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Central West takes on marine conservation project
The great Australian love of public holidays can be seen at Western Australia's Jurien Bay Marine Park, 200 kilometres north of Perth, where Labour Day and Easter long weekends see towns of Green Head, Jurien Bay and Cervantes inundated.
We know this because human use was monitored as part of a Marine Biodiversity Conservation Program run by the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council.
"Once we know more about human use we can evaluate the potential impacts on the ecological and social values of the area," said Project Manager Lee Butcher.
Funding
The program was funded with almost $300,000 from the Australian Government and cash and in-kind contributions from the Western Australian Government.
Activities and achievements
"We used aerial and boat ramp surveys and questionnaires in cooperation with other agencies and community groups, which continue to be used by the Department of Environment and Conservation today," Lee said.
"As expected, busy periods occur in autumn during the good weather months, with peak usage over the Labour Day and Easter long weekends. Usage is concentrated around the towns of Green Head, Jurien Bay and Cervantes, and the squatter settlements at Wedge and Grey. As well as good short-term spatial and temporal information, we now have excellent baseline data, which will develop into the future to provide long-term trends over time in the Central West Coast."
The program also produced a 12-month baseline water quality survey of the Jurien Bay Marine Park, community and school education programs and a comprehensive Marine Geographic Information System.
The water quality survey helped characterise conditions on the Central West Coast over a 12-month period. This included a review of existing information; a toxicant survey focussing on pesticides, hydrocarbons and heavy metals; and a marine survey of selected nutrients and biophysical water quality parameters.
"The results indicate the study waters are in good health," Lee said. "Combined with subsequent surveys conducted by the Department of Environment and Conservation, the results give a good baseline of water quality parameters for local coastal waters."
The community and school education component drew thousands of people to workshops and interpretation displays. More than 1,100 children from 15 regional schools attended the schools program.
Feedback from community participants showed many were already aware of the newly declared Jurien Bay Marine Park and were generally in support of the management strategies associated with the marine park.
More information
- Lee Butcher, Project Manager: (08) 9652 1911
- Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia): www.dec.wa.gov.au
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