North-west Marine Region
Public consultation
The North-west Marine Bioregional Planning public consultation period is now closed.
The 90 day public consultation period for the North-west draft Marine Bioregional Plan and Commonwealth marine reserve network proposal closed on 28 November 2011.
North-west Commonwealth marine reserve network proposal
The marine bioregional planning process is being used by the Australian Government to establish new marine reserves that will represent and protect examples of all the different marine ecosystems and habitats found in the oceans around Australia.
About the draft proposal
The marine reserves in the North-west Marine Region and all other new Commonwealth marine reserves will be located in Commonwealth waters, which start beyond the limits of state/ territory waters (ie. usually 3 nautical miles or 5.5 kilometres from the coast) and extend to the outer limits of Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) some 200 nautical miles from shore.
Identification of new Commonwealth marine reserves is being guided by the Goals and Principles for Establishment of the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas in Commonwealth Waters. The Goals and Principles direct that, where possible, new Commonwealth marine reserves should be designed in such a way that they are located to minimise adverse impacts on people who use and enjoy marine resources while also ensuring good conservation outcomes.
The North-west Commonwealth marine reserve network proposal comprises 10 marine reserves:
- Abrolhos (Wallaby extension) Commonwealth marine reserve (extending into the South-west Marine Region)
- Carnarvon Canyon Commonwealth marine reserve
- Kalbarri Canyon Commonwealth marine reserve
- Shark Bay Commonwealth marine reserve
- Gascoyne Commonwealth marine reserve
- Pilbara Commonwealth marine reserve
- Eighty Mile Beach Commonwealth marine reserve
- Kimberley Commonwealth marine reserve
- Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth marine reserve (extending into the North Marine Region)
- Joseph Bonaparte Gulf Commonwealth marine reserve (extending into the North Marine Region)
Download the draft proposal and associated documents
Detailed information on the North-west Commonwealth marine reserve network proposal is provided in the documents listed below.
- Proposal for the North-west Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network - Consultation paper (PDF - 2789KB) | HTML
- Developing Marine Reserves and marine bioregional planning in Australia's North-west (PDF - 3635 KB) | (Word - 3635 KB)
- Detailed analysis of the proposed North-west Marine Region Network (PDF - 6.2 MB) | (Word - 9.3 MB)
Fact sheets
- Abrolhos (Wallaby extension) Commonwealth marine reserve (extending into the South-west Marine Region) (PDF - 241 KB) | (Word - 405 KB)
- Carnarvon Canyon Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 287 KB) | (Word - 603 KB)
- Kalbarri Canyon Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 267 KB) | (Word - 728 KB)
- Shark Bay Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 265 KB) | (Word - 647 KB)
- Gascoyne Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 276 KB) | (Word - 686 KB)
- Pilbara Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 271 KB) | (Word - 756 KB)
- Eighty Mile Beach Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 257 KB) | (Word - 641 KB)
- Kimberley Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 266 KB) | (Word -859 KB)
- Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth marine reserve (extending into the North Marine Region) (PDF - 278 KB) | (Word - 484 KB)
- Joseph Bonaparte Gulf Commonwealth marine reserve (extending into the North Marine Region) (PDF - 337 KB) | (Word - 687 KB)
- Commercial fishing - Socio-economic assessment of proposed Commonwealth marine reserves (PDF - 955 KB) | (Word - 161 KB)
North-west Plan consultation draft
The consultation period for this document closed on 28 November 2011.
The draft North-west Marine Bioregional Plan presented information on the marine environment and conservation values (protected species, protected places and key ecological features) of the North-west Marine Region.
The draft North-west Plan set broad objectives for conservation, identified priorities and outlined strategies and actions to achieve them. Specific advice on environmental assessments and referrals to assist people who wish to undertake activities that may impact on the marine environment in Commonwealth waters and other matters of national environmental significance was also presented in the draft Plan.
Draft Marine Bioregional Plan and associated documents
- Overview of marine bioregional plans (PDF - 731KB) | HTML
- Marine Bioregional Plan for the North-west Marine Region - Draft for Consultation (PDF - 1595KB) | HTML
- Schedule 1 (PDF - 776 KB) | (Word - 759 KB)
- Schedule 2 (PDF - 6571 KB) | (Word - 1721 KB)
- Developing Marine Reserves and marine bioregional planning in Australia's North-west (PDF - 3635 KB) | (Word - 3635 KB)
Information tools
A range of information resources were developed to support the implementation of the North-west Marine Bioregional Plan. Two main information tools are the:
Conservation Value Report Cards
The Conservation Value Report Cards for the North-west Marine Region present a summary of the most up-to-date scientific information on the distribution, conservation status and pressures on the conservation values in the region including the Commonwealth marine environment, existing heritage places, dugong, reptiles, seabirds, seahorses & pipefishes, sawfish & river sharks. They also present information about existing management arrangements.
- Commonwealth marine environment report card (PDF - 446KB) | (Word - 5747KB)
- Heritage places report card (PDF - 446KB) | (Word - 1638KB)
- Species group report card - cetaceans (PDF - 446KB) | (Word - 2902KB)
- Species group report card - dugong (PDF - 446KB) | (Word - 3094KB)
- Species group report card - reptiles (PDF - 446KB) | (Word - 2958KB)
- Species group report card - seabirds (PDF - 446KB) | (Word - 2544KB)
- Species group report card - seahorses & pipefishes (PDF - 446KB) | (Word - 3064KB)
- Species group report card - listed sharks and sawfish (PDF - 446KB) | (Word - 3064KB)
Conservation Values Atlas
The Conservation Values Atlas is an interactive web-based tool made up of maps and other data that show the location and area of important marine habitats, ecological features, known breeding and feeding areas for protected species and other conservation values within the North-west Marine Region.
Find out more
For more information on the consultation process please contact:
Email: Northwest.MarinePlan@environment.gov.au
Phone: 1800 069 352
Public consultation
North-west Marine Region
The public consultation period on the draft North-west Marine Bioregional Plan and Commonwealth marine reserves network proposal has now closed.
About marine bioregional planning
Marine bioregional planning is being implemented in five large marine regions.
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