Report of the Second Workshop on The Biology and Conservation of ...

<strong>the</strong> population <strong>of</strong> any species <strong>of</strong> marine mammalsin <strong>the</strong> Australian waters <strong>of</strong> SE Asia is increasing,decreasing or stable.Habitat statusThe tropical SE Asian Australian coastline isremote and largely uninhabited. Although <strong>the</strong>marine habitat is predominately intact, coastaldevelopment and trawling in <strong>the</strong> region may havesignificant, localized impacts, especially throughtrawl damage to benthos, dredging, noise, heavymetal pollution and boat traffic associated withresorts. In addition to <strong>the</strong> habitat loss caused byhuman activities, seagrasses in <strong>the</strong> area are subjectto large-scale dieback associated with extremewea<strong>the</strong>r events, such as tropical cyclones.Directed catchesDirect killing <strong>of</strong> any cetacean species in Australianwaters is prohibited under <strong>the</strong> EnvironmentProtection and Biodiversity Conservation Act <strong>of</strong>1999 (EPBC) and state/territory laws. The EPBC Actprohibition also applies to all Australian nationalsand Australian-registered vessels outside <strong>the</strong>Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Thereis no evidence <strong>of</strong> direct killing <strong>of</strong> cetaceans inAustralian waters in SE Asia, and catching wildmarine mammals for display is prohibited.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, whoare recognized as Native Title right holders, arepermitted to hunt dugongs. The legal situtationis less clear for indigenous people who arenot Native Title holders. In Australian waters <strong>of</strong>SE Asia dugong hunting occurs mainly in <strong>the</strong>vicinity <strong>of</strong> isolated communities between CapeYork and Broome (Marsh et al. 2002). There areno quantitative data on <strong>the</strong> catches <strong>of</strong> dugongs inmost communities.By-catchesIncidental capture <strong>of</strong> marine mammals occurs insome <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Commonwealth and state fisheriesoperating in <strong>the</strong> SE Asian waters <strong>of</strong> Australia(Table 1). There is concern for <strong>the</strong> unknownbut potentially high take <strong>of</strong> marine mammals in‘ghost’ nets fishing adrift in Australian waters inSE Asia (pers. comm. to Stokes from J. Miller,Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service).Legal status and present managementarrangementsSeveral bodies <strong>of</strong> legislation are relevant:(1) Commonwealth (National) Legislation.Since <strong>the</strong> 1995 SEAMAM workshop, <strong>the</strong> NationalParks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975,Whale Protection Act 1980, Endangered SpeciesProtection Act 1992, and <strong>the</strong> Wildlife Protection(Regulation <strong>of</strong> Export and Imports) Act 1982 havebeen repealed by <strong>the</strong> EPBC Act. Australia’s nationaljurisdiction over marine mammals applies within<strong>the</strong> EEZ. The Great Barrier Reef Marine ParkAct 1975 also protects marine mammals in thatmarine park. State/territory laws apply to threenautical miles <strong>of</strong>fshore.The EPBC Act establishes <strong>the</strong> Australian WhaleSanctuary, in Commonwealth waters, withinwhich it is an <strong>of</strong>fence for a person to kill, injure,take, trade, keep, move or interfere with a whaleor o<strong>the</strong>r cetaceans. Significant penalties apply tobreaches <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se provisions. Fur<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong> whaleand o<strong>the</strong>r cetacean protection provisions also applyto Australian nationals and Australian-registeredvessels operating outside <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Australian WhaleSanctuary on <strong>the</strong> high seas.The EPBC Act also provides for <strong>the</strong> protection <strong>of</strong>critical habitat, <strong>the</strong> identification <strong>of</strong> key threateningprocesses and <strong>the</strong> preparation <strong>of</strong> recovery plans,threat abatement plans, <strong>the</strong> issuing <strong>of</strong> conservationorders and wildlife conservation plans. A nationalrecovery plan for <strong>the</strong> blue whale was completedin 2001.<strong>Second</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong> on <strong>the</strong> Biology and Conservation <strong>of</strong> Small Cetaceans and Dugongs <strong>of</strong> SE Asia 13