Abstract: |
This project is collation of data from several reef biodiversity surveys for Marine Protected Area (MPA) baseline monitoring and NRM studies by University of Tasmania. While the current focus of MPA planning and implementation is the conservation of biodiversity, MPAs potentially provide a wide range of important functions. These include:
1. acting as baseline reference areas for assessing the success of current conservation and fisheries management strategies in coastal ecosystems
2. assisting fisheries management through protection of spawner biomass, conservation of critical habitats
3. acting as research areas, including for studies not possible elsewhere.
In order to properly determine whether changes observed within MPAs are the result of protection rather than natural variation in space and time, scientifically-credible baseline surveys within and adjacent to proposed MPAs are needed prior to protection from fishing, with subsequent surveys at biologically-meaningful time intervals
This project, coordinated by the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, has so far involved baseline and MPA surveys in:
Jervis Bay (NSW),
Wilsons Promontory (Vic),
Port Phillip Heads (Vic),
Investigator Strait (SA),
Jurien Bay (WA),
Maria Island (Tas),
Tinderbox (Tas),
Kent Group (Tas),
Port Davey (Tas),
Bicheno (Tas) and
Ninepin Point (Tas).
All surveys have involved fished reference sites and used similar methodology, allowing direct comparison of results between differing locations, designs and management strategies.
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