Western Australian Marine Science Institution · 2015-01-27 · AUSTRALIAN VENTURE CONSULTANTS PTY...
Transcript of Western Australian Marine Science Institution · 2015-01-27 · AUSTRALIAN VENTURE CONSULTANTS PTY...
AUSTRALIAN VENTURE CONSULTANTS PTY LTD
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Western Australian Marine Science
Institution
Toward a Western Australian Marine Science
Blueprint 2050: Discussion Paper
July 2014
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CONTENTS
What is the Western Australian Marine Science Blueprint and why do we need it? .................... 5
This Discussion Paper .............................................................................................................................. 5
The WA Marine Science Blueprint 2050 .............................................................................................. 5
The Western Australian Marine Environment, Industry and Community and Knowledge Needs
..................................................................................................................................................................... 11
The Western Australian Marine Environment ................................................................................... 11
Economic Development and the Western Australian Marine Environment ............................. 17
Society, Community and Urban Development and the Western Australian Marine
Environment ........................................................................................................................................... 28
What is the Role for Science? ............................................................................................................ 32
Emerging Key Areas of Scientific Investigation .................................................................................. 33
Understanding Marine Ecosystems ................................................................................................... 33
Physical Oceanographic Processes ................................................................................................. 35
Capability Requirements ........................................................................................................................ 41
Enhanced Marine Datasets ................................................................................................................ 41
Scientists ................................................................................................................................................. 41
Infrastructure .......................................................................................................................................... 42
The Requirement for Prioritisation .......................................................................................................... 43
Moving Forward ........................................................................................................................................ 45
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Disclosure and Disclaimer
This report has been prepared by Australian Venture Consultants Pty Ltd (ACN: 101 195 699) (‘AVC’). AVC has
been commissioned to prepare this report by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution, and has received
a fee from the Western Australian Marine Science Institution for its preparation.
While the information contained in this report has been prepared by AVC with all reasonable care from sources
that AVC believes to be reliable, no responsibility or liability is accepted by AVC for any errors, omissions or
misstatements however caused. Any opinions or recommendations reflect the judgment and assumptions of AVC
as at the date of the document and may change without notice. AVC, its officers, agents and employees exclude
all liability whatsoever, in negligence or otherwise, for any loss or damage relating to this document to the full
extent permitted by law. Any opinion contained in this report is unsolicited general information only. AVC is not
aware that any recipient intends to rely on this report or of the manner in which a recipient intends to use it. In
preparing this information it is not possible to take into consideration the information or opinion needs of any
individual recipient. Recipients should conduct their own research into the issues discussed in this report before
acting on any recommendation.
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Project Governance
The Western Australian Marine Science Blueprint 2050 is a project that has been
commissioned by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI). WAMSI has
commissioned Australian Venture Consultants (AVC) to undertake the study that will result in
the Western Australian Marine Science Blueprint 2050. The project is being overseen by a
Steering Group comprised of the following experts:
E/Prof Alistar Robertson (Chair)
David Carter, CEO, Austral Fisheries
John Gunn, CEO, Australian Institute of Marine Science & Chair, Oceans Policy
Advisory Group
Colin Scott, Manager, Subsea and Pipelines, Chevron Australia
Luke Smith, Chief Environmental Scientist, Woodside
Michelle Reynolds, Executive Director, Office of Science, Department of Premier and
Cabinet
Stuart Smith, Director General, Department of Fisheries
Paul Vogel, Chair, Environmental Protection Authority
Piers Verstegen, Director, WA Conservation Council
Patrick Seares, Chief Executive Officer, Western Australian Marine Science Institution
This Discussion Paper has been prepared at the request of the Steering Group.
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What is the Western Australian Marine Science
Blueprint and why do we need it?
This Discussion Paper This document is not the Western Australian Marine Science Blueprint (‘Blueprint’).
Rather it is a discussion paper designed to explain why a Blueprint for marine science in
Western Australia is required, as well as some of the issues and knowledge gaps that are
starting to emerge from the analysis that is under way designed to generate the Blueprint.
The purpose of this discussion paper is to generate engagement from stakeholders in the
Western Australian marine environment in the process of developing the Blueprint. As such,
the potential knowledge gaps that are identified in this discussion paper are not exhaustive
and are not necessarily identified at this stage as being priorities for marine science research.
The key purpose of this discussion paper is to provide background information on the analysis
to date for the stakeholders in the Western Australian marine environment so that they can:
Determine if all of the major issues have been identified;
Advise the author of issues that have not been identified or which have been
identified but not given adequate emphasis in the discussion paper; and
Advise the author of avenues of inquiry that should be pursued to ensure that issues
are adequately addressed in the analysis that is subsequent to this discussion paper
that will inform the final Blueprint.
Throughout the document, the author has proposed key questions for the reader to consider.
These are outlined in text boxes at the end of each key section.
This discussion paper will be superseded by the Blueprint.
The WA Marine Science Blueprint 2050
What is it?
A scientific research plan that identifies and prioritises end-user knowledge needs…
The Western Australian Marine Science Blueprint (‘Blueprint’) is essentially an end-user driven
scientific research plan for marine science in Western Australia. While the Blueprint has been
commissioned by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI), it is intended to
be a resource for all stakeholders in the Western Australian marine environment.
The Blueprint will identify:
Key aspects of existing knowledge pertaining to the physical oceanography and
marine ecosystems that characterise, influence and shape the Western Australian
marine environment;
Key global, regional and local natural and anthropogenic phenomena that impact
on the Western Australian marine environment;
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The knowledge needs of organisations that conduct activities in and/or which impact
on the Western Australian marine environment
The knowledge needs of managers and regulators of the Western Australian marine
estate;
Gaps in in the knowledge requirements;
Prioritisation of new knowledge requirements; and ultimately
The scientific capability that is required to address these knowledge gaps.
Geographic area of focus…
While physical oceanography and marine ecosystems do not respect man-made lines of
demarcation, a body of water has to be defined as the primary focus of the Blueprint,
notwithstanding that the Blueprint will give consideration to marine ecosystems that are
connected to the body of water that is the focus of the Blueprint and the physical
oceanographic processes that provide that connectivity
The area of focus of the Blueprint is estuarine-catchment, coastal and open-ocean in
Western Australian and Commonwealth waters and the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone
between the Western Australian – Northern Territory border and the Western Australian – South
Australian border.
Throughout this document the term ‘Western Australian marine environment’ refers to that
area.
The time horizon…
While the Blueprint will focus primarily on the knowledge needs for the next 10 years, the 35
year horizon to 2050 is important. By 2050, many aspects of the Western Australian marine
environment will have changed in response to climate change and development. This will
affect the commercial fishing industry, urban interaction with the marine environment,
recreational users of the marine environment and design requirements for subsea and
topside petroleum production and pipeline infrastructure. Some current offshore
infrastructure will be approaching the end of its useful life. For example, unless further reserves
are discovered, much of offshore infrastructure associated directly with the North West Shelf
Project may be approaching decommissioning and the Prelude FLNG vessel will be at the
end of its design life. There will also likely be more shipping channels along the coast than is
currently the case that have been developed to support export activity.
As such, decisions will need to be made by industry, communities and regulators as to how to
manage these changes and events. These decisions will need to be informed by knowledge
that is based on high quality data and world-class scientific knowledge. The generation of
this data and knowledge will require investment and time.
Why is it needed?
