David Booth, Professor of Marine Ecology, University of Technology, Sydney
Our report “Creating a World Class Marine Protected Area System: Getting New South Wales Back on Track” was launched in NSW Parliament last week amid bipartisan support and wide community interest. It highlighted the current science behind a marine 30 x 30 push for NSW, why no-take Sanctuaries are vital, why NSW has dropped behind, and what should be done next. You can download the Booth Report here.
Why we need No Take (Sanctuary) zones. Sanctuary (no-take) areas of the ocean are critical to maintaining biodiversity within them, and replenishing the depleted adjacent waters. The science is overwhelming, and some of the world’s best studies have been conducted by NSW scientists right here off our coast, as detailed in the Report. NSW has a marine park system that covers around 25% of the coastal waters, but each park is “multi-use”: that is, there are zones of usage within them, unlike terrestrial National Parks. For instance, “Habitat Protection Zones” allow most recreational fishing to occur within normal fisheries rules (e.g. bag limits) but not commercial fishing. This zone is usually 70-75% of the entire Marine Park. Sanctuary (no-take) zone makes up most of the rest, ie is usually around 20% of the Marine Park area, but is therefore only 7% of the NSW coast, ie 93% is open to fishing. Multiple research studies have demonstrated that the Habitat Protection “Partial protection” zones perform poorly in protecting key species and reinforce the notion that Sanctuary (no take) zones are the gold standard in marine conservation 2-4. They also provide resilience from climate-change impacts1. The benchmark for 30by30 must be no take sanctuary zones.
The sins of the past. After a promising several decades of expanding marine protection, with marine parks established in 5 NSW coastal bioregions (Cape Byron, Solitary Islands, Port Stephens-Great Lakes, Batemans) things faltered in the new century. First, established no take Sanctuary zones across the State were overnight deemed by the then Minister for Fisheries to be open to fishing (the “amnesty”) in 2013 and 2019. A proposed Sydney Marne Park was scrapped despite a public consultation period, apparently under the duress of the Shooters and Fisher’s party. Creating and siting the Sanctuary zones needs to be done using best practise science and the CAR system (Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative) plus with an understanding of the spatial connectivity of oceans where larvae can disperse down-current long distances (hence the need for marine park networks). Instead, NSW uses a flawed TARA (Threat and Risk Assessment) approach.
Where to from here? The report recommends a number of strategies to get things back on track, towards 30% no take. First, the Marine Parks unit (administration and the key scientists) needs to be housed in the Department of the Environment and not in Primary Industries, to allow a coordinated and open approach to conserving our natural areas. In the last few years, ocean citizen science has come of age, and there are many divers, snorkellers and other ocean lovers that act as the eyes on the sea, and help educate on ocean values and rules. There is a strong role for the leadership of our Indigenous ocean stewards to lead the way in no take ocean protection. Small coastal no take areas have been shown to be highly effective, such as Sydney’s Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, which has extraordinary biodiversity and more/bigger fish, a mecca for local and tourist snorkellers and divers. Such small, well enforced areas punch above their weight in marine conservation, and already other areas want to follow suit, such as Bongin Bongin at Mona Vale and Parsley Bay in outer Sydney Harbour.
The NSW coastal seas support thousands of fish species and amazing biodiversity from coral habitats to cool temperate giant kelps, with growing attraction for ecotourists, but we need to act now to maximise future benefits, we all need to be ocean stewards!
References:
1: Bates, A.E., Stuart-Smith, R.D., Barrett, N.S. and Edgar, G.J. (2017). Biological interactions both facilitate and resist climate-related functional change in temperate reef communities. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1856), p.20170484. doi:https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0484 .
2: Coleman, M.A., Bates, A.E., Stuart-Smith, R.D., Malcolm, H.A., Harasti, D., Jordan, A., Knott, N.A., Edgar, G.J. and Kelaher, B.P. (2015). Functional traits reveal early responses in marine reserves following protection from fishing. Diversity and Distributions, 21(8), pp.876–887. doi:
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3: Malcolm, H.A., Williams, J., Schultz, A.L., Neilson, J., Johnstone, N., Knott, N.A., Harasti, D., Coleman, M.A. and Jordan, A. (2018). Targeted fishes are larger and more abundant in ‘no-take’ areas in a subtropical marine park. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 212, pp.118–127. doi:
4: Turnbull, J.W., Shah Esmaeili, Y., Clark, G.F., Figueira, W.F., Johnston, E.L. and Ferrari, R. (2018). Key drivers of effectiveness in small marine protected areas. Biodiversity and Conservation, 27(9), pp.2217–2242. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1532-z