Proposed south coast marine park

Southern right whales at Point Ann, Fitzgerald River National Park. Photo by Peter Nicholas/DBCA

A marine park on the south coast of Western Australia is proposed as part of the State Government’s Plan for Our Parks.

Scientific studies have shown the marine biodiversity of south coast state waters is globally significant. The south coast marine environment supports vast kelp forests and extensive rhodolith beds, productive reefs and islands, marine species found nowhere else such as the ruby sea dragon, southern right whale nursery areas, seal and sea lion colonies and important fisheries.

The proposed marine park is culturally important to and will be jointly managed with the area’s Traditional Owners, who are partners in the planning process.

The proposed park extends from Bremer Bay east to the South Australian border, and offshore to the limit of State waters. Indicative boundaries for the proposed park are being developed in consultation with Traditional Owners, stakeholders and other community members.

An indicative management plan and zoning scheme was released for public comment from February 16 to June 16 2024 and will allow for sustainable commercial and recreational activities such as fishing, tourism, diving and boating. No take areas have been proposed for areas of diverse habitats of high ecological importance, but their boundaries have been designed to minimise impact on recreational and commercial fishers as much as possible, as the area’s great value to fisheries is recognised.

Find out more about the proposed park’s values and scientific knowledge of the area:

Local community input and knowledge is crucial to planning for the proposed marine parks.

Consultation to date

DBCA with the Traditional Owners of the four proposed marine parks and DPIRD, has undertaken a rigorous process of engaging with key stakeholders, including commercial and recreational fishers, community members and marine scientists. This has involved:

The establishment of a Community Reference Committee (CRC) that met six times over the 18 months up to March 2023. Following a request from members, the final CRC meeting was deferred for an additional month to allow stakeholders, including fishers, more time to consider unresolved matters.
10 different Sector Advisory Groups (SAGs) comprising representatives of key stakeholder groups involved in activities within the proposed marine park.
Separate to the CRC process, DBCA also conducted 31 individual meetings in Albany, Hopetoun, Esperance, and Perth with commercial fishers and seven with recreational fishers. Importantly, every commercial fishing business with a license in the south coast was contacted and each given the opportunity to meet 1:1 with DBCA.
DBCA and DPIRD representatives have met with a range of stakeholders including the Shire of Esperance and fishing peak bodies.

Sector Advisory Groups

Representatives from a range of community and industry groups (listed below) have provided sector-specific advice to the planning team, Traditional Owners and the Community Reference Committee.

Sector

Chair

Tourism

Simon Latchford

simon.latchford@goldenoutback.com

Recreational Fishing

Matt Gillett

matt@recfishwest.org.au

Commercial Fish

Darryl Hockey

ceo@wafic.org.au

Abalone