Marmion Marine Park management Plan - Department of ...

27.0 SAFETY, SEARCH AND RESCUEA number of boating accidents have occurred in the Park, some resulting in fatalities. Drowningshave also occurred on coastal reefs. Most accidents appear to have been due to a combination offactors including inadequate knowledge of local conditions, inappropriate boats and safetyequipment for the prevailing seas and overloading. Inexperience or incompetence are oftensignificant contributing factors in accidents.Actions1. Assist with the provision of information and guidance to Park users on all aspectsof safety at sea.2. Through involvement with rescue authorities, train management staff in skills toassist Park users and promote safety.28.0 STAFFING, SURVEILLANCE AND ENFORCEMENTThe Park is managed by Rangers from CALM's Swan Region based at Hillarys Boat Harbour. OtherCALM staff from the Regional Office and Departmental branches (for example, Wildlife, Protectionand Research) provide support and assistance with works programs. Future staffing levels will becontinually assessed and will be subject to available resources. CALM officers work in close liaisonwith officers from the Fisheries Department, Department of Marine and Harbours and localgovernment to ensure an integrated approach to day-to-day management of the Marine Park.Surveillance is important because it provides information on patterns of use (which affect allocationof resources), detects breaches of regulations, and aids in detection and prevention of accidents.Surveillance and enforcement are particularly important in the initial years of management as theyprovide an opportunity to familiarise users with the rules and in some cases, to convince people thattheir previous activities are no longer appropriate. Surveillance and enforcement also supports thebehaviour of those Park users who abide by rules by protecting their right to equitable use ofresources.Users of the Park will generally both respect and support the management effort towardsenforcement thereby enabling a code of ethics to evolve in which the community of users will be the60