Protecting Western Australia's Big Blue Backyard - The Pew ...

SAVE OUR MARINE LIFEWWW.SAVEOURMARINELIFE.ORG.AUThe Save our Marine Life Collaboration of global,national and state-based environment organisationsis built around a common vision to conserve Australia’sunique marine life through working with localcommunities, governments, industry stakeholdersand Traditional Owners to secure a network of largeno-take reserves in Australia’s marine environment.Save our Marine Life collaboratorsThe Pew Environment Group is the conservation armof the Pew Charitable Trusts. The mission of thePew Environment Group is to strengthen environmentalpolicy through targeted initiatives aimed at producingconcrete and measurable conservation gains in bothterrestrial and marine systems worldwide. Pew worksthrough partnerships to secure policy reforms andon-ground outcomes that curb global warming, protectocean life and preserve wilderness. Pew has joined withThe Nature Conservancy to establish the Wild Australiaprogram, a joint three-year program that seeks toconserve large natural areas in Australia, both onland and sea.The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a leadingconservation organisation working around the worldto protect ecologically important lands and waters fornature and people. TNC has been working in Australiafor 10 years. Working with partners, TNC’s Australiaprogram has impacted more than 48 million hectaresthrough conservation action planning and has supportedthe protection and management of more than3.6 million hectares.For over 40 years the Australian Conservation Foundation(ACF) has been a strong voice for the environment,promoting solutions through research, consultation,education and partnerships. ACF works with thecommunity, business and government to protect,restore and sustain Australia’s environment.Since 1967 the Conservation Council of Western Australia(CCWA) has been the state’s peak non-governmentenvironment organisation. CCWA informs the publicand governments on key environmental issues andparticipates in government and community processesthat seek to restore and protect the natural environment.The Wilderness Society (TWS) is a national,community-based environmental advocacy organisationformed in 1976 whose mission is protecting, promotingand restoring wilderness and natural processes acrossAustralia’s lands and seas for the survival and ongoingevolution of life on Earth.WWF-Australia is part of the WWF International Network,the world’s largest and most experienced independentconservation organisation. Its mission is to stop thedegradation of the planet’s natural environment andto build a future in which humans live in harmony withnature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity;ensuring that the use of renewable natural resourcesis sustainable; and promoting the reduction of pollutionand wasteful consumption. With active projects inAustralia and the Oceania region, WWF works toconserve Australia’s plants and animals, by ending landclearing, addressing climate change, and preservingand protecting our fresh water, marine andland environments.The Australian Marine Conservation Society is anot-for-profit charity, dedicated to creating marinenational parks, making fisheries sustainable andprotecting and recovering ocean wildlife. It is anindependent scientifically based charity that has beendefending Australia's oceans for over 40 years.The Society was formed in 1965 to legally contestand successfully defeat an application to mine coralon the Great Barrier Reef. This victory was followedby Australia's largest sea-based campaign whichculminated in the formation of the Great Barrier ReefMarine Park World Heritage Area.Prepared for the Save our Marine Life Collaborationby the Australian Conservation Foundation© 2009 Australian Conservation FoundationAll rights reserved.Text and production: Chris SmythAustralian Conservation FoundationEditor: Cathy CooteDesign: Jon Chuo, Carla Hackettwww.jonchuo.comPre Press: Spitting ImagePrinter: Egoprintwww.egoprint.comMap illustrations: Tracey Gradywww.traceygrady.comISBN 978-0-9805237-2-0Distribution of ‘as is’ copies of this reportfor non-commercial purposes is permitted.Executive summaryWestern Australia’sbig blue backyard:unique and unprotectedRising to the challengeProtecting Western Australia’sthreatened marine lifestyleMaintaining Australia's internationalreputation in marine protectionThe many benefits of marine protectionWhat’s so special aboutWestern Australia’sbig blue backyard?Current affairsTaking the tropics southCreating a unique marine regionBuilding a connection between peopleand the region’s marine worldWestern Australians connectingwith their marine environmentCrustaceans and molluscs ruleContents2471010141515162122The Houtman hotspot for marine life27The Leeuwin, larvae and lobsters27Life on the shelf28Trouble for the big reef fish28Down the continental slope28Diving deep into the grand Perth Canyon35Perth’s playground, penguins and the ‘porsche’35The pollution connection between land and sea36Sheltering seagrasses, sharks and seals45Fractures, rifts and plateaus46SAVE OURMARINE LIFECollaborationSeek and we shall findCooler and stormier waters with granite reefsCanyon country, whales and orange roughy105 islands and a pirateThe Leeuwin Current’s long and important journey4651515252How to protectWestern Australia’sbig blue backyardProtecting Western Australia’sbig blue backyard62References,Photographers andAcknowledgements651