suggestions for improvement

Only seven of the 14 parks have at least 30% IUCN II zoning which is widely recognised as the desirable goal (Edgar et al, 2014). The scientific evidence is clear that marine biodiversity benefits from the complete protection afforded by IUCN II zoning with increases in fish biomass, species diversity, and greater protection for threatened and protected species (Edgar et al., 2014).

AMSA notes that cultural values and First Nations content in the Draft Management Plan have not been formally endorsed by the Traditional Owners of the south-east region and that discussions are ongoing. AMSA strongly recommends that the management programs and desired outcomes for the
South-east Network are endorsed by First Nations peoples and incorporate cultural science objectives and goals (Fischer et al 2022, Hedge et al 2020, Reid 2020).

AMSA’s previous recommendation to ensure adequate resourcing of MERI activities under the Draft
Management Plan does not appear to have been adopted. There is no commitment to ‘undertake periodic monitoring’ but only a commitment to a defined frequency of monitoring. AMSA reiterates that adequate resourcing is critical for adaptive management to be effective, proactive and responsive.

References
AIMS (2021) The AIMS Index of Marine Industry 2020. Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Ainsworth K (2021). Rare pink handfish spotted for first time in 22 years, off coast of Tasmania. ABC News. 23
December 2021.

AMSA (2019). Position statement on Marine Protected Areas. https://www.amsa.asn.au/wp- content/uploads/2014/04/AMSA-MPA-Position-Statement-October2019.pdf

AMSA (2023). South-east Marine Parks Network Management Plan 2023-2033: https://www.amsa.asn.au/wp- content/uploads/2021/06/AMSA-Submission-2023_05_23-Statement-on-the-SE-Marine-Parks.pdf

Barrett, N., Monk, J., & Bastiaansen, A. (2023). Franklin and Zeehan Marine Park Multibeam mapping and drop- camera validation for Parks Australia. University of Tasmania: Hobart.

Barrett, N., Perkins, N., Monk, J., Hulls, J., & Bastiaansen, A. (2024). Fish assemblages on the continental shelves of Freycinet and Huon Marine Parks: Insights from stereo BRUV and ROV surveys, Report to Parks Australia.
University of Tasmania: Hobart.

Cordes, E.E., Jones, D.O.B., Schlacher, T.A., …, Witte, U. (2016). Environmental Impacts of the Deep-Water Oil and Gas Industry: A Review to Guide Management Strategies. Frontiers in Environmental Science.
Edgar G., Stuart-Smith, R., Willis, T. et al. Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features (2014). Nature 506, 216–220. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13022

Fischer, M., Maxwell, K., Nuunoq, Pedersen, H., Greeno, D., Jingwas, N., Blair, J.G., Hugu, S., Mustonen, T.,
Murtomäki, E., and Mustonen, K. 2022. Empowering her guardians to nurture our Ocean’s future. Review in
Fish Biology and Fisheries 32:271-296.

Gervais, C.R., Champion, C., Pecl, G.T. (2021). Species on the move around the Australian coastline: A continental-scale review of climate-driven species redistribution in marine systems. Global Change Biology. 27:
3200-3217.

Hedge, P., van Putten, E.I., Hunter, C. and Fischer, M. 2020. Perceptions, motivations, and practices for
Indigenous engagement in marine science in Australia. Frontiers in Marine Science 7.

Hobday AJ & Pecl GT (2014). Identification of global marine hotspots: sentinels for change and vanguards for adaptation action. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 24(2):415–425.

Monk, J., Barrett, N., Hulls, J., James, L., Hosack, G., Oh, E., ... & Foster, S. (2016). Seafloor biota, rock lobster and demersal fish assemblages of the Tasman Fracture Commonwealth Marine Reserve Region: Determining the influence of the shelf sanctuary zone on population demographics, Report to the National Environmental
Research Program, Marine Biodiversity Hub. University of Tasmania: Hobart.

Perkins, N., Monk, J., Wong, R., Willis, S., Bastiaansen, A., & Barrett, N. (2022). Changes in rock lobster, demersal fish, and sessile benthic organisms in the Tasman Fracture Marine Park: comparisons between 2015 and 2021, Report to Parks Australia. University of Tasmania: Hobart.

Perkins, N., Monk, J., Wong, R., Joana, B. D. A., & Barrett, N. (2024). Autonomous Underwater Vehicle-based benthic fauna surveys and monitoring of Huon Marine Park and Freycinet Marine Park shelf habitats
2022/2023, Report to Parks Australia. University of Tasmania: Hobart.

Reid, A.J., Eckert, L.E., Lane, J-F., Young, N., Hinch, S.G., Darimont, C.T., Cooke, S.J., Ban, N.C. and Marshall, A.
2020. ‘Two-Eyed Seeing’: An Indigenous framework to transform fisheries research and management. Fish and
Fisheries 22:243-261.

Sih, T.L., Cure, K., Yilmaz, I.N., McLean, D., Macreadie, P.I. (2022). Marine life and fisheries around offshore oil and gas structures in southeastern Australia and possible consequences for decommissioning. Frontiers in
Marine Science.

Trebilco R, Fischer M, Hunter C, Hobday A, Thomas L, Evans K (2021). Australia state of the environment 2021: marine, independent report to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment, Commonwealth of
Australia, Canberra, DOI: 10.26194/nvaa-rf92

Wernberg, T., Thomsen, M.S., Baum, J.K….Vanderklift, M.A. (2024). Impacts of climate change on marine foundation species. Annual Review of Marine Science. 16: 247-282.