Collaborative science behind new marine park

THE RECENTLY announced marine park to be established at Horizontal Falls along with Kimberley marine parks at Camden Sound and Eighty Mile Beach, will involve joint management between the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and Indigenous rangers.

Marine scientist Chris Simpson, who is DEC’s Marine Science Program leader, says indigenous rangers will be involved in management and data collection that will go towards research.

“For the next five years, there will be a major program of research and that’ll be where the science comes from to underpin the management of those marine parks,” Dr Simpson says.

“We don’t know how many dugongs are up there, we don’t know if they are … connected to the Shark Bay population or the Indonesian population”—Dr Simpson. Image: Earthrace Conservation

He says this will be funded by a $12million state government allocation, with the addition of about $18million from various institutions such as the CSIRO, Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and universities in the collaborative Western Australian Marine Science Institute (WAMSI).

“We’ve just gone through a 12-18 month planning period to work out what science we should do and where it should go,” he says.

“The major areas of marine species management are … turtles, coastal dolphins, hump back whales, and dugongs. We’ve got a small project on crocodiles and [another] on some of the migratory birds on Eighty Mile Beach.

“The process of planning these projects is to pick the gaps presented by the unique characteristics of the Kimberley.

“For example … the dugongs, turtles and coastal dolphins, there will be genetic work to work out if they are part of a wider population.

“We don’t know how many dugongs are up there, we don’t know if they are … connected to the Shark Bay population or the Indonesian population.

“There will be aerial surveys to work out the distribution and abundance of these species.”

“We’ve also got major studies looking at the oceanography of the area … we [are] looking at remote sensing as a monitoring tool.”

He says about a quarter of the funding is devoted to studying critical habitats such as corals, coastal mangroves, seagrass meadows, sponge beds, soft sediment communities and the like.

“We’ve got a major social program; the human use of the entire Kimberley, [and ] we’ve got an Indigenous program trying to look at Indigenous coastal knowledge,” he says.

Dr Simpson says the studies will include proposed marine parks at North Kimberley and Roebuck Bay.

Dr Simpson will be retiring from DEC in late April after more than 30 years of working in marine science and conservation.

Woman survives crocodile attack in the Kimberley

ABC Updated April 02, 2012 20:04:36 A woman has survived a crocodile attack at Dugong Bay in Western Australia's Kimberley. Tara Hawkes, 23, was swimming from the boat on which she works, the 'True North', when the two-metre croc bit her upper leg yesterday. Dugong Bay is south of Talbot Bay and its famous Horizontal Falls, near Derby. The Department of Environment and Conservation's Peter Carstairs says she was in an area known for crocodiles. "They were swimming in a fresh water pool, not far from the salt water area, and as she was exiting the water, she was grabbed by a crocodile," he said. "She received lacerations and puncture wounds from the attack." Ms Hawkes was taken to Derby Hospital with lacerations and puncture wounds and is in a stable condition. Mr Carstairs says the crocodile is still in the area and he is urging people not to swim there. "The crocodile hasn't been harmed in any way but we'll be looking into seeing what options we can take," he said. "That area's very well known for crocodiles so I think removing people from the environment instead of removing the crocodile from the environment sounds like a good idea."

Croc Spotting

STEPHEN SCOURFIELD, TRAVEL EDITOR, The West Australian

March 23, 2012, 1:09 pm

DE MG Ranger Andy Reid at the helm on the Ord River. Picture: Stephen Scourfield/The West Australian

The Ord River snakes behind, flat and steel-grey in the darkening afternoon - slashed by the white wake of the boat.

Beside it, red bluffs pass, fired by the late sun.

This part of the East Kimberley's upper Ord, between Lake Kununurra and Argyle Dam, is naturally inhabited by Johnson freshwater crocodiles. Johnson's crocodile - Crocodylus johnsoni, the freshwater crocodile, the humble freshie - is not aggressive but not completely harmless.

But there has been a report that there may be a saltie here - the bitey estuarine crocodylus.

Department of Environment and Conservation wildlife officer Len Terry and DEC Miriuwung Gajerrong (MG) ranger Andy Reid are here to check, though Len does admit it's rather like looking for a needle in a haystack, on this long, wide stretch of silty river.

And particularly as tourists who see a big croc might think it's a saltie, and report it, when, in fact, it's not.

With Andy at the boat's controls and Len up on the bow, inside a big frame, the river is gently scoured. If they were to spot a saltie, they might come back with a trap (Len says it generally takes between two and seven weeks for a crocodile to be caught), might noose the snout, or harpoon him with small hooks and haul him in. "We use a lot of duct tape," Len says.

We end up not far from the dam as the light dies and then come back slowly, with Len spotlighting for croc eyes and giving instructions to Andy, who's driving in the dark now, with the beam of his torch.

I, of course, am sightseeing, the other chaps are working.

I'm pleased to have spotted three, maybe four, freshwater crocs and ask Len how many he reckons he saw. "A couple of hundred," he says. Of course, once you've got your eye in …

Back at the office the next day, DEC Kimberley regional manager Daryl Moncrieff asks how we went and I tell him about the interesting and enjoyable evening.

Yes, he says, and he can see potential for DEC croc-spotting trips for the public. "We could have the MG trainees and rangers telling people about the crocs and the country." And maybe another idea is born …

But there has been a report that there may be a saltie here.