the reef biota at Wilsons promontory marine national - Parks Victoria

Parks Victoria Technical Series #74SRMP Wilsons Promontory MNP1.3.2. Wilsons Promontory Marine National ParkFollowing proposals from the Environment Conservation Council (ECC 1999; 2000), theWilsons Promontory Marine National Park was declared on 16 November 2002 (Figure 1.6).The Marine National Park overlays the pre-existing Wilsons Promontory Marine Reserve(except for the islands of the Glennie Group, and coasts north of Cape Wellington). Theboundaries of the Marine National Park extend further offshore to fully encompass theislands of the Anser Group and Wattle Island. Reef habitats within the Marine National Parkinclude sheltered and exposed granite habitats with a variety of smooth bedrock, rubble,boulder, bombie and pinnacle type structures.The level of protection for marine environments within the Marine National Park has beenextended to restrict all forms of recreational and commercial fishing. Recreational line fishing,and commercial fishing is only permitted in the Marine and Coastal Park or Marine Reserveareas.1.4. Subtidal Reef Monitoring at Wilsons PromontoryThis report provides a description of the monitoring program at Wilsons Promontory andresults from eleven surveys, incorporating Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park and theadjacent conservation areas. The objectives of this report were to:• provide an overview of the methods used for SRMP;• provide general descriptions of the biological communities and species populations ateach monitoring site up to December 2011;• describe changes and trends that have occurred over the monitoring period;• identify any unusual biological phenomena such as interesting or unique communitiesor species;• identify any introduced species at the monitoring locations; and• report on trends in selected ecosystem status indicators.9