Issues

• Water Quality in Tasmanian Estuaries
• Discharges to Estuaries
• Algal Blooms

• Ecological Condition of Coastal, Estuarine and Marine Habitats
• Threatened Species and Communities
• Marine Pests and Diseases
• Marine and Estuarine Protected Areas

• Wild Fisheries
• Marine Farming

• Adapting Coastal Settlements to Climate Change

At a glance

The issue

The state of Tasmania's coastal, estuarine and marine biological communities (assemblages of plants and/or animals) and their species is important for their intrinsic value, and because the economic and social wealth of Tasmania is inextricably linked to its natural resource base.

The Threatened Species and Communities Issue Report addresses species that live predominantly on land that is strongly influenced by the sea (such as the offshore islands). It also addresses species that live predominantly at sea but are dependent on the land for a specific part of their life cycle, such as the sub-Antarctic fur seal or the wandering albatross. There are also a number of totally marine species that live their entire lives in the salty waters of the estuaries and the sea, including species such as the spotted handfish and the Port Davey skate. The Biodiversity Chapter provides further information, particularly on terrestrial threatened species and communities in Tasmania.

This 'At a glance' section provides an overview of the issue of threatened species and communities in the coastal, estuarine and marine environment. More detailed information and references are contained in the Threatened Species and Communities Issue Report. Indicators are included that present data on threatened species, marine protected areas, and the extent and condition of coastal, estuarine and marine habitats (see Indicators section).

Coastal, estuarine and marine recommendations relevant to Threatened Species and Communities include: Integrated Management of Catchments, Coasts and Estuaries and Conservation and Management of Coastal and Marine Biodiversity. Recommendations from the biodiversity chapter that are also relevant include Threatened Species and Ecological Communities and Native Vegetation.

Favourable news

• The legislative and strategic framework exists in Tasmania to provide for improved levels of protection for threatened species and communities in coastal and marine environments. This policy and legislative context is outlined in more detail in the Biodiversity Chapter, and broadly includes the following initiatives:
   
• The Threatened Species Strategy (DPIWE 2000).
   
• Tasmania's Nature Conservation Strategy was developed by the State Biodiversity Committee in 2001 (download Tasmania's Nature Conservation Strategy). The State Government has responded to the each of the recommendations in the Strategy (download the State Government response).
   
• Conservation reserves on freehold land are being established, mostly through negotiation with landowners of convenants on title to secure conservation values in perpetuity. This is playing a role in increasing the comprehensiveness, adequacy and representativeness of the reserve system. Priority flora and fauna species under these programs include coastal species. The Protected Areas on Private Land Program is also being applied to coastal flora and fauna priorities and landforms.
   
• The Australian Government's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 has been used in the assessment of a number of, in particular, infrastructure development projects affecting threatened species that may occur in coastal or marine environments (e.g. Duke Energy Pipeline and wind farms in north west and north east Tasmania). The determination of these developments as 'controlled actions' under the Act led to a more integrated assessment of impacts designed to satisfy State and Australian Government requirements.
   
• A commitment to a comprehensive, adequate and representative marine reserve system has been established through the Tasmanian Marine Protected Areas Strategy (DPIWE 2000 and DPIWE 2001).
   
• The fishing industries have made progress by seeking accreditation for the export fisheries of Abalone, Rock Lobster and Giant Crab. To obtain an export licence, marine wild fisheries are now required to report, among other things, levels of by-catch, sustainability and interactions with threatened species. It is expected that all other Tasmanian fisheries will adopt the new reporting standards.
   
• Since 1996, one new Marine Protected Area has been declared around Macquarie Island, which is located in the Southern Ocean 1,500 km south-east of Tasmania. This reserve has increased the area of marine protection in Tasmanian waters by 81,472 ha and is the largest 'no take' marine reserve in the world when combined with the adjacent Australian Government marine reserve.
   
• While the spotted handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) is close to extinction, some good news is emerging. The steady decline in numbers in one of the three known colonies of the spotted handfish has halted. Numbers are now back to the population levels recorded at the start of monitoring. The reversal is attributed to improved spawning habitat following a local decline in northern Pacific seastar numbers and the addition of artificial spawning aids. Numbers in the other two colonies remain steady and the total population is estimated to be 1,000.
   
• The Threatened Species Unit reports there is improved awareness of the plight of shorebirds, particularly breeding and migratory birds.
   
• The eradication of feral cats from Macquarie Island has led to an improved outlook for nesting seabirds on the Island. Two years have passed since the last cat sighting, which is the period required for officially declaring the program a success. It took 30 years to achieve this result.
   
• The population of breeding wandering albatross on Macquarie Island remain stable, but numbers are still few with only 10 pairs a year.
   
• While the orange-bellied parrot remains close to extinction, some favourable news in the face of this bleak prospect is that the captive breeding program is operating at maximum capacity and there is a new release site at Birches Inlet. Birds bred in captivity and released are successfully returning and breeding at Birches Inlet and Melaleuca.
   
• Stuart's heath (Epacris stuartii) is a coastal plant that has only one small natural population on Southport Bluff, which is under threat from high fire frequencies and an introduced fungal pest, Phytopthora cinnamomi. Recent human intervention has seen a second small group of the plants successfully established in a nearby location that is better protected from impacts.
   

Unfavourable news

• Currently, the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 lists 3 coastal, estuarine and marine species as extinct, 26 as endangered, 18 as vulnerable and 11 as rare. Eight species are considered to have become more threatened since the last SoE Report, either through increased knowledge or increased threats. There are 10 new coastal, estuarine and marine species listed as threatened under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 since the last SoE Report in 1997. However, this may sometimes be due to changes in knowledge rather than actual change in status. For example, in 1995 no algae were listed as threatened. In 2000, there was one species listed: Cystoseira trinodis, a brown marine algae. Previously its southern most known location had been Victor Harbour, South Australia. It was discovered in Tasmania in 1999 at Blackmans Bay, which is located between Dunalley and Marion Bay on the east coast of Tasmania. It was listed as threatened due to its restricted distribution and the possible impacts from aquaculture (e.g. oyster farming).
   
• Marine species are often restricted to long narrow bands that are vulnerable to local impacts and tend to give a false impression of the overall extent of some species. For example, Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) may seem to be abundant around south-eastern Tasmania but a recent estimate of its total extent is about 770 ha, or 7 km². Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are one way of increasing protection for threatened species. However, none of Tasmania's existing MPAs are specifically designed to protect threatened species.
   
• There are a number of coastal plant species that are threatened. An example of a species with a restricted distribution is the Swamp Eyebright (Euphrasia gibbsiae subsp psilantherea). This is a buttongrass heath, which only exists in a single small patch near Black Swan Lagoon, Recherche Bay. Recreational 4-wheel driving has been identified as one of the threats to this species.
   
• There is no capacity to recognise threatened communities under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995, though some movement towards that goal is beginning.
   

Uncertain news

• The state of knowledge about Tasmania's threatened species including their habits, distribution, numbers and ecological relationships is poor. Some species are not yet scientifically described, and significant ecological changes may have resulted in an unknown number of communities being lost.
   
• The evidence that has emerged of catastrophic losses of shell (mollusc) species over the past 150 years in shallow, sheltered estuarine waters of the south-east (Samson & Edgar 2001), highlights the uncertainty relating to events that have occurred over long periods of time as well as changes that continue today. These losses were previously undetected.
   
• Currently, the condition of Tasmanian saltmarshes and coastal wetlands species and communities is not well known.
   

• Issue Report - continued in depth