Establishment of a long-term monitoring program for the proposed Dampier Archipelago Marine Park

Brief description

The proposed Dampier Archipelago Marine Park and Regnard Marine Management Area (DAMPA) are located off the north-west coast of Western Australia approximately 1,650 km north of Perth and lie in the Pilbara Nearshore (PIN) marine bioregion. The areas comprise a wide range of marine habitats that support diverse marine biota, including more than 736 fish species and 230 scleractinian coral species, making the Dampier Archipelago the second most diverse site in Western Australia for hard corals. The marine environment of the area has considerable regional ecological and social conservation significance and is subject to increasing human impacts, including offshore oil and gas production and associated port development. The region from Cape Preston to Cape Lambert, encompassing the Dampier Archipelago, is subject to a range of commercial and recreational fishing activities.

If trends in resource condition over time due to management are to be detected, baseline resource condition before the establishment of the DAMPA needs to be determined. The proposed project will directly address many of DEC's research and monitoring responsibilities by establishing a scientifically robust long-term monitoring program for the DAMPA.

This project will:
a) provide before zoning enforcement data on fish abundance and length and benthic cover,
b) determine historical long-term trends in benthic cover (and possibly fish abundance depending on comparability of methods) by establishing sites in close proximity to where previous studies have been undertaken,
c) determine appropriate methods and survey design for estimating rock lobster and crown of thorns size and density,
d) provide within and between site and within habitat variance data on fish abundance and length as a pilot study which will also enable the statistical power of the results to be determined and the appropriateness of the survey design to be confirmed.

Lineage

Maintenance and Update Frequency: unknown

Statement: Original record compiled for the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI), Project 3.8, 2008. Originally sourced from several databases compiled by WA DEC Marine Science Branch of projects relevant to the marine parks of WA. Variable metadata information was available.

Notes

Credit
Shannon Armstrong