Executive Summary

of the

East Marine Region
Strategic Regional Assessment Workshop - South

Sydney
18-19 June 2009

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Australian Government is developing a series of Marine Bioregional Plans that will cover all five of Australia’s marine regions. The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage, and the Arts (DEWHA) is taking a consultative approach to development of the Bioregional Plan for the East Marine Region (the EMR). This workshop was the second of three to be held in the Region and it provided experts and stakeholders with the opportunity to provide input to inform the identification of key conservation and heritage priorities for the area of the EMR between Bermagui, NSW in the south and the Queensland/NSW border in the north, of the activities and impacts that occur there, and tools to manage them under the proposed Plan. The workshop was attended by a wide range of stakeholders, although not all stakeholder groups were able to attend. 
Drawing on the conservation values and activities identified in the East Marine Region Bioregional Profile, released by DEWHA in May 2009, the workshop identified a range of habitats, species and activities that participants considered warrant specific consideration in the development of the EMR Bioregional Plan. 
These are summarised below.
Habitats	Species/Species Groups	Activities	
Offshore seamounts	Prey species	Commercial fishing	
Canyons	Medium pelagic species	Recreational fishing	
Shelf edge rocky slope	Large pelagic species	Charter fishing	
Temperate (reef) corals and sponges	Demersal finfish	Marine-based tourism	
Shelf reefs	Deepwater dogfish	Ports and shipping	
Abyssal plains	Orange roughy	Offshore oil and gas	
Continental slope	Eastern gemfish	Sea dumping	
Water column	School shark	Indigenous activities	
	Demersal invertebrates 	Recreational boating	
	Cetaceans	Defence 	
	Great white shark	Marine debris	
	Grey nurse shark	Research	
	Seabirds		
	Sea snakes		
	Marine turtles		

The workshop conducted a broad, qualitative assessment of the relative impact of each activity on each habitat and species/species group. While the workshop did not seek to achieve consensus on issues there were a number of strong themes that emerged:
•	There is a need for the review of some of the data contained in the Bioregional Profile to ensure that it reflects the extent and value of activities in the EMR accurately and that the document provides a sound basis for decision making
•	The relatively coarse nature of the assessment of impacts of activities on habitats and species, the background of participants and the nature of the process should be recognised in interpreting the outcomes of the workshop
•	The assessment did, nevertheless, highlight key areas of uncertainty and provide guidance on the broad activities and species warranting further consideration
•	Existing management/regulations, including existing marine protected areas (MPAs) and green zones, need to take into account when determining the nature and extent of new MPAs
•	There is a need for the marine planning process to be adaptive over time to large scale shifts resulting from climate change and to new information as it becomes available
•	Targeted and comprehensive socio-economic studies need to be conducted when DEWHA announces the Areas for Further Assessment
•	Consultation needs to be conducted with sectors not represented or under-represented at the workshop
In assessing the expected outcomes of the workshop, participants were of the view that their individual expectations had been met to quite a high degree. DEWHA acknowledged the success of the workshop and indicated that it has reinforced its view that early stakeholder consultation was a valuable addition to the marine planning process. DEWHA also emphasised that it was committed to providing opportunities for stakeholder engagement at each future step of the process towards developing a Bioregional Plan and MPAs for the East Marine Region.

Acknowledgements
The active participation of all attendees at the workshop is acknowledged with thanks. Particular acknowledgement is due to Peter Saenger, Alistair Hobday, Bill Gladstone and Daniel Beaver for taking on the roles of facilitator and rapporteur of the four working groups.
Disclaimer: 
This report was prepared for the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts to assist in the marine bioregional planning process for the East Marine Region. The views expressed in this report are not necessarily those of the Australian Government. The Australian Government does not accept responsibility for the contents of this report. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Commonwealth Government does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the report.