WEST KIMBERLEY PLACE REPORT - Department of Sustainability ...

Antarctic feeding grounds and breeding grounds in north-western Australia. However,
in this report the ecological process or natural environment 'represented' by the
migration is considered to be the migration itself, not disconnected elements of it.
If humpback whale calving grounds or whale migrations (as opposed to other
cetaceans, or other migratory species) have outstanding heritage value to the nation,
there is insufficient evidence to suggest that the Group IV population, or any
aggregation of it, is more important than the Group V (east coast) populations. The
east and west coast populations are distinct. Group IV appears to contain about twice
as many individuals as the Group V populations. Therefore smaller calving grounds
on the east coast may be as important as the larger Camden Sound calving ground for
preserving genetic diversity in humpbacks (DEWHA 2009a). Every humpback whale
population is important for the species' survival and recovery (DEWHA 2009a).
Furthermore, migration is composed of many component locations, and many
biologically important activities. There is insufficient evidence to suggest that calving
is more or less important to the survival of humpback whales than feeding, mating,
socialising, nursing or resting. Other important humpback whale habitat occurs along
the Australian migratory routes. Usually these are corridors and bottlenecks which
result when a large proportion of a population passes within 30 kilometres of the
coast, and encounters barriers. Some of these corridors and staging posts include
Geraldton and the Abrolhos Islands in Western Australia; east of Stradbroke and
Moreton Islands in Queensland and Cape Byron in New South Wales (DEWHA
2009a). During the southern migration, cow/calf pairs and attendant males take
opportunistic advantage of resting areas – usually sheltered bays on the way to the
Antarctic feeding grounds. These resting areas include Exmouth Gulf, Shark and
Geographe Bays in Western Australia; the Whitsundays, Hervey and Moreton Bays
and the Palm Island Group in Queensland; and Twofold Bay in New South Wales
(DEWHA 2008a).
Breeding and nursery aggregations of other marine fauna occur at many locations
around the Australian coast. For example, Shark Bay shelters a population of 12,000
dugongs. The Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf also provide important dugong
habitat, with a more or less permanent population of 1,000–2,000 animals (Preen et al.
1997). Rare marine turtles are another group that could be considered comparable in
terms of breeding/nesting sites, of which there are many found around the Australian
coast. Just one species alone, the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), has significant
nesting sites throughout the Great Barrier Reef, the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Monte
Bello Islands, Barrow Island and the Lacepede Islands within the Kimberley
(DEWHA 2009d). Migratory pathways are not well known for another iconic
cetacean species, the endangered southern right whale (Eubalaena australis). The
species is seasonally present in Australian waters from May to November. They have
been recorded in coastal waters of all states except the Northern Territory. Within this
wider geographic range, they regularly concentrate in certain areas to breed. Major
calving areas are located in Western Australia at Doubtful Island Bay, east of Israelite
Bay; and in South Australia at Head of Bight, and in smaller numbers at Twilight
Cove, Flinders Bay; and in Western Australia in the Albany/Cape Riche and Yokinup
Bay/Cape Arid areas. Smaller numbers of calving females also regularly congregate at
Warrnambool in Victoria and South Australia's Encounter Bay and Fowlers Bay.
Other areas along the southern and western coast, often between regular calving
165