Contemporary Management

'Surfers paddle over it, anglers fish off it, almost 70 percent of Australians live within 50 km of it and it contributes $10 billion a year to the Australian Economy. Yet few of us have heard of it – indeed until recently it didn’t even have a name. ‘

Source: Australia’s Great Reef in the South, Australian Geographic July 2017

Unknown and unappreciated

Despite bordering 78% of coastal electorates and 50% of all rural and regional electorates in Australia, the now Great Southern Reef was the perfect example of ‘out of sight, out of mind’.

A lack of knowledge has hindered investment in research and protection. Compared to tropical marine ecosystems in Australia, temperate marine ecosystems have only received a small portion of research funding. For example, between 2015 and 2021 funding from the Australian Research Council for temperate reef research was just 21% of coral reef funding (AU$6.5 vs AU$29.6 million) despite temperate ecosystems having higher economic value and the majority of Australia’s commercial fisheries.

Gaining an identity

The identity Great Southern Reef was first used by a group of scientists in 2016 to give an identity to interconnected rocky reefs at a time when the loss of kelp forests was becoming more common in Australia and overseas. The GSR identity has been adopted by the scientific community in Australia and increasingly overseas. It was named a Mission Blue Hope Spot in 2019 in recognition of the values of the reef and to promote the need for increased protection.

“People protect what they love, and they love what they understand. We want to help everyone recognize the GSR’s importance, and to wholeheartedly understand what a special place we have here.”

Sahira Bell,

https://mission-blue.org/2019/12/the-great-southern-reef-of-australia-honored-as-new-hope-spot/

At a global scale large IGO’s, NGO’s and research organisations call for environmental protection and management and the conservation of species, habitats and ecosystems. Examples include the IUCN, Mission Blue, Marine Conservation Institute (Blue Parks initiative), and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). International agreements aim to galvanise countries to act.

Three recent actions link directly to the future of the GSR.

• Paris Agreement - an international treaty on climate change, adopted in 2015 to tackle climate change and its negative impacts.

• The UN Sustainable Development Goals - 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all" agreed to by world leaders in 2015. Goal 14 is Life Under Water. Goal 13 is Action to combat climate change and its impacts.

• UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration - focuses attention on taking action to protect and restore degraded ecosystems https://www.decadeonrestoration.org

International action has the potential to help protect Great Southern Reef kelp forests.

Management for the GSR can be categorised by the intent of the strategy. These include

- Protection and Regulation

- Restoration

- Community action / Citizen Science

- Education

- Harvesting and / or culling pest species

a. LEGISLATION - State / Commonwealth

Protection for the natural and cultural values of the Great Southern Reef is provided by state and Commonwealth legislation.

Examples of laws relevant to protecting the GSR include:

• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) - to protect and manage important flora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places of national environmental significance.

• The Fisheries Management Act 1994 (NSW) - applies to all NSW coastal waters and requires management plans and regulations for all fisheries such as permits, catch limits, seasonal restrictions and species or habitat protection.

• The Fisheries Management Act 1991 sets out responsibilities for ecologically sustainable development in fisheries.

• Marine Estate Management Legislation 2015 (NSW) controls the establishment of Marine Parks for conserving biological diversity, ecosystem functioning in the marine estate, and its’ management and use.

The Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery is managed by Australian Fisheries Management Authority, under the Fisheries Management Act 1991. To manage the catch of Southern Bluefin Tuna, AFMA uses zones. Southern Bluefin Tuna are an important apex predator on the GSR. Young tuna travel south in the Leeuwin Current along the reef in Western Australia and congregate in the Great Australian Bight to feed in summer.

“Southern Bluefin Tuna gain about 80-90% of their annual growth as they feed for four months along the Great Southern Reef. This reef system is vital to the nourishment and success of the species.”

Kirsten Rough, Tuna Researcher & Fisher, Port Lincoln,SA

Great Southern Reef at https://greatsouthernreef.com/southern-bluefin-tuna

b. MARINE PROTECTED AREAS (MPA)

Marine protected areas are a system of parks and reserves established by governments to protect and manage large marine environments.

Two of the main tools used to manage marine parks are zoning and allowing multiple uses.

In SW Western Australia three State and Commonwealth Marine Parks work together to protect the GSR.

The illustration on the right shows the multiple uses to be managed in Geographe Marine Park (C'wealth)

READ about the THREE Marine Parks protecting the coast of Western Australia.