Marine environment is the least
understood of all of the environments
with which mankind interacts…
Espousing the notion that mankind
understands more about the surface of the
‘We know what the surface of the
moon is better than we know what
the surface of the seafloor is.’
- M.Barber, 2001
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moon than it does the deep ocean serves as a useful anecdote to highlight the extent to
which the deep ocean is unknown. Our relatively poor understanding of the physics of the
ocean, and the marine ecosystems and livelihoods that it supports and sustains, also usually
only becomes topical in the event of human or ecological disasters such as the
disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 in March of this year, oil spill events such as the
Maconda explosion and associated oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, and the 2004 Indian
Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
However, the fact that we know so little about the marine environment compared to not
only the surface of the moon, but also a reasonable portion of our solar system, should not
be that surprising:
The difference in pressure between space and the Earth’s atmosphere is minimal,
whereas for every 10 metres of ocean depth, pressure increases by approximately 1
atmosphere. As such the deep ocean presents pressures that are prohibitive to most
activities;
While the ocean doesn’t exhibit the extreme variations in temperature that are
experienced in space, like space, much of the ocean is very cold;
Much of the ocean is very dark and/or vision is adversely affected by suspended
solids and biota;
While perhaps not as expensive as some space exploration, marine research is by its
nature an expensive exercise;
Mankind does not invest as much in marine exploration as it does space exploration.
For example, in 2013, it is estimated that the United States invested US$17.8 billion in
space exploration, but only US$5 billion in ocean exploration1;
As a result of these challenges, whereas approximately 500 individuals have been
sent into space, only three have visited the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana
Trench2 and other than surface shipping, mankind really doesn’t interact much with a
large portion of the world’s oceans; and
Human and ecological disasters, such as those described above, are relatively rare
events, particularly within a specific geographic area.
Relatively more is known about coastal waters and their ecosystems, particularly in proximity
to settled areas, as the constraints on depth and distance lessen. As such, other than for the
betterment of mankind’s knowledge, in the scheme of man’s overall knowledge
requirements, an understanding of the deep ocean has always been a relatively low priority
that requires the application of expensive technology in a high operating cost environment.
However, the interconnectedness of oceanographic systems, combined with the event of
climate change and increased ocean related economic activity is driving a requirement for
a better understanding of ocean physics, chemistry and the marine ecosystems it supports.
This understanding is necessary to better inform investors in and operators of coastal and
ocean assets, marine related policy and regulators of the marine environment.
1 Casti, T. (2013), ‘Ocean vs. Space: Which is the true final frontier?’, Mashable
(http://mashable.com/2013/09/25/ocean-vs-space/) 2 Casti, T. (2013), ‘Ocean vs. Space: Which is the true final frontier?’, Mashable
(http://mashable.com/2013/09/25/ocean-vs-space/)
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There is a critical need for a better understanding of the marine environment in
Western Australia…
The stark nexus between the significant limitations of our understanding and a development
driven need for enhanced knowledge is substantially exacerbated in the case of the
Western Australian marine environment. For the following reasons much of the Western
Australian coastline is a relative wilderness:
Unlike much of the world’s coastlines, the coastline of Western Australia has only been
subjected to European industrial interaction and associated scientific explorations for
approximately the last 200 years;
Since European settlement, the population of Western Australia and associated
urban development has been all but been confined to the Southwest corner of the
State; and
With the exception of parts of the Pilbara coast, Southwest coast and river outlets that
source from catchment areas in the agricultural regions, industrial interaction with the
remainder of the Western Australian marine environment has, to date, been limited.
However, current and projected development of the State’s offshore petroleum industry,
increased interactions from mineral export operations and the development of other
industries that interact with the marine environment, such as aquaculture, tourism and the
Ord River Irrigation Area, creates a critical need for significantly enhanced scientific
knowledge pertaining to the physics of the marine environment, and the ecosystems that it
supports for the purposes of investment and operating decisions, as well as environmental
management decisions. This need is enhanced by the event of climate change.
Scientific research in the marine environment is multi-disciplinary and expensive and
undertaken by a wide range of organisations…
For the following reasons, developing and executing on a strategic plan for marine science
in Western Australia is a challenging exercise:
Conducting marine field research remains a costly exercise and costs in Western
Australia are exacerbated by the remoteness of the marine environment, and a
relative lack of marine science infrastructure throughout most of the State;
The disciplines of scientific expertise that are relevant to studying the marine
environment are many and diverse, including various fields of physics, chemistry,
biology, ecology and mathematics, as well as many social sciences;
Compared to many other fields, there is a relatively significant scientific capability
and capacity in many areas of marine science residing in the private sector,
particularly in companies associated with the oil and gas industry, at scales which at
least rival capabilities in public sector research organisations; and
There are a large number of diverse public sector organisations that undertake
marine scientific research in Western Australia, including a range of universities from
across Australia, CSIRO, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Australian Institute of
Marine Science, Department of Fisheries, Bureau of Meteorology, the marine science
consulting sector and the Royal Australian Navy.
Prioritising research within a limited research budget and coordinating and efficiently
deploying expertise from a wider range of diverse organisations is a challenge that must be
addressed if the knowledge gap pertaining to Western Australia’s marine environment is to
be closed.
Furthermore, the Western Australian marine environment is part of the wider Indian Ocean
region, which is becoming an increasingly important region from a trade and strategic
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perspective. Activities of other Nations in these waters will also impact on the Western
Australian marine environment.
Australia, India and South Africa are the only Indian Ocean boundary nations with world-
class scientific capacity and will play an increasingly important role in facilitating global
understanding of the Indian Ocean. A more focused and coordinated marine science effort
will enhance Western Australia’s role in international scientific research pertaining to the
Indian Ocean.
What will it be used for?
The Blueprint will be a public resource articulating end user knowledge needs and prioritising
critical knowledge gaps pertaining to the Western Australian marine environment. While it will
be central to helping WAMSI determine its focus, it is also intended that it will be used to
guide and support the research and knowledge acquisition investment decisions of a range
of organisations, including:
State, national and international researchers outside of WAMSI that have an interest
in marine science in Western Australia;
Current industries operating in the Western Australian marine environment including,
oil and gas, seaborne logistics and the fishing industry;
Government instrumentalities such as Search and Rescue, Customs and Border
Protection and the Australian Defence Force;
Commonwealth trade and foreign affairs agencies with an Indian Ocean and South
East Asian focus;
Future industries such as marine aquaculture and ocean energy;
State and Commonwealth government policy-makers and marine estate managers;
Traditional owners and managers of sea country;
Environmental Non-Government Organisations; and
Coastal shires and communities.
How will it be developed?
While the Blueprint has been commissioned and funded by WAMSI, it is being developed
independently by Australian Venture Consultants (AVC), a private strategic analytical
consultancy firm with expertise and a track-record in developing strategic, multi-stakeholder
scientific research plans. AVC has been engaged to ensure the analysis underpinning the
Blueprint is thorough and objective.
The process used by Australian Venture Consultants is highly consultative, ensuring that all
stakeholders have the opportunity to provide input to the research plan and comment on
drafts of the plan.
