Camden Sound Marine Park announced

Portfolio: Premier, Environment

• Premier and Environment Minister announce major marine sanctuary
• Camden Sound Marine Park to be one of WA’s biggest
• Park will protect State’s most important humpback whale calving area

Thousands of humpback whales that annually migrate along the west coast will have increased protection within a new Kimberley marine park to be created by the State Government.

Premier Colin Barnett and Environment Minister Bill Marmion today announced the Government’s decision to create Camden Sound Marine Park, about 300km north-east of Broome.

“Camden Sound, covering nearly 7,000 square kilometres, is the first of four new marine parks to be created under the $63million Kimberley Science and Conservation Strategy.  Other parks will be created at Eighty Mile Beach, Roebuck Bay and the North Kimberley,” Mr Barnett said.

“Creating this marine park reaffirms our election commitment to protect this significant and biologically important region.

“Camden Sound is internationally recognised as the biggest calving area for humpback whales in the southern hemisphere with more than 1,000 humpbacks found there during the calving season.

“They are part of the biggest population of humpback whales in the world - numbering almost 30,000 - that migrate from Antarctica each year to give birth in the waters off the north of our State.”

Mr Marmion said a special purpose zone would be created covering about 1,670 square kilometres to enhance protection of the humpback whale calving grounds.

“This zone will require vessels to remain at least 500m from humpback mothers and calves,” Mr Marmion said.

“There will also be two sanctuary zones comprising about 20 per cent of the marine park area - more than 1,300 square kilometres - around Champagny Islands and Montgomery Reef, which is exposed on the outgoing tide to reveal a series of awe-inspiring waterfalls.

“Montgomery Reef sanctuary zone, at 761 square kilometres, will become the biggest sanctuary zone in the WA marine park system.

“We have also included a small general use zone covering the frequently visited area known as ‘The River’ at Montgomery Reef.  This will allow some fishing and other activities to continue in this area.

“The marine park’s zoning scheme will help protect a unique marine environment, while allowing recreational and commercial fishing as well as aquaculture and pearling to occur.”

For the first time ever in Western Australia, there will be a zone which provides for a ‘wilderness’ fishing experience where recreational fishers (including charter boats) must either catch and release or eat their catch before leaving the zone.  Commercial fishing and other commercial activities will not be permitted nor will spearfishing.

Pearling operations will be recognised in a designated zone and some commercial fishing operations will phased out, with 48 per cent of the marine park closed to commercial trawl fishing and 23 per cent closed to all forms of commercial fishing.  If appropriate, compensation will be paid to affected fishing operations.

Camden Sound Marine Park will contain a range of coral reef communities at Wildcat Reef and in the vicinity of Champagny and Augustus islands.

The marine park will also be home to seagrass and macroalgal communities, extensive mangrove forests of the St George Basin and lower Prince Regent River, tidal flats, and a habitat for dugong, sawfish and dolphins.

The marine park will be jointly managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation and the traditional owners, including the Dambimangari and Uunguu people.

The Government has committed $10million over four years to protecting and managing Camden Sound Marine Park, with ongoing funding of $2.3million a year from 2015-16.

The marine park will be created by mid-2012 followed by gazettal of the zone boundaries later in the year.

      Fact File

• Camden Sound marine park will have 2 sanctuary zones, 3 special purpose zones and 4 general use zones
• The marine park is one of 4 being created in WA’s Kimberley region under the Kimberley Science and Conservation Strategy
• Final management plan for Camden Sound Marine Park to be released later this year

Premier’s office - 6552 5000

Environment Minister’s office - 6552 6800

Marine reserves not enough: report

FLIP PRIOR, The West Australian

November 10, 2011, 5:40 pm

The Federal Government's proposed marine reserves in WA's north-west do not go far enough to protect cetacean species including humpback whales and snub-nosed dolphins, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to threats from the growing oil and gas industry, a new report claims.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare report, compiled by marine scientists, described the region's waters extending from Kalbarri up to the WA-NT border as the "last great whale haven" in Australia, which include the world's largest humpback whale population.

The report recorded 32 cetacean species as living in or migrating to the area, but just four - the snubfin dolphin, Indo-Pacific humpback and bottlenose dolphins and humpback whale - are recognised in the Federal Government's proposed bioregional plan.

With their highly refined acoustic senses, cetaceans are vulnerable to human-generated noise pollution from dredging, construction, explosions and seismic surveys and drilling, as well as fisheries, shipping and habitat degradation.

The Government's marine reserves offered little protection to the animals when "vast tracts" of ocean were being handed over to oil and gas companies for exploitation, the report said.

Areas of greatest risk identified by the report included the Exmouth Gulf, Ningaloo Reef, Barrow Island, Quondong Point and James Price Point, Browse Island, Scott Reef and Ashmore Reef.

Environs Kimberley spokesman Martin Pritchard said less than one per cent of the north-west marine area was protected.

"We are really concerned that the Federal Government will cave into the demands of the oil and gas industry rather than protect marine life up here," he said.

"In their draft plan, they could have taken the opportunity to put in a reserve adjoining the proposed State Government North Kimberley marine park proposal - but they haven't."

There was only one highly protected area within the Kimberley Marine Reserve, placed specifically to protect the humpback whale calving grounds.

Kimberley whale expert Richard Costin said the report indicated that Commonwealth and State marine reserves systems showed a lack of coordination and did not actually provide any meaningful protection for cetaceans.

"The classic example, of course, is the proposed Camden Sound marine park, which has only a very small sanctuary area set aside for the humpback whales," he said.

"That hasn't continued on into Commonwealth waters to probably the most important area that runs across to Adele Island through the outer shoals and down to Eco Beach.

"All the boundaries for the proposed marine parks have done is provide certainty for access to the oil and gas industry."

IFAW campaigns officer Matthew Collis said the north-west waters were globally environmentally significant with incredible diversity of whales and dolphins and needed stronger protection and more research to be carried out.

"Of the proposed reserves, only three are highly protected and two are far offshore," Mr Collis said. "Even that highly protected area (in the Kimberley) doesn't cover all the areas in which the humpback whales breed and calve."

Environment Minister Bill Marmion said State Government was committed to expanding the marine parks system in WA, including the four proposed in Camden Sound, Eighty Mile Beach, Roebuck Bay and North Kimberley.

He said the State and Commonwealth Governments had agreed to work collaboratively in planning processes and provide complementary conservation measures across jurisdictional boundaries wherever possible.

However, there was no overlap between marine park and reserve proposals in Commonwealth waters, and those in State waters, he said