Quantifying shark depredation in a recreational fishery in the Ningaloo Marine Park and Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 587 ◽  
pp. 141-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
JD Mitchell ◽  
DL McLean ◽  
SP Collin ◽  
S Taylor ◽  
G Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Recreational Fishery ◽  
Exmouth Gulf

Distribution and Abundance of Dugongs, Turtles, Dolphins and other Megafauna in Shark Bay, Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 185 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Preen ◽  
H. Marsh ◽  
I. R. Lawler ◽  
R. I. T. Prince ◽  
R. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Large Population ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Shark Bay ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Whale Sharks ◽  
Exmouth Gulf ◽  
Marine Megafauna

Strip-transect aerial surveys of Shark Bay, Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf were conducted during the winters of 1989 and 1994. These surveys were designed primarily to estimate the abundance and distribution of dugongs, although they also allowed sea turtles and dolphins, and, to a lesser extent, whales, manta rays and whale sharks to be surveyed. Shark Bay contains a large population of dugongs that is of international significance. Estimates of approximately 10000 dugongs resulted from both surveys. The density of dugongs is the highest recorded in Australia and the Middle East, where these surveys have been conducted. Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Reef are also important dugong habitats, each supporting in the order of 1000 dugongs. The estimated number of turtles in Shark Bay is comparable to the number in Exmouth Gulf plus Ningaloo Reef (7000–9000). The density of turtles in Ningaloo Reef and, to a lesser extent, Exmouth Gulf is exceptionally high compared with most other areas that have been surveyed by the same technique. Shark Bay supports a substantial population of bottlenose dolphins (2000–3000 minimum estimate). Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Reef were not significant habitats for dolphins during the winter surveys. Substantial numbers of whales (primarily humpbacks) and manta rays occur in northern and western Shark Bay in winter. Ningaloo Reef is an important area for whale sharks and manta rays in autumn and winter. The Shark Bay Marine Park excludes much of the winter habitats of the large vertebrate fauna of Shark Bay. In 1989 and 1994, more than half of all the dugongs were seen outside the Marine Park (57·4 and 50·7%, respectively). Approximately one-third to one-half of turtles and dolphins were seen outside the Marine Park (in 1989 and 1994 respectively: turtles, 43 and 27%; dolphins, 47 and 32%). Almost all the whales and most of the manta rays were seen outside the Marine Park. Expansion of the Shark Bay Marine Park, to bring it into alignment with the marine section of the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, would facilitate the appropriate management of these populations. This would also simplify the State– Commonwealth collaboration necessary to meet the obligations of World Heritage listing. The coastal waters of Western Australia north of the surveyed area (over 6000 km of coastline) are relatively poorly known and surveys of their marine megafauna are required for wise planning and management.

scholarly journals The Yannarie Solar Project: Design of a Solar Saltfield in Western Australia to Safeguard the Natural Environment

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-18
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
State Government ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Marine Fauna ◽  
Solar Salt ◽  
Exmouth Gulf ◽  
Salt Industry

The Northwest Coast of Western Australia is the location for a number of large solar saltfields. More than 10 million tonnes of high grade solar salt is exported annually from these saltfields; predominantly servicing the chloralkali industries of Northern and Southeast Asia. Straits Resources Limited is a mining company with operations in Australia and Indonesia. It has identified the solar salt industry as an opportunity to diversify its resource portfolio and build a longer-term position within the resource sector. Access has been approved by the Government of Western Australia to a large area in the eastern Exmouth Gulf region of Western Australia suitable for a solar saltfield with an ultimate capacity as high as 10 million tonnes per annum. All new resources projects in Australia must proceed through a rigorous environmental approval process at both the Federal (Commonwealth) and State Government levels. Straits commissioned a team of saltfield design, environmental and engineering consultants to design an economically viable saltfield that minimises impacts to the environment. There has been a series of iterative changes in its design based on feedback from environmental and cultural heritage studies. This has enabled the saltfield to be specifically located within a defined footprint to avoid sensitive areas such as mangroves, tidal creeks and algal mats. Comprehensive studies have been undertaken on the local marine and terrestrial flora and fauna (including migratory bird and marine fauna), together with surveys for cultural heritage, soils, hydrology and a sweep of other parameters including hydrodynamic modelling of the marine environment. A commercial trawling fishing industry operates in the waters of Exmouth Gulf that is also the permanent home or on the migratory path of a number of significant marine fauna, including whales, turtles, and dugongs. The project, known as the Yannarie Solar Project, is progressing through the environmental approval processes of the Australian Commonwealth and Western Australian Governments. The conclusion is that the technical findings of the suite of studies that examined the environmental aspects of the engineering requirements of the saltfield provide a sound basis for project approval. Assuming that approval is given, and the current schedule maintained, construction would commence in 2008 and shipments of salt in 2011.

Seasonal changes in the nutritive value of grass species in Spinifex pastures of Western Australia.

