Marine Natural Values Study Summary - Parks Victoria

The brittle star Amphiura triscacanthais listed under the Flora and FaunaGuarantee Act and has been recordedin the park.Syngnathids (the group that includesseahorses and pipefish) are protectedand are found in the park.Potentially forty species of marineflora and fauna are at theirdistributional limits in Western PortBay and could occur within the park.Major ThreatsMeasures to address or minimisethreats identified for French IslandMarine National Park form part of thepark management plan. Parks Victoriaalso uses an adaptive managementapproach which includes periodicreviews of priority natural values andthreats through processes such as theState of the Parks evaluation andsetting of desired conservationoutcomes. Through these processesParks Victoria has identified emergingthreats and developed appropriatemanagement responses.Serious threats include coastal erosion,litter, sediment and nutrients from theland and increasing urbanisation,vessels disturbing shorebirds, marinepollution and invasive marine pests.French Island Marine National Park.Photo by Chris Hayward, Parks Victoria.The Northern Pacific seastar Asteriasamurensis is well established in PortPhillip Bay and was recently found atSan Remo (although the San Remopopulation may have beeneradicated). There are concerns aboutpossible spread of this species toFrench Island Marine National Park.Climate change poses a seriousmedium to long term threat to naturalvalues. Parks Victoria will use anadaptive management approach todevelop responses and actions thatfocus on priority climate change issuessuch as extreme weather events andexisting risks that are likely to beexacerbated by climate change.Research and MonitoringParks Victoria has establishedextensive marine research andmonitoring programs that addressimportant management challengesfor the marine national parks andsanctuaries. These focus on improvingbaseline knowledge, as well as appliedmanagement questions.Since the establishment of the parksin 2002 our knowledge andunderstanding of natural values andthreats for the system have improvedsignificantly through the marine scienceprogram. Much of the research hasbeen undertaken as part of the ResearchPartners Program involving collaborationwith various research institutions.There are four ongoing researchprojects and one habitat mappingproject that are relevant to FrenchIsland Marine National Park, whilefour research projects and one habitatmapping project have alreadybeen completed.While recognising there are stillknowledge gaps Parks Victoria willcontinue to focus on addressingthe information needs that willassist management.For more information, includingmarine habitat mapping products,please see the full versions of theMarine Natural Values reportson www.parks.vic.gov.au.57