The Blueprint process will build on and complement existing knowledge and plans pertaining
to the Western Australian marine environment, including:
Ocean Policy Science Advisory Group (2009), A Marine Nation: National Framework
for Marine Research and Innovation
Ocean Policy Science Advisory Group (2013), Marine Nation 25: Marine Science to
Support Australia’s Blue Economy, Australian Government Canberra
Australian Bureau of Meteorology (2014), Marine Strategy 2014-19, Australian
Government, Canberra
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (2010), Research Development
and Extension Plan 2010-15, Australian Government Canberra
Integrated Marine Observing System (2014), IMOS Strategy 2015-25
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It will also draw heavily on the ‘state-of-the-art’ as defined by the existing scientific literature
pertaining to the Western Australian marine environment.
The Blueprint will contribute regional context and resolution for the national Marine Science
Planning process soon to be initiated by the Ocean Policy Science Advisory Group. The
Blueprint will both inform this national process, and be nested within it once complete.
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The Western Australian Marine Environment,
Industry and Community and Knowledge
Needs
The Western Australian Marine Environment
Key Aspects of the Western Australian Marine Environment
The Western Australian coastline is approximately 13,000 kilometres long and accounts for
approximately 36 percent of the entire Australian coastline. The majority of the Western
Australian coastline has a north-south orientation and interfaces with the Indian Ocean
between latitudes of approximately 15º South and 25º South, with approximately 1,000
kilometres of coastline interfacing with the Southern Ocean and a relatively small portion of
the coastline interfacing with the Timor Sea.
The marine environment along this coastline is characterised by a very wide range of
habitats that exist in a diverse range of structures including:
Estuaries;
Seagrass meadows;
Islands and island systems, such as the Bonaparte Archipelago, Buccaneer
Archipelago, Kimberley Islands, Dampier Archipelago, Houtman-Abrolhos Islands, Dirk
Hartog and Recherche Archipelago;
Coral reef systems, such as Scott Reef, Rowley Shoals, Mermaid Reef, Montgomery
Reef, Ashmore Reef, Seringapatam Reef, Glomal Shoals and Ningaloo Reef;
Mangroves;
Complex benthic architecture;
Sounds, such as Camden Sound, Cockburn Sound and King George Sound;
Significant bays, such as Roebuck Bay, Shark Bay and Jurien Bay; and
Significant shelf and deep-ocean features, such as carbonate banks, continental
slopes, Exmouth Plateau, Wallaby Saddle, Naturalist Channel, Naturalist Plateau,
Albany Canyons and the Diamantina Fracture Zone.
These habitats exist in very diverse climatic and oceanographic conditions. As a result, they
host tremendous marine biodiversity3 and ecosystems. The waters off Western Australia are
home to a wide range of iconic and listed marine fauna species including a number of
marine mega-fauna (whale sharks, blue whales, humpback whales, southern right whales
and sperm whales), numerous species of dolphin, dugong, a variety of shark species,
Australian sea lions, New Zealand fur seal, marine turtles, sawfish and sea snakes as well as a
large number of seabird species including the soft plumed petrel, Australian lesser noddy and
the Indian yellow-nosed albatross and species of coral. It also hosts significant marine flora
biodiversity including the most diverse seagrasses in the world. In addition to the large
number of iconic and listed species, there is a significant amount of marine fauna and flora
endemism and short range endemic species in the Western Australian marine environment.
3 For the purposes of this paper, biodiversity is defined as the variety of life forms within a
defined geographical area, including the genetic and species diversity of plants, animals
and microorganisms, as well as the variety of habitats, ecological communities and
ecological processes within a defined geographical area.
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Furthermore, by virtue of the dominance of the Leeuwin Current along the length of the
Western Australian coast, these systems are highly interconnected.
As illustrated in Figure 14 below, these coastal and marine ecosystems, like all such systems,
provide a range of what are commonly referred to as ‘ecosystem services’ to the natural
environment and to the wellbeing of mankind.
FIGURE 1 – ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROVIDED BY MARINE SYSTEMS
The following subsections describe and discuss the knowledge needs, as identified by the
process thus far, for decision-makers involved in:
The conservation and protection of the ecosystems that provide the services listed in
Figure 1above;
The development and operation of economic activity that is designed to capture
value from some of the services listed in Figure 1above; and
Managing the societal and community interaction with the ecosystems that provide
the services listed in Figure 1above.
Conservation and Protection of the Western Australian Marine
Environment
As a result of its remoteness and the fact that major development has only occurred in the
past 50 or so years, much of the Western Australian marine environment is wilderness and
some aspects are globally unique. This is recognised by the Commonwealth Government’s
system of Marine Reserves, as well as Western Australian Marine Parks and Reserves, which
are designed for the primary purpose of conserving the biodiversity found within them, while
allowing for appropriate and sustainable use of natural resources and public enjoyment.
Commonwealth Government Marine Reserves
The Northwest Marine Region covers some 1.07 million square kilometres of marine estate
between the township of Kalbarri and the Northern Territory border. Approximately 30
percent of this area is the subject of Commonwealth Marine Reserves, including the
Carnarvon Canyon, Shark Bay, Gascoyne, Ningaloo, Montebello, Dampier, Eighty Mile
Beach, Argo-Rowley Terrace, Mermaid Reef, Roebuck, Kimberley, Ashmore Reef and Cartier
4 Leslie, H and McLeod, K (2007), ‘Confronting the challenges of implementing marine
ecosystem-based management’, Frontiers in Ecology, 5(10), 540-548
Food for humans
Food for animals
Fibre, timber, fuel
Medicines
Biodiversity
Biological regulation
Biochemical
Nutrient cycling
Climate regulation
Human disease control
Waste processing
Flood/storm protection
Erosion control
Water storage and retention
Cultural and amenity
Recreational
Aesthetics
Employment
Estuaries andMarshes
Mangrove Lagoon andSalt Ponds
Intertidal Kelp SeagrassRock andShell Reefs
CoralReefs
InnerShelf
Outer Shelves,Edges and Slopes
Seamountsand Mid-
Ocean Ridges
Deep Seaand Central
Gyres
Very Important ModeratelyImportant
Some Importance Important Not Important Not ranked
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Island Commonwealth Marine Reserves. Figure 25 below illustrates the location of marine
reserves in the Northwest Marine Region.
FIGURE 2 – NORTHWEST MARINE REGION COMMONWEALTH MARINE RESERVES
The South West Marine Region covers some 1.3 million square kilometres of marine estate
from Shark Bay to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Approximately 40 percent of this marine
estate is the subject of Commonwealth Marine Reserves, including 400,830 square kilometres
of Reserves in the area of ocean that is relevant to the Blueprint. These Reserves include the
Abrolhos, Jurien, Two Rocks, Perth Canyon, Geographe, South-west Corner, Eastern
Recherche, Twilight and Bremer Commonwealth Marine Reserves. Commonwealth Marine
Reserves in the South West Marine Region are illustrated in Figure 36 below.
5 http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/marine/marine-reserves/north-west 6 http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/marine/marine-reserves/south-west
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FIGURE 3 - SOUTH WEST MARINE REGION COMMONWEALTH MARINE RESERVES
State Government Marine Parks
In addition to the Commonwealth Marine Reserve system is a network of State Government
marine parks, management areas, nature reserves and proposed marine parks and nature
reserves. There are thirteen State marine parks which are managed by the Department of
Parks and Wildlife and are designed to protect scenic and biologically important areas of
ocean and coastline. There are two State marine nature reserves, which are created for the
purposes of conservation and scientific research and which allow low-impact tourism, as well
as two marine management areas which facilitate integrated management in areas which
have a high conservation value as well as intensive multiple use.
Western Australian marine parks, management areas, nature reserves and proposed marine
parks and nature reserves are illustrated in Figure 47 below.
7 Source?
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FIGURE 4 – WESTERN AUSTRALIAN STATE MARINE PARKS, MANAGEMENT AREAS, NATURE RESERVES AND
PROPOSED MARINE PARKS AND RESERVES
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As global awareness of Western Australia’s marine environmental assets continues to
increase, the proponents and operators of projects that interact with this environment and
the agencies that regulate that activity will come under increasing pressure from the Western
Australian, Australian and global community to demonstrate that this activity is not
compromising those environmental assets. Increasingly, this will become critical for marine
industries of all types to maintain a social license to operate.
Key Knowledge Needs for Managers and Regulator of the Western
Australian Marine Environment
The responsibility for regulation and management of the Commonwealth Marine Reserves
resides with the Commonwealth Department of the Environment. The State marine reserves
are vested in the Marine Parks and Reserves Authority and managed on their behalf by the
Department of Parks and Wildlife. The Environmental Protection Authority is charged with
assessing the environmental impact of development projects on these parks, as well as the
wider ocean marine estate, recommending to the Government if a project proceeds,
together with conditions that should be placed on a project, including its environmental
management plan. The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental
Management Authority (NOPSEMA) is responsible for regulating safety and environmental
impact of the petroleum industry in Commonwealth Waters.
In addition, developers and operators of projects in the marine environment are required to
consider the environmental impact of their projects. They must make a science based case
for their project to be approved and manage the environmental impact throughout the
project cycle in accordance with their environmental management plan. They must do this
to meet the prescribed requirements of the relevant regulators and in order to maintain a
social license to operate, meet the environmental management expectations of the
community.
Management of these assets must be both effective in protecting and conserving
environmental values, as well as efficient from a productivity perspective. In the absence of
a deep scientific understanding of environmental assets, the precautionary principle may be
applied to protect these assets, which may carry an unnecessary productivity penalty.
The following are some espoused key knowledge needs that will allow regulators and project
proponents to optimally manage environmental assets:
Knowledge that ensures that the current system of reserves and parks is adequately
representative of the key biodiversity and ecosystems;
Substantially enhanced baseline descriptions of biodiversity, habitats and ecosystems
within marine reserves and parks that are representative of particular systems and
their natural variability, as well as long term trends;
A deeper understanding of the physical oceanography that connects ecosystems
(currents, eddy currents, solitons etc), the dynamics of the relationship between
different marine ecosystems and the impact of local, regional and global natural
(e.g. tropical cyclones, tsunamis etc) and anthropogenic events (e.g. oil spills etc) on
those ecosystems;
A deeper understanding of the impact of anthropogenic disruptions to this
interconnectivity (e.g. channels, pipelines etc);
Ability to distinguish between the impact of anthropogenic pressures and natural
events on ecosystems, particularly with reference to the rapidly increasing marine
noise environment in the northwest;
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Building on the knowledge developed from enhanced baseline descriptions and
deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of ecosystems, an understanding of
the resilience of specific marine ecosystems to natural and anthropogenic events;
A deeper understanding of new marine ecosystems that have developed around
manmade offshore infrastructure that leads to effective management of those
ecosystems in the event of project completion;
A deeper understanding of microbial and other small scale processes that underpin
all other biological activity, particularly important microbial processes and the
resilience of those processes to change;
An improved understanding of the various dimensions on which the public determine
and prescribe value to marine environments and the impacts of recreational
activities on the marine environment; and
A community that is more informed about marine science so that it is confident that
proponents and regulators are taking adequate measures to preserve important
marine ecosystems.
Economic Development and the Western Australian
Marine Environment With the exception of a relatively small amount of coastal and open-ocean commercial
shipping traffic and the fishing industry, there was limited industrial interaction with the
Western Australian marine environment until about 50 years ago. In more recent times,
particularly the last decade, there has been accelerated development of industries that
interact with the marine environment, including an offshore oil and gas industry, minerals
export industry and coastal urbanisation.
It is evident that there will be a continuing trend toward further economic development that
will interact with the Western Australian marine environment.
Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
The offshore oil and gas industry in Western Australia is located primarily in the Carnarvon
Basin off the Pilbara coast, with increasing exploration and development activity in the
Browse Basin off the Kimberley coast. Some exploration activity occurs in other areas along
Key Questions for the Reader
1. Which are the key ecosystems in the Western Australian marine environment for
which we have a reasonable understanding of habitats, biodiversity,
interconnectivity and natural variability?
2. Which are the key ecosystems in the Western Australian marine environment for
which our understanding of habitats, biodiversity, interconnectivity and natural
variability is minimal?
3. On what basis should we prioritise ecosystems for investment in an improved
understanding of habitats, biodiversity, interconnectivity and natural variability?
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the Western Australian coastline Figure 58 below illustrates existing petroleum titles as at June
2014.
FIGURE 5 – WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM TITLES (MAY 2014)
8 Department of Mines and Petroleum (2014)
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Carnarvon Basin
The oil and gas industry that produces hydrocarbon products from the offshore Carnarvon
basin is a key industry for Western Australia in terms of contribution to GSP, employment,
export revenues, sustainability of regional communities and domestic energy security. It is
also a significant industry for the Nation in terms of contribution to GNP, export revenues and
Commonwealth taxation revenues.
The following subsections summarise some of the key projects that comprise the Carnarvon
Basin offshore oil and gas industry.
North West Shelf Project
The North West Shelf Project is the single largest resources project in Australia and one of the
largest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects in the world. It accounts for approximately 30
percent of Australia’s oil and gas production and has provided the majority of Western
Australia’s domestic gas supply for the past 30 years. Since 1989 the project has delivered
approximately 4,000 LNG cargoes to customers around the world.
Production from the Angel, Goodwyn A and North Rankin A platforms is piped to Woodside’s
Karratha Gas Plant where five LNG trains produce LNG for export and a domestic gas plant
delivers gas to the Dampier-Bunbury pipeline.
Gorgon
The Gorgon Project is operated by Chevron and is located on Barrow Island. Barrow Island is
a Class A Nature Reserve with an associated State marine reserve located approximately 60
kilometres off the coast. The Gorgon project sources gas from a combination of production
rigs and subsea production systems at the Jansz and Lo fields located in the Greater Gorgon
Area 130 kilometres of the coast. Once commissioned, gas will be piped to processing
facilities on Barrow Island via a subsea pipeline where it will be processed into LNG for export
via three LNG trains with a combined capacity of 15mtpa, as well as a domestic gas plant
which will supply the Dampier-Bunbury pipeline via a subsea pipeline from Barrow Island.
Macedon
The BHP Billiton Petroleum operated Macedon Gas project sources gas from the Macedon
Gas Field via four offshore production wells approximately 100 kilometres off the coast of
Onslow. Production gas is piped to a domestic gas plant located at Ashburton North near
Onslow.
Pluto LNG
The Pluto and Xena gas fields are located approximately 190 kilometres north of Karratha
where gas is sourced via a normally unmanned platform connected to five subsea wells. Gas
is piped from this facility via a 180 kilometre long trunkline to the onshore LNG plant near
Karratha, where a single LNG train produces 4.3mtpa.
Reindeer – Devil Creek
The Apache Energy operated Devil Creek domestic gas plant sources gas from its Reindeer
gas field, located approximately 45 kilometres off the coast.
