Research Project Summaries 2002-2009 - Marine Parks Authority ...

Figure 5. Hot spot analysis of overall patterns of human activity in Moonee Creek from24 surveys in 2006, showing the highest level of use near the Moonee Creek Reservetowards the mouth of the creekFishing is the main activity offshore and is spread throughout the marine park. There isextensive fishing at the northern end associated with large areas of reef extending fromSandon Shoals to North Solitary Island. Many boats are small runabouts; Minnie WaterLagoon and Wooli Wooli River are key entry points.The boat and aerial patrol data are being spatially analysed using GIS, and it isintended to report the findings in a summary of human use and activity. These datawere also previously analysed as part of a study with boat-ramp interviews at thesouthern end of the marine park (Lloyd 2003). The 130 interviews revealed that mostboats were privately owned, had two or three people on board, and were local. Boattrips originating from Coffs Harbour mostly accessed the southern section of the marinepark and waters to the south; those originating at Arrawarra generally accessed thecentral part including North West Solitary Island and North Solitary Island. Commercialdiving charters focused on the islands. Charter fishing was more widespread anddepended on point of access, while whale watching was concentrated at the southernend of the marine park and further south.Solitary Island and Jervis Bay Marine Parks Research Projects Summaries 2002–2009 39