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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Tasmania Together

Related Issue Reports

Objective

To better provide for the conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity.

Recommendation

It is recommended that:

• information is compiled on the Statewide extent of coastal, estuarine and marine habitats, species and ecosystems, their conservation status, commercial and recreational resources and productivity (this information is required to support the assessment and establishment of a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of marine protected areas at a Statewide scale);
   
• information gained from these initiatives would be made available through on-line systems such as Seamap, the Tasmanian Node of the Australian Coastal Atlas, and The Land Information System Tasmania (LIST);
   
• management plans for existing and newly proclaimed Marine Protected Areas are prepared and implemented, taking into account the integrated management of catchments, coasts and estuaries (see recommendation);
   
• habitat management plans are implemented for coastal, estuarine and marine waters, as prescribed under Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995;
   
• the critical conservation role of Tasmania's offshore islands is recognised, and pest impacts and other threatening processes are managed on these islands; and
   
• up-to-date information is developed, maintained and disseminated on the distribution of, and management prescriptions for, threatened species and ecological communities.
   

Key issues

Supporting information for this recommendation is provided in the Coastal, Estuarine and Marine Chapter. Links to each of the related Issue Reports are provided below and in the table of related issues. Some key findings from the 'At a glance' sections include the following.

• Marine and Estuarine Protected Areas: While there is progress on establishing a Marine Protected Area system, Tasmania (excluding Macquarie Island) has only four marine protected areas with a total area of 1,416 ha (0.06%) of coastal waters currently protected within marine protected areas. Three of Tasmania's nine marine bioregions have reserves. Estuaries have the lowest levels of protection. There are no fully protected estuaries out of the 111 present in Tasmania. Parts of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel have been protected, including the areas at Tinderbox (52 ha) and Ninepin Point (63 ha).
   
• There are over 300 islands and many thousands of islets surrounding mainland Tasmania. Many of these off-shore islands have been protected by their remoteness and inaccessibility. Being discrete ecosystems predominantly free from human interference, they may provide baseline information on the environment and evolutionary processes, harbour unique species and ecosystems (e.g. Maatsuyker Island's Westringia and Blandfordia species), and serve as refuges and sites for translocation of threatened species (e.g. should the European red fox decimate small mammals on mainland Tasmania).
   
• Threatened Species and Communities: The Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 lists three coastal, estuarine and marine animal 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 an increase in actual threat levels or new knowledge). There have been 10 new coastal, estuarine and marine animal species listed as threatened under the Act since the last SoE Report (1997). 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.
   
• Ecological Condition of Coastal, Estuarine and Marine Habitats: Losses of shell (molluscan) species over the past 150 years in the shallow, sheltered estuarine waters of the south-east have been documented (Samson & Edgar 2001). The losses were previously undetected, which highlights the risk of the 'sliding baseline syndrome' where changes that occur over generations are not noticed and the new environmental conditions are thought of as 'normal' (Dayton et al. 1998). Many marine species are restricted to long narrow bands that are highly vulnerable to local impacts. For example, seagrasses and giant kelp typically only occur in waters between 1 and 20 metres deep.
   

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Some of the key programs and initiatives over the last five years include the following:

• The Tasmanian Marine Protected Areas Strategy (DPIWE 2000) was established. The State Government is committed to a comprehensive adequate and representative marine protected area (MPA) system, which aims to include at least 'some highly protected areas (International Union for the Conservation of Nature Categories I and II) in each bioregion'.
   
• In August 2000, a new Marine Protected Area was declared around Macquarie Island, which is located in the Southern Ocean 1,500 km south-east of Tasmania.
   
• In July 2003, the Resource Planning and Development Commission submitted the final recommendations report to the minister for new Marine Protected Areas to be established at Port Davey/ Bathurst Channel in south-west Tasmania and at the Kent Group of Islands in Bass Strait.
   
• Improved understanding of reservation priorities has been provided through the preparation of comprehensive Statewide reports on the type, condition and conservation significance of Tasmania's estuaries (Edgar et al. 1999, Murphy et al. 2003).
   
• The Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute Seamap Tasmania marine habitat mapping program is also enhancing the identification and selection of marine protected areas. The Seamap Tasmania program produces maps showing the seabed in about nine categories of habitat type with supporting images and video. So far, the program has covered over 1,800 km, including the entire Bruny IMCRA Bioregion, the Tasmanian portion of the Twofold IMCRA Bioregion and part of the Freycinet IMCRA Bioregion. Some limited mapping has also been conducted within the Davey IMCRA Bioregion.
   
• Parks and Wildlife Management Plans for 88 offshore islands are drafted and going through the approval process.
   

Tasmania Together

Relevant Tasmania Together goals and standards for 'Coastal, Estuarine and Marine' are listed in the linked file. The Tasmania Together Progress Board reported on progress toward targets for benchmarks set (Tasmania Together Progress Board 2003). Indicators, targets and baseline data are available in the latest Progress Report June 2003. Further information, including progress report updates, is available from Tasmania Together.

Related Issue Reports