Restoration programs are used where kelp forests have been degraded or lost. Programs in NSW, Tasmania and Western Astralia are using different methods to restore lost kelp forests. ( See management case studies)

There is discussion by scientists about going beyond restoring what was there before (Restore or Revive) to improving the species (Reinforce) or even introducing or creating new species (Replace or Redefine) such as those resilient to warmer temperatures.

The idea of future proofing sections of kelp forest at greatest threat from climate change raises bioethical issues around using genetic engineering to save species and ecosystems.

Effective restoration is based on scientific research, data collection and monitoring. Organisations e.g. Australian universities and research facilities such as Sydney Institute of Marine Science are researching kelp forests and other reef habitats and species and conducting management trials.

Many management activities at a local scale depend on the work of concerned volunteers. Often these used in research trials such as Operation Crayweed that was conducted at 11 locations along the Sydney coastline.

Citizen Science activities provide opportunities for community members to collect valuable data through surveys and Apps. Kelp Tracker is an App being used in Tasmania to locate remnant areas of Giant Kelp that could be used for future kelp forest restoration.

Reef Life Survey (RLS) is a large team of citizen scientist SCUBA divers using the same methods to record species rocky and coral reefs around the world, including the Great Southern Reef. The aim is to makes the underwater world visible – to scientists, governments, managers, artists and anyone interested. https://reeflifesurvey.com

Education is an essential component in the protection of kelp forests by making the sub tidal environments visible and by developing an appreciation of their value.

Raising awareness through community events, school programs, social media, books, documentaries and recognition - such being a Mission Blue Hope Spot - are increasing knowledge, understanding and care.

The recent publication of illustrated children's books about marine environments, including 'With a little kelp from our friends' by Mathew Bate and The Hidden Forest by Jeannie Baker are taking environmental education to younger audiences.

To restore kelp forests damaged by invasive species such as sea urchins one viable option is to commercially harvest species. The benefits of harvesting sea urchins include:

- slowing the spread or urchins and restoring degraded kelp forests.

- Protect the biodiversity that other fishermen rely on, particularly abalone.

Tasmania has successfully expanded the commercial fishing of Long Spined Sea Urchins into a large-scale operation with 400 tonnes now harvested each year.

In NSW, native urchins are decimating kelp forests along the south coast where overfishing of predators and climate change have caused an increase in urchin numbers. Scientists are calling for changes to fishing regulations and incentives to expand commercial harvesting.

Additional resources on Marine Protected Areas

The following documents provide good criteria for assessing the effectiveness of MPA's

Scientists push to raise awareness of Great Southern Reef

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-19/great-southern-reef-needs-more-attention-scientists-say/12227998

Landline

https://www.abc.net.au/landline/gamay-rangers:-indigenous-rangers-share-unique/12811904

La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council

www.laperouse.org.au

Heritage NSW

https://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/about-our-heritage/maritime/

The Great Southern Reef of Australia honoured as new hope spot

https://mission-blue.org/2019/12/the-great-southern-reef-of-australia-honored-as-new-hope-spot/

New ocean Hope Spots, vetted by IUCN and Mission Blue, to ignite global support for ocean protection

https://www.iucn.org/news/secretariat/201609/new-ocean-hope-spots-vetted-iucn-and-mission-blue-ignite-global-support-ocean-protection

UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration

https://www.decadeonrestoration.org

Arrawarra Fact Sheets

http://www.arrawarraculture.com.au/fact_sheets/index.html

Paris Climate Agreement in Australia

https://www.industry.gov.au/policies-and-initiatives/australias-climate-change-strategies/international-climate-change-commitments

Sea urchin harvest could limit spread of ‘barrens’

https://www.naroomanewsonline.com.au/story/5173459/sea-urchin-harvest-could-limit-spread-of-barrens/

ABC Media report (I don’t know of you can shorten this url)

‘Scientists call for swift action to save South Coast reefs, with commercial sea urchin fishing one solution’ June 2021 at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-18/south-coast-sea-urchin-barren-concerns/100225040?utm_medium=social&utm_content=sf246902812&utm_campaign=abc_sydney&utm_source=m.facebook.com&sf246902812=1&fbclid=IwAR20QDpAWL87VNR1_uDwLZ6I5eYRGNXVojYbdffIW5c9BrD7t5mcICHJlHQ

Scourge of NSW reefs are best served well done

https://www.smh.com.au/environment/scourge-of-nsw-reefs-are-best-served-well-done-20180203-h0t2zs.html