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
AM Holm ◽  
RJ Allen
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
The Common ◽  
Exmouth Gulf

This study was undertaken to assess whether the nutritional quality of spinifex pasture lands is improved by buming to promote the growth of grasses other than spinifex. We selected two comparable sites in the Exmouth Gulf region of Western Australia; one had been bumt in late 1979 and the other had not been burnt for many years. On these sites we sampled the five grass species present, as well as Triodia pungens (soft spinifex) and Plectrachne >chinzii (Oat eared spinifex) on 10 occasions from March 1980 to April 1982. Plant parts were analysed for nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur content, and in vitro digestibility. None of the common grass species tested was more nutritious or more palatable than soft spinifex. It seems that little is gained from manipulating spinifex pastures through burning if the aim is to encourage alternative grass species. There is a need however for further studies into the importance of woody herbs and forbs in the nutrition of grazing animals on spinifex country and the effect of fire on these species.

scholarly journals Using trophic flows and ecosystem structure to model the effects of fishing in the Jurien Bay Marine Park, temperate Western Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hector M. Lozano-Montes ◽  
Neil R. Loneragan ◽  
Russell C. Babcock ◽  
Kelsie Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Benthic Primary Production ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
The Impact

Understanding the impacts of fishing on the trophic structure of systems has become increasingly important because of the introduction of Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management and the legislative requirements of fisheries to demonstrate that they are not having a negative impact on other species. A biomass-based dynamic model of Jurien Bay Marine Park (∼30°S) was constructed using Ecopath to investigate the ecosystem impacts of fishing (mainly commercial rock lobster, Panulirus cygnus) in the park, as an example of the potential responses of temperate marine ecosystems in Western Australia to commercial fishing. A simulated 50% reduction in fishing mortality for commercial finfish predicted that after 20 years, the biomass of important fished species (i.e. Pagrus auratus and Choerodon rubescens) would increase by up to 30%. A simulated total fishing closure resulted in much larger (2.5–8 fold) increases in targeted populations, but did not result in any predicted cascading effects on grazing invertebrates and benthic primary producers. The simulations suggest that the structure of this ecosystem is characterised more by bottom-up than top-down processes; i.e. benthic primary production is a major limiting factor. The present study identified trophic linkages and ecosystem processes such as the role of both low and high trophic-level groups and the impact of fishing mortality in the marine park, an essential step towards distinguishing the impacts of fishing from those attributable to natural or other human-induced changes.

scholarly journals Low quantities of marine debris at the northern Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia, influenced by visitation and accessibility

2022 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 113294
Author(s):  
Emma L. Westlake ◽  
Emma Lawrence ◽  
Natalie Travaglione ◽  
Peter Barnes ◽  
Damian P. Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Marine Debris ◽  
Marine Park

Infaunal biodiversity patterns from Carnarvon Shelf (Ningaloo Reef), Western Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Przeslawski ◽  
Matthew A. McArthur ◽  
Tara J. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Marine Reserve ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Marine Management ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Baseline Information ◽  
Surrounding Areas

Infauna are important in many ecological processes but have been rarely considered in biodiversity assessments of coral reefs and surrounding areas. We surveyed infaunal assemblages and associated environmental factors (depth, seabed reflectance, sediment characteristics) in three areas (Mandu, Point Cloates, Gnaraloo) along the Carnarvon Shelf, Western Australia. This region supports Ningaloo Reef, a relatively pristine coral reef protected by the Ningaloo Marine Park and a Commonwealth marine reserve. Macrofauna were sampled with a Smith-McIntyre grab and sieved through 500 µm. A total of 423 species and 4036 individuals was recorded from 145 grabs, with infauna accounting for 67% of species and 78% of individuals. Rare species (≤2 individuals per species) represented 42% of the total assemblage. Assemblages were significantly different among all three areas, with the most distinct recorded from the southern-most area (Gnaraloo). Although assemblages varied significantly with depth and sediment composition (mud and gravel), these relationships were weak. Results from the current study broadly quantify macrofaunal diversity in the region and identify potential spatial and environmental patterns which will help inform future marine management plans, including the provision of baseline information to assess the efficacy of protected areas in soft-sediment habitats adjacent to coral reefs.

Multi-year patterns in scarring, survival and residency of whale sharks in Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 634 ◽  
pp. 115-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Lester ◽  
MG Meekan ◽  
P Barnes ◽  
H Raudino ◽  
D Rob ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Whale Sharks

Aerial Observations on the Humpback Whale, Megaptera nodosa (Bonnaterre), with Notes on Other Species

1953 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 219 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Chittleborough
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Great Increase ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Maximum Frequency ◽  
Minke Whales ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Exmouth Gulf ◽  
Southward Migration

Aerial observations of humpback whales in the region of Point Cloates, Western Australia, during 1952 are recorded. The first southward-moving humpback whale was sighted on July 21, while decreasing numbers were seen moving northwards until early October. In 1952 the change from a predominantly northward migration of humpback whales to a southward migration occurred close to August 24. The speed of migration of a number of these whales is recorded, the mean value being 4.3 kt. A few humpback whale calves were sighted early in July and a peak in their occurrence in August suggests maximum frequency of parturition early in August. A very great increase in the occurrence of calves in the area late in the season suggests that female humpback whales rearing calves move southwards later than other individuals. Some evidence is presented that Exmouth Gulf is a nursery area. The presence of some killer, fin, blue, and minke whales in the area is noted.

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