North Marine Region
Public consultation
In August 2011 the department released the draft plan and proposed Commonwealth marine reserves network for public consultation. The 90 day public submissions period closed on 28 November 2011.
A range of supporting publications were made available to provide information on the draft plan and proposed reserves network.
Overview of consultation activities and feedback
The department arranged meetings with stakeholder groups and held public events throughout coastal areas of the Northern Territory and Queensland during the public consultation period. This included holding a multi-sector information session in Darwin and a range of sector meetings and 'open house' information sessions in regional coastal areas.
Stakeholders were invited to provide feedback on the consultation documents online via the department's website; via email to a dedicated North region submissions email address; or in hard copy posted free of charge to the department.
- Marine Bioregional Planning in the North Marine Region - Overview of Public Consultation (PDF - 1700KB) | HTML
Submissions received by the department are being considered in the finalisation of the North Marine Bioregional Plan and Commonwealth marine reserves network.
Submissions received
The department received 12 861 submissions providing feedback on the draft plan and proposed reserves network. The largest proportion of the submissions received (99 per cent) were campaign submissions received via email and post. These submissions were generated through organised campaigns and contained various standardised text provided through templates or postcards.
The department would like to thank all those who provided submissions.
Consultation documents
The 90 day public consultation period for the North draft Marine Bioregional Plan and Commonwealth marine reserves network proposal closed on the 28th of November 2011.
North 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. A Commonwealth marine reserve network proposal for the North region was released in August 2011 for a consultation period of 90 days which closed on 28 November 2011.
About the draft proposal
The marine reserves in the North 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 Commonwealth marine reserve network proposal comprises eight marine reserves:
- Joseph Bonaparte Gulf Commonwealth marine reserve (extending into the North-west Marine Region)
- Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth marine reserve (extending into the North-west Marine Region)
- Arafura Commonwealth marine reserve
- Arnhem Commonwealth marine reserve
- Wessel Commonwealth marine reserve
- Limmen Commonwealth marine reserve
- Gulf of Carpentaria Commonwealth marine reserve
- West Cape York Commonwealth marine reserve
Download the draft proposal and associated documents
Detailed information on the North Commonwealth marine reserve network proposal is provided in the documents listed below.
- Proposal for the North Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network - Consultation paper (PDF - 2789KB) | HTML
- Developing Marine Reserves and marine bioregional planning in Australia's North (PDF - 3635 KB) | (Word - 3635 KB)
- Detailed analysis of the proposed North Marine Region Network (PDF - 2249KB) | (Word - 6899 KB)
Fact sheets
- Proposed Joseph Bonaparte Gulf Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 307 KB) | (Word - 637 KB)
- Proposed Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 242 KB) | (Word - 504 KB)
- Proposed Arafura Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 252 KB) | (Word - 577 KB)
- Proposed Arnhem Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 307 KB) | (Word - 652 KB)
- Proposed Wessel Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 246 KB) | (Word - 491 KB)
- Proposed Limmen Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 304 KB) | (Word - 547 KB)
- Proposed Gulf of Carpentaria Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 313 KB) | (Word - 589 KB)
- Proposed West Cape York Commonwealth marine reserve (PDF - 257 KB) | (Word - 580 KB)
- Commercial fishing - Socio-economic assessment of proposed Commonwealth marine reserves (PDF - 955 KB) | (Word - 161 KB)
North Plan consultation draft
The consultation period for this document closed on 28 November 2011.
This draft North Marine Bioregional Plan presented information on the marine environment and conservation values (protected species, protected places and key ecological features) of the North Marine Region.
The draft North 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 is also presented in the draft Plan.
Download the Draft Marine Bioregional Plan and associated documents
- Overview of marine bioregional plans (PDF - 731KB) | HTML
- Marine Bioregional Plan for the North Marine Region - Draft for Consultation (PDF - 1.5 MB) | HTML
- Schedule 1 (PDF - 1 MB) | (Word - 557 KB)
- Schedule 2 (PDF - 8.5 MB) | (Word - 7.4 MB)
- Developing Marine Reserves and marine bioregional planning in Australia's North (PDF - 1.1 MB) | (Word - 1.8 MB)
Information tools
A range of information resources have been developed to support the implementation of the North Marine Bioregional Plan. Two main information tools are the:
Conservation Value Report Cards
The Conservation Value Report Cards for the North 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 - 2.1 MB) | (Word - 1.7 MB)
- Heritage places report card (PDF - 1.3 MB) | (Word - 474 KB)
- Species group report card - dugong (PDF - 930 KB) | (Word - 105 KB)
- Species group report card - cetaceans (PDF - 2.5 MB) | (Word - 2.4 MB)
- Species group report card - sawfish & river sharks (PDF - 1 MB) | (Word -123 KB)
- Species group report card - reptiles (PDF - 5.6 MB) | (Word - 4.4 MB)
- Species group report card - seabirds (PDF - 4.2 MB) | (Word - 5.8 MB)
- Species group report card - seahorses & pipefishes (PDF - 929 KB) | (Word - 182 KB)
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 Marine Region.
Find out more
For more information on the North marine bioregional planning process please contact:
Email: North.MarinePlan@environment.gov.au
Phone: 1800 069 352
About marine bioregional planning
Marine bioregional planning is being implemented in five large marine regions.
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