Temperate East Marine Region
Have your say on the Temperate East
A draft Marine Bioregional Plan and a Commonwealth marine reserves network proposal for the Temperate East Marine Region have been released for public consultation.
Submissions are invited on the:
These drafts will be available for public comment for 90 days during which everyone is encouraged to make a formal submission.
Public information sessions will be held in a number of locations throughout the region during the consultation period.
The consultation period will conclude on 21 February 2012.
For more information on the consultation process please contact:
Email: East.MarinePlan@environment.gov.au
Phone: 1800 069 352
The Temperate East Marine Region comprises 1,466,792 square kilometres of Commonwealth waters - from the southern boundary of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to Bermagui in southern New South Wales. It includes the waters surrounding Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands.
About the Temperate East Marine Region
About the region
Staying up to date
Map of the Temperate East Marine Region
Source: ERIN
About the Temperate East Marine Region
The Temperate East Marine Region comprises approximately 1.47 million square kilometres of Commonwealth waters and stretches from approximately 40 kilometres north of Bundaberg to Bermagui on the far south coast of New South Wales. It also includes the waters surrounding Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. Commonwealth waters abut the state waters surrounding Lord Howe Island however they extend to the high-water mark on Norfolk Island, which is a territory of the Commonwealth.
The Temperate East Marine Region is home to an amazing array of species, ecosystems and habitats including pristine coral reefs, deep canyons and trenches, abyssal plains and entire ranges of submerged seamounts.
The East Australian Current dominates the oceanography of the region. This current is the largest ocean current close to the coast of Australia and it moves up to 30 million cubic metres of low-nutrient tropical ocean water per second southwards down the Australian coastline.
Background
The East Bioregional Profile, released in May 2009, was the starting point for developing a Marine Bioregional Plan for the Temperate East Marine Region. The Profile brought together, for the first time, the best available information on the marine environment of the region. It focused on natural assets and described the ecological characteristics, conservation values, and human activities that take place in the region. The Profile also explained how new marine reserves were identified. A number of information resources were developed to prepare the bioregional profile.
In March 2010, Areas for Further Assessment were identified in the East Marine Region. Areas for Further Assessment are large marine areas which encompass a wide range of habitats, features and conservation values. Areas for Further Assessment were not the proposed boundaries for new marine reserves. They were areas that were identified to aid detailed analysis of information and assist in the design of new marine reserves.
Contact
The Director
Temperate East Marine Conservation
Marine Division
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
Edgar Waite Building
203 Channel Highway
Kingston TAS 7050
or
Email: East.MarinePlan@environment.gov.au
Public consultation
Temperate East Marine Region
Submissions are invited on the Draft Temperate East Marine Bioregional Plan and the Temperate East Commonwealth marine reserve network proposal. Comments close 21 February 2012
Information for media
About marine bioregional planning
Marine bioregional planning is being implemented in five large marine regions.