The scheduled review of the Commonwealth Macquarie Island Marine Park in 2023 presents the opportunity to both future-proof for future climate changes, and improve the effectiveness of the marine park through: • expanding and upgrading its extent and zoning, • continuing to accommodate the existing, well managed commercial fishery in the waters along the Macquarie Ridge to the north, west and sout. [...] This provides the simplest, most expeditious reserve design that is relatively easy to implement with no significant impact on the existing fishery, as well as the best protection of the unique geological, oceanographic, and ecological values and importance of the entire Macquarie Island region, and the most resilience to ongoing climate change in the M-EEZ and the South-east Marine Region1. [...] Cleeland 1 Six Commonwealth Marine Regions were designated within Australian waters for the purpose of regional marine planning and marine bioregional planning under section 176 of the Commonwealth EPBC Act 8 Options for expanding the Commonwealth marine park Based on the analysis presented in the report, two options emerge for extending the coverage of marine parks in the M-EEZ to meet the CAR pr. [...] The unique marine ecosystem surrounding Macquarie Island 9 Advantages and disadvantages of the options The advantages and disadvantages of each option are discussed in relation to 1) meeting the CAR criteria for marine park design, and 2) protecting the conservation values of the M-EEZ against future developments in fishing and seabed mining. [...] Option 1 also provides the most protection for an uncertain future driven by ocean warming and acidification, noting the added importance of the Macquarie Island province in increasing the resilience of the South-East marine region and the lack of benthic protected areas along the Macquarie Ridge in the adjacent New Zealand EEZ.
- Pages
- 16
- Published in
- Australia
