Marine Protected Areas
The management plan for Cartier Island Marine Reserve came into force on 26 June 2002. Under the plan, Cartier Island Marine Reserve is classed as IUCN category 1a — strict nature reserve. This means that the Reserve is a Commonwealth zone that contains some outstanding or representative ecosystems, geological or physiological features or species. The reserve is managed to maintain ecological processes and systems and to protect the habitats and biodiversity of the reserve from the pressures associated with human use.
Customs officer and dead turtle at Cartier, Kriton Glenn.
Management planning for Cartier Island required careful consideration of century-old traditional activities by visiting Indonesian fishermen. Traditional Indonesian fishers collected birds, birds eggs, clams, holothurians (sea cucumber), shells, turtles, and turtle eggs for personal consumption and trade on the Asian market.
Given the long historical association of traditional Indonesian fishers in the region the implementation of the Cartier Island Marine Reserve management plan was carefully staged to allow adjustment to the closed status of the reserve. For the first twelve months following the implementation of the management plan on June 26 2002, traditional fishers were provided with information about the impending closure. Unfortunately intensive fishing practices are a major threat to the complex ecosystems and biodiversity of the Cartier Island Marine Reserve and from July 2003 the regulations under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 were enforced.
The Australian Customs Service provides day-to-day on-site management of Cartier Island National Nature Reserve.While primarily based at Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve Customs undertake regular patrols to Cartier, undertaking a range of monitoring and maintenance duties.
The management of the Reserve is not carried out in isolation. Cooperative arrangements with other government agencies complement the tasks performed by Australian Customs Service and combine to produce a whole of government approach to the management of the entire region. The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts works closely with agencies such as: