- 80,000 square kilometres of new marine sanctuaries announced for Australia's stressed South-east marine region
- The newly expanded marine park around Australia's sub-Antarctic territory of Macquarie Island to be finalised
- New oil and gas titles, including seismic blasting, to be banned from all South-east marine parks
- An existing marine sanctuary to be opened up to commercial tuna longlining
The final South-east Marine Park Network Management Plan, which federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek tabled in parliament today, includes 11 needed new marine sanctuary areas for Australia's stressed south-eastern waters, the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) said.
The South-east marine region covers the oceans beyond state coastal waters, from 5.5 kilometres offshore to the edge of Australia's exclusive economic zone 370 km offshore. The South-east stretches from the NSW far south coast, through Bass Strait to Kangaroo Island, and around Tasmania. It also includes the Macquarie Island Marine Park, halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica, which was added to the network in 2013. The management plan is the product of a statutory review that occurs every 10 years.
AMCS Protected Areas Manager Adele Pedder said: "This is a good day for marine life in Australia's South-east marine region, but there's still work to be done.
"The final plans include 11 new marine sanctuary areas that will upgrade 80,821 square kilometres of existing marine parks into marine sanctuaries. This includes nearly doubling marine sanctuary protection for high conservation continental shelf habitat.
"The plan also finalises an expansion to the sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island Marine Park, which was tripled in size to an area larger than Germany in 2023.
"Today's final plan comes after two rounds of public and stakeholder consultations which, combined, included more than 32,000 submissions to the Australian Government in support of increased protections for South-east marine life.
"South-east Australia's waters contain some of the richest, most diverse life on our planet. Three great oceans - the Pacific, Indian and Southern oceans - combine to create an upwelling of deep, nutrient-rich water that turbocharges marine life in the region.
"Sadly, the South-east is also a global hotspot for warming oceans and is the most intensely exploited region of Australia's oceans.
"These new protections will help safeguard seamounts, little penguins, endangered pygmy blue whale habitats, ancient black corals, deep-sea sharks, underwater canyons as deep as America's Grand Canyon, important habitat for the endangered shy albatross, southern bluefin tuna, aggregations of Port Jackson sharks, and the fragile ecosystems of the Great Southern Reef such as golden kelp forests.
"All new oil and gas, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and seismic blasting titles will be banned from every marine park in the region.
Most Australians are appalled to hear that marine parks can still allow destructive activities such as seismic blasting, drilling for fossil fuels and industrial fishing.
"Unfortunately, the final plan also confirms that nearly 11,000 square kilometres of a marine sanctuary will be downgraded to allow access for commercial tuna longlining in the Flinders Marine Park. With our oceans' health in serious decline, we need to be expanding marine sanctuaries, not rolling them back."
"The federal government has also missed the opportunity to better protect other biodiverse and productive habitats. Apollo, East Gippsland and Boags Marine Parks still have no marine sanctuaries.