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Wheatstone
The Chevron operated Wheatstone project will process gas produced from the Chevron
operated Lago gas fields as well as the Apache Energy operated Julimar and Brunello fields.
Gas sourced from these fields will be piped via a 225 kilometre trunkline to an onshore gas
processing facility at Ashburton North, 12 kilometres north of the town of Onslow, where it will
be processed into LNG for export via two LNG trains with a combined capacity of 8.9mtpa
and to domestic gas via a domestic gas plant linked to the Dampier-Bunbury pipeline.
Other Projects
In addition to the main projects discussed above there are a number of oil fields producing
and exporting via Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facilities, as well as
further gas projects that are yet to achieve Final Investment Decision such as ExxonMobil’s
Scarborough project, which may see the first deployment of FLNG technology in the
Carnarvon Basin.
Offshore Browse Basin
Located off the coast of the Kimberley Region of Western Australia, the Browse Basin is
currently not in production. However, there are two projects currently under development,
one project proceeding to Final Investment Decision and considerable exploration activity in
the region. The Browse Basin will likely evolve into a major gas producing region for Western
Australia.
The following subsections describe the post Final Investment Decision projects in the Browse
Basin. These projects are being deployed in the context of very limited operating experience
in the region.
Ichthys LNG Project
The Ichthys gas and condensate field is located in the Browse Basin, approximately 200
kilometres off the Kimberley coast. Gas from the Ichthys field will be sourced from up to 50
subsea wells and undergo preliminary processing to remove water and raw fluids (including
most of the condensate) on what will be the world’s largest semi-submersible platform. The
removed condensate will be pumped to a FPSO facility to be anchored nearby. The gas will
be transported to a LNG processing facility in Darwin via a 890 kilometre long subsea
trunkline.
Prelude
The Prelude and Concerto gas fields are located approximately 475 kilometres north-east of
the Kimberley town of Broome. Gas will be produced from these fields via a series of subsea
wells delivering raw hydrocarbon fluids to the Prelude Floating LNG production vessel, which
is currently under construction. The Prelude FLNG vessel is 488 metres in length and 74 metres
wide with a fully-loaded weight of approximately 600,000 tonnes. It has the capacity to
process 3.6mtpa of LNG, as well as condensate and LPG. Production from the Prelude FLNG
vessel will be loaded onto LNG carriers directly at sea. The vessel will be permanently moored
at the location for 25 years and is rated to withstand a 1 in 10,000 year weather event. The
application of this technology in the Browse Basin is likely to be a world-first.
Browse
The Woodside operated Browse Project is comprised of the Torosa, Brecknock and Calliance
fields located approximately 425 kilometres north of Broome. The original plan for the
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development of the Browse project was to source the gas via a series of subsea wells
connected to a platform, with the gas piped to an onshore LNG and domestic gas plant to
be located at James Price Point, approximately 60 kilometres north of Broome. For economic
reasons, Woodside abandoned this development option and are currently exploring the
application of FLNG technology to the project.
Key Knowledge Needs for the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
The following are some espoused key knowledge needs of investors in and operators of
offshore oil and gas assets:
A deeper understanding of localised oceanographic processes such as solitons, eddy
currents, thermal structure and seafloor mobility, so that optimal positioning of
offshore infrastructure, design requirements and operational systems can be
determined;
A deeper understanding of how local physical oceanography will change with
climate change to ensure that assets are designed and managed to withstand and
operate safely and efficiently in a changing oceanographic environment;
Deeper understanding of the impact of changes in the water temperature profile on
gas production;
Enhanced prediction of solitons to better manage hydrate formation in subsea
production equipment and risers, FLNG side-by-side loading operations, and to
design improved anchoring systems for floating infrastructure;
Enhanced swell prediction that facilitates improved at-sea loading operations;
A deeper understanding of the physics of seabed mobility and the impact of extreme
events on seabed mobility, that leads to more effective design and management of
pipelines and other seafloor infrastructure and channels;
A deeper understanding of the ocean physics and biology of marine fouling that
leads to enhanced design and asset management options that provide for efficient
management of marine fouling on subsea infrastructure, particularly with respect to
reducing drag on risers;
Deeper understanding of the parameterisation of tropical cyclones and how to
predict and operate in the wind-fields around the vortex of tropical cyclones;
More efficient and effective baseline and disturbance monitoring for the approval
and compliance phases;
Improved predictive modelling of the transient and permanent impacts of
development activities such as dredging and port construction;
More efficient and effective benthic rehabilitation techniques associated with offsets
or decommissioning of infrastructure; and
More effective and efficient screening for exotic marine pests on vessels entering
Australian waters.
Seaborne Logistics
Seaborne logistics is critical to economic development, particularly in the case of a bulk
commodity export oriented economy like Western Australia. Physical disturbance of the
marine environment is caused by shipping through physical structures that support shipping
operations such as ports, dredging associated with navigation channels and the vessel
movements themselves. There is the compounding potential for the introduction of exotic
marine pests to Australian waters.
There are eight export ports along the coast of Western Australia. In 2012-13, these ports
collectively accounted for approximately 50 percent of the total throughput (mass tonnes)
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at Australian ports. As illustrated in Figure 69 below, the vast majority of the throughput at
Western Australian ports is associated with iron ore and LNG exports from the Pilbara ports.
FIGURE 6 - THROUGHPUT AT WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PORTS (2011-12)
Western Australian ports also accounted for 22 percent of the approximate 30,000
commercial vessel calls to Australian ports in 2011-12, second only to the Queensland ports
which accounted for 30 percent of all commercial vessel calls to Australian ports. Again, it
was the bulk cargo, LNG carriers and other commercial vessels associated with servicing the
construction and operations of resources projects in the Pilbara region that accounted for
the vast majority of vessel calls at Western Australian ports. This is illustrated in Figure 710
below.
9 Ports Australia 10 Ports Australia
-
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Port
Hedland
Port
Authority
Dampier
Port
Authority
Fremantle
Port
Authority
Bunbury
Port
Authority
Esperance
Port
Authority
Geraldton
Port
Authority
Albany Port
Authority
Broome Port
Authority
Mas
s T
on
nes
(m
t)
Total Port Throughput - Western Australian Ports (2012-
13)
Imports Exports
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FIGURE 7 – COMMERCIAL VESSEL CALLS AT WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PORTS – 2012-13
Key Knowledge Needs for the Seaborne Logistics Industry
The following are some espoused key knowledge needs for operators in the seaborne
logistics industry include:
Accurate swell prediction capability that leads to optimal navigation planning;
Monitoring and management of invasive species and application of efficient
biosecurity measures; and
Systems that allow efficient and safe port operations in the event of infra-gravity
waves within ports.
Commercial Fishing Industry
In 2011-12, the value of Western Australian wild capture fishery was approximately A$276
million, which was produced almost entirely from ocean and coastal resources. The Western
Rock Lobster sector accounted for approximately 65 percent of the value of the Western
Australian wild capture fishery11.
The commercial fishing industry employs approximately 10,000 Western Australians12. Most
fishing industry businesses are small family operated businesses and the industry is important
to the social fabric of many Western Australian coastal towns. Western Australia’s
commercial fishing industry is based primarily on relatively low volume, high value fisheries
such as western rock lobster, abalone, scallops and prawns that are exported primarily to
Asia and the United States. Finfish are also produced by the Western Australian fishing
industry and most of this catch is sold in the domestic market.
Table 1 below summarises Western Australian species for which there is a commercial fishery.
11 Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (2013), Australian Fisheries Statistics
Yearbook, Australian Government, Canberra 12 Western Australian Fishing Industry Council
-
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
Dampier
Port
Authority
Port
Hedland
Port
Authority
Fremantle
Port
Authority
Bunbury
Port
Authority
Esperance
Port
Authority
Albany Port
Authority
Broome Port
Authority
Nu
mb
er o
f V
esse
ls
Commercial Vessel Calls - Western Australian ports
(2012-13)
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Demersal finfish Pelagic
finfish
Near
shore/Estuarine
Finfish
Crustaceans Baitfish Molluscs and
other
Invertebrates
Coral trout
Emperor
Mulloway
Rock cod
Sea perch
Snapper
Tropical
snapper
Westralian
dhufish
Albacore
Bigeye tuna
Broadbill
swordfish
Bronze
whaler shark
Dusky shark
Gummy
shark
Mackerel
Patagonian
toothefish
School shark
Southern
Bluefin tuna
Tommy ruff
Tropical shark
Yellowfin
tuna
Whiskery
shark
Australian
salmon
Barramundi
Bream
Cobbler
Flounder
Flathead
King George
whiting
Tailor
Threadfin
salmon
Yellowfin
whiting
Banana prawn
Bay lobster
Endeavour
prawn
Ornate lobster
Mud crab
Swimmer crab
Tiger prawn
Western king
prawn
Pilchards
Sardines
Sea
mullet
Yellow-
eyed
mullet
Blacklip
abalone
Greenlop
abalone
Kimberley
calamari
Inshore squid
Octopus
Saucer scallop
TABLE 1- SPECIES ASSOCIATED WITH WESTERN AUSTRALIAN FISHERIES
Key Knowledge Needs for the Commercial Fishing Industry
The following are some espoused key knowledge needs of investors in and operators of
commercial fishing assets:
Likelihood and impact of marine heatwave events on the viability of existing fisheries
and the time required for fisheries to recover from these events;
Impact of ocean acidification on shellfish and other invertebrate fisheries;
Longer term impact of climate change on the productivity of existing fisheries;
Identification and potential of, as well as regulatory requirements for, new fisheries
such as large volume small pelagic species fisheries;
Mitigating the economic impact of increasing operating costs by better targeting of
catch and mitigation of environmental impact;
Reduction of by-catch and other ecosystem impacts in some fisheries;
Mechanisms that transfer scientific knowledge pertaining to the fishing industry to the
wider public to enhance public knowledge industry sustainability; and
Impact of the activities of other industries (such as seismic surveys associated with the
oil and gas industry) on specific fisheries.
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Inland Agriculture and Other Anthropogenic Impacts on Catchment
Discharge
Whilst conducted onshore, agriculture impacts on the marine environment. Together with
significant volumes of sediment, fertilisers and other additives used to enhance agricultural
production often find their way into river catchments that ultimately drain into the ocean
environment. If physical ocean conditions cause a concentration of these nutrient rich
waters, they can have a significant impact on marine ecosystems.
Additionally, there has been growth of irrigated agriculture in the Kimberley Region (Ord
River Irrigation Area and potentially the La Grange Groundwater system). Understanding the
impact of diverted inland water systems on the drainage of those systems into the ocean
and the subsequent impact on marine ecosystems will be increasingly important
Key Knowledge Needs for the Management of Agriculture and Catchment Activities
The following are some espoused key knowledge needs that will facilitate improved
management of the interaction of inland activities that affect quality or flows of water
entering the marine environment with the marine environment:
Understanding the natural rates of sediment and nutrient runoff, and how land use
has changed these rates;
Deeper understanding of agricultural and urban nutrient loading in river catchments
and those which are likely to impact to marine environment;
Understanding the reversibility or otherwise of historic runoff impacts on estuaries and
remediation techniques;
Dispersion of agricultural nutrients carried by river systems into the marine
environment and the impact of those nutrients on marine ecosystems; and
Impact of inland waterway diversion, or climate driven reductions in flows, on the
marine environment.
Future Industries
Marine Aquaculture
Historically, marine aquaculture has evolved almost exclusively around the production of
Pinctada maxima pearls. This industry has had an historical average value of approximately
A$120 million per annum and is located on the Kimberley coast, but has been in significant
decline in recent years.
With respect to seafood aquaculture, native blue mussels have been grown in Cockburn
Sound for approximately the past two decades. Production from these operations has been
sold exclusively to the local restaurant market. Barramundi is grown in a sea cage operation
at Cone Bay, north of Broome. However, the total value of seafood produced by marine
aquaculture operations is estimated to be less than A$20 million, with the vast majority of that
value derived from the Cone Bay barramundi operation.
There have been numerous attempts to establish marine seafood aquaculture operations in
Western Australia over the past couple of decades, with a total estimated private sector
capital investment of between $60 and $100 million. To date, none of these endeavours
have resulted in a sustainable commercial venture, and all but one has failed. Cited reasons
for enterprise failure in the Western Australian aquaculture industry include:
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Listed and unlisted public company finance structures that have resulted in significant
over-capitalisation and an inability to provide ongoing finance;
Over-promotion of many projects that has resulted in unmet investor expectations
and a loss of investor appetite for the sector;
Technical challenges including fish-health issues;
Uncertainty and costs associated with environmental and other regulatory approvals;
Inadequate infrastructure, particularly energy;
High cost structures associated with operations in regional Western Australia; and
Social conflicts over marine site usage.
There are a number of marine aquaculture projects that are in the early stages of
development in Western Australia that have at least prima facie potential to develop scale
and economic sustainability. These are either in production but not as yet profitable, in the
early stages of commercialisation or the subject of commercial trials, and are as follows:
Marine Produce Australia: Cone Bay Barramundi
This project involves a sea-cage operation located on an island off the Kimberley
coast to grow-out barramundi.
Geraldton Marine Finfish Project
This project has involved sea cage trials in Geraldton harbour to grow-out mulloway
and yellowtail kingfish
Ocean Grown Abalone Augusta Trials
This project is a trial to grow-out juvenile abalone produced at a onshore farm in
Bremer Bay at a site offshore Finders Bay in Augusta.
Occoculture
This project revolves around research projects exploring the technical and economic
viability of ranching and hatchery operations for various species of octopus, including
species native to Western Australian waters.
With increased pressure on the ability of the world’s wild-capture fisheries to sustain growing
global demand for seafood protein, Western Australia’s long coastline presents a potential
opportunity for the development of a sustainable marine aquaculture industry if economic
solutions can be developed.
Aquaculture can also play an important role in restocking for the purposes of conserving
listed species or ensuring sustainable commercial fisheries.
Knowledge Needs for Marine Aquaculture
The following are some espoused key knowledge needs of investors in and operators of
commercial marine aquaculture assets:
Identification of opportunities to improve the economic viability of marine
aquaculture in Western Australia based on current production technology;
Identification of emerging technologies that could be deployed in Western Australia
to facilitate an economically and environmentally sustainable aquaculture industry in
Western Australia;
Understanding of community attitudes toward near shore aquaculture in prospective
areas;
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Mapping that builds on existing knowledge of technically and economically viable
locations for aquaculture along the Western Australian coastline based on current
and future technologies; and
Opportunities and challenges (including the management of biosecurity) for using
aquaculture to restock listed species or species that are under pressure from
commercial or recreational fishing.
Marine Bio-prospecting
Marine Bio-prospecting refers to the systematic search for, and development of, new sources
of chemical compounds, genes, micro-organisms and other valuable products from the
natural marine environment. The absence of legislation that facilitates intellectual property
rights that might arise from bio-prospecting is often cited as the reason that there is limited
marine bio-prosecting activity in Western Australia. However, it is also likely that Western
Australia is a less attractive location for marine bio-prospecting than other regions of the
world that demonstrate higher marine biodiversity densities such as many parts of Asia.
Knowledge Needs for Marine Bioprospecting
The following are some espoused key knowledge needs of investors in and operators of
commercial marine aquaculture assets:
Are there specific high value compounds for which the Western Australian marine
environment may be more prospective than other regions?
Are there technologies that exist or can be developed that can more efficiently
identify those compounds and/or indicators of the presence of those compounds?
Ocean Energy
Ocean energy includes tidal, wave and ocean thermal energy. The total tidal kinetic energy
on average at any one time on the continental shelf adjacent to Western Australia accounts
for approximately 60 percent of the total off Australian waters13 The North West Shelf has
significant kinetic energy density, potentially rendering areas within the North West Shelf
suitable for deployment of tidal energy generation systems. Whereas, the south west coast
has potential for the application of wave energy systems.
The temperature difference that exists through the water column as a result of the sun’s solar
radiation heating surface waters creates thermal energy that can be converted into thermal
energy through ocean thermal energy converters. Sharp differences in water temperature
which occur in deeper parts of the northwest ocean environment may be suitable for
harnessing ocean thermal energy.
Ocean sourced renewable energy has not historically been a major focus of investment in
Western Australia, primarily as the result of the relative capital and operating cost benefits
associated many terrestrial renewable resources such as wind, solar and tidal and the
immediate suitability for many parts of Western Australia for particular wind and solar
generation.
13 Geoscience Australia (2010), Australian Energy Resource Assessment, Geoscience
Australia, Canberra
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Knowledge Needs for Ocean Energy
The following are some espoused key knowledge needs of investors in and operators of
ocean energy assets:
Identification of possible sites for ocean energy structure as determined by suitability
of ocean physics (including a far more accurate map of the ocean thermal structure
that can be used as the basis for identifying opportunities for ocean thermal energy
infrastructure), environmental impact of that infrastructure and proximity and access
to sources of energy demand; and
Deeper understanding of the economics and competitiveness of ocean energy in
Western Australia.
Other Future Industries
In the more distant future industries such as deep sea mining may be a relevant point of
focus. Deep sea mining involves retrieving minerals from ocean mining sites that are usually
located around large areas of polymetallic nodules, manganese crusts or active and extinct
hydrothermal vents, which create sulphide deposits that can contain a range of metals.
Given the cost of deep sea mining compared to terrestrial mining, particularly in a minerals
rich province such as Western Australia, the economic viability of deep sea mining is likely to
be some time away.
Society, Community and Urban Development and the
Western Australian Marine Environment As illustrated in Figure 814 below, the greatest population density of both Australians and
Western Australians is in the capital cities and other coastal communities.
14 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013), Year Book Australia, 2012, 1301.0
Key Questions for the Reader
1. Industry, particularly the oil and gas industry makes a significant investment in
both physical marine biological science to support strategic, investment and
operational decisions, as well as to attain approvals. While the outputs of this
science is typical treated as confidential, there is a very real risk that public
sector investment in marine science will unnecessarily replicate industry
investment, resulting in an unnecessary productivity penalty. Are there avenues
that we can explore to mitigate this risk and ensure that limited resources are
applied to marine science in the most productive way?
2. Are there opportunities for the private sector and public research sector to
collaborate more closely to ensure resources are optimally deployed across
physical ocean science and marine biological science?
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FIGURE 8 - POPULATION DENSITY - JUNE 2010
As at 30 June 2013, the estimated population of Western Australia was 2.52 million people, or
11 percent of the National population. During the period 2011-12 to 2012-13, Western
Australia’s population grew by 3.3 percent or 81,300 people, representing the fastest
population growth rate of any State or Territory. The population density in Western Australia is
currently one person per square kilometre, which is the second lowest in Australia after the
Northern Territory15.
Approximately, 1.9 million (or 75 percent of Western Australia’s population) live in the capital
city of Perth. As illustrated in Figure 916 below, the population of Perth has grown by
approximately 30 percent over the past decade.
15 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013), Regional Population Growth, 3218.0 16 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2014), Regional Population Growth, Australia, 3218.0
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FIGURE 9 –HISTORICAL TREND IN THE RESIDENTIAL POPULATION OF PERTH
An additional approximately 230,000 people reside in the other non-metropolitan population
centres along the Western Australian coast. As illustrated in Figure 1017 below, the population
of other major Western Australian coastal communities has also increased dramatically over
the past decade.
FIGURE 10 - RESIDENTIAL POPULATION OF NON-METROPOLITAN WESTERN AUSTRALIAN COASTAL
POPULATION CENTRES
Since 1990, there has been an average number of new dwelling approvals in Western
Australia of approximately 21,650 per annum, the vast majority of which has occurred in the
17 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2014), Regional Population Growth, Australia, 3218.0
-
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
1,800,000
2,000,000
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Res
iden
tial
Po
pu
lati
on
Historical Population - Perth
-
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012r 2013p
Historical Trend in the Residential Population of Non-
metropolitan Major Coastal Population Centres
Bunbury Geraldton Busselton Albany Karratha Port Hedland Broome
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expanding coastal communities. The historical trend in building approvals in Western
Australia is summarised in Figure 1118 below.
FIGURE 11 – HISTORICAL TREND IN THE NUMBER OF NEW DWELLING APPROVALS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
With the vast majority of the Western Australian population residing in coastal communities,
the Western Australian marine environment is fundamental to Western Australian culture and
recreational activity. For example:
An estimated one-third of the Western Australian population engage in recreational
fishing;
Western Australia has the highest boat ownership per capita of any state or territory in
Australia; and
Customary fishing practices are of central importance to many Aboriginal cultures
along the coast of Western Australia.
Because there is very limited data on which the impact of particularly recreational fishing
and boating can be assessed, the degree to which these activities should be regulated in
uncertain.
Knowledge Needs for Communities and Urban Development
The following are some espoused key knowledge needs of investors in and regulators of
coastal communities, infrastructure and urban development:
A clear understanding and quantification of the relationship between important
coastal communities and marine economic activity;
18 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2014), Building Approvals, Australia May 2014, 8731.0
-
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
(u
p t
o 3
1 M
ay)
Nu
mb
er o
f N
ew D
wel
lin
gs
Ap
pro
ved
Historical Trend in the Number of New Dwellings
Approved in Western Australia
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Identification and analysis of the impact of marine based recreational activities
(boating, recreational fishing etc) on the marine ecosystems and economic activity;
Understanding of the importance of marine recreational activities on other industries
such as tourism and the viability of coastal communities;
Deeper understanding of the impact of climate change as well as local, regional and
global natural and anthropogenic events on coastal inundation and design
requirements for coastal infrastructure and urban development;
Deeper understanding of physical erosion or sedimentation impacts on beach form
and coastal infrastructure, and mechanisms to avoid/mitigate these impacts;
Deeper understanding of the physics and ecosystems associated with the estuarine
environments that are often the foci of coastal communities; and
Improved quantification of the recreational fish take for the purposes of effective
management and conservation of local fish stocks.
What is the Role for Science? The subsections above list a wide range of knowledge needs that have been espoused by
various stakeholders in the Western Australian marine environment to date. Advancing this
knowledge is critical to ensuring that:
The marine ecosystems that provide so many important services to the wider
environment as well as Western Australian society and industry remain functional;
Existing marine industry progresses and new marine industries are developed in a
sustainable way;
Prospective industries are able to source capital, develop and operate with a far
greater degree of certainty;
Regulation and management is able to be targeted, rather than precautionary; and
That Western Australians continue to enjoy the marine environment that is so
important to the ‘WA way of life’.
The solution to these knowledge needs resides in the advancement of science in areas of
scientific investigation that pertain specifically to key aspects to the Western Australian
marine environment that either directly inform these knowledge needs, or which create a
knowledge capability that can service these knowledge needs.
The key areas of scientific investigation that are emerging as key to servicing these
knowledge needs are discussed in the next section of this discussion paper.
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Emerging Key Areas of Scientific Investigation This section of the discussion paper highlights key fields of investigation in which scientific
knowledge must be substantially improved in order to address the knowledge gaps identified
in the previous section.
The following subsections discuss the scientific knowledge gaps that have emerged from the
Blueprint analysis to date and are not necessarily the priorities. Further interviews and
workshops are still to be conducted, within will further inform the identification and
development of the required areas of scientific investigation.
Because he ocean is a biophysical system, it is not surprising that the scientific fields of
investigation that have emerged to date can be broadly categorised as understanding
marine ecosystems, the physical ocean environment and the relationship between the two.
Understanding Marine Ecosystems As discussed in a previous section of this discussion paper, the Western Australian marine
environment hosts a wide range of marine habitats, ecosystems and biodiversity, which in
turn, deliver a wide range of ecosystem services such as those summarised in Figure 1. The
protection and conservation of these ecosystems is key to ensuring that the environment and
mankind continue to benefit from these ecosystem services.
As discussed also in an earlier section of this paper, the Commonwealth and State
Governments have created reserves over significant portions of the marine environment
along the Western Australian coast. These reserves are representative of our diverse natural
heritage. Within and across these reserves, identifying the key components and extent of
protection required must be based on sound scientific monitoring and knowledge.
Developing conservation and protection policy and regulation in the absence of sound
scientific knowledge pertaining to those ecosystems has two possible undesirable results:
Ecosystems that are representative of important environmental values are
inadequately protected and conserved, resulting in loss of important habitats,
biodiversity and ecosystem services; and/or
The precautionary principle of protection and conservation is applied to ecosystems
that are believed to be important, resulting in unnecessary conservation and
protection regulation that carries with it a significant economic and social
productivity penalty.
The following subsections discuss the key areas of marine ecosystem science where there are
currently knowledge gaps.
Ecosystem Mapping
The key input to understanding marine ecosystems is a baseline description of the habitats,
nutrient cycling and biodiversity that comprise the ecosystem and the natural variability in
habitats and biodiversity that occurs over time as the result of macro-weather patterns,
extreme natural events such as tropical cyclones and natural variation in the physical ocean
environment. This is required to understand how unique and/or important a particular marine
ecosystem is with respect to providing ecosystem services as well as to determine the positive
or negative impact that anthropogenic or natural events have on the health and
sustainability of those ecosystems.
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Developing baseline descriptions of ecosystems requires the mapping of habitats, nutrient
cycling and biodiversity within an ecosystem. This mapping is based on longitudinal studies of
genetics, taxonomy, benthic architecture, water composition and the like within the
ecosystem at resolution that is determined to be appropriate and for a duration that is
considered to adequately detect nature variability. In terms of baseline biodiversity studies, it
is critical that biodiversity is detected at least to the microbial level as this is the fundamental
basis for understanding the food chains associated with a specific ecosystem.
For some marine ecosystems in the Western Australian marine environment, such as Scott
Reef and Ningaloo Reef, significant mapping studies have been undertaken. However, for
many ecosystems in the Western Australian marine environment, knowledge pertaining to
habitats, nutrient cycling and biodiversity is minimal. Without this baseline knowledge, the
importance of these ecosystems and the impact of natural and anthropogenic events on
ecosystems cannot be accurately determined. Nor can the best way to manage these
assets be determined.
Cause and Effect
Related to enhanced baseline knowledge of marine ecosystems is understanding variability
in habitats, nutrient cycling and biodiversity in those ecosystems and the causes of that
variability. Variability in marine ecosystems can be caused by a very wide range of natural
events and anthropogenic actions that occur as a single event or action or as multiple
events or actions over time.
As a result of the interconnected nature of the physical ocean environment (see next sub-
section) marine ecosystems can be impacted by events and actions that occur locally,
regionally or globally. This interconnectivity also means that multiple events or actions from
different sources, occurring in different locations and different times can have a cumulative
impact on an ecosystem.
Understanding cause-and-effect of different natural phenomena and anthropogenic events
is key to determining natural variability in ecosystems and that which is caused by
anthropogenic actions, as well as the resilience of ecosystems to extreme natural events and
anthropogenic actions. This particularly problematic in the Western Australian marine
environment because ecosystems are frequently affected by extreme natural phenomena
such as tropical cyclones (see next section).
Interconnectivity
Understanding the interconnectivity of ecosystems along the Western Australian coastline
and between the coastal, shelf and deep sea environments is not only important for
determining cause and effect, but also the ecological relationship between ecosystems and
natural variability in that relationship. Understanding the range of species throughout their
lifecycle and the interdependency of different marine ecosystems, informs the importance of
specific marine ecosystems, as well as the nature and degree of protection and
conservation that may be required.
Understanding interconnectivity requires an understanding of the immediate physical ocean
environment and the regional and global influences on the local physical ocean
environment.
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Physical Oceanographic Processes Physical oceanography is the study of the evolving patterns of ocean circulation and fluid
motion, along with the distribution of the ocean’s properties such as temperature, salinity
and the concentration of dissolved chemical elements and gases. A deep understanding of
physical oceanography that affects the Western Australian marine environment is critical in
underpinning our understanding of the evolution and resilience of marine ecosystems, design
requirements for offshore and coastal infrastructure, strategic investment decisions in fisheries
and fisheries management and a range of offshore operational decisions. It also informs the
location and nature of coastal urban development and other infrastructure.
Understanding the physical oceanography of the Western Australian marine environment
helps us to predict the impact that natural and anthropogenic initiated events that occur
locally, within the region and around the world, will have on the Western Australian marine
environment and natural and industrial systems that interact with the environment.
This is achieved through the development of quantitative models that simulate the impact of
natural and anthropogenic events on aspects of the marine environment. Models are
required for short term forecasting (determining with confidence the likelihood of extreme
events next season) and longer term (determining with confidence the likelihood of extreme
events over the next 20 years for determining more strategic investment and management
decisions).
The development of oceanographic models is particularly challenging as the stochastic
methods that are typically used to develop forecasting models do not prove very effective in
oceanographic modelling. Regardless, for oceanographic models to be effective, they must
be based on high quality data, for which there is limited accessibility.
This forecasting capability is critically important for engineering design, safe and efficient
operations and maintenance of offshore assets, natural and anthropogenic hazard
management and the assessment of environmental impact of natural and anthropogenic
events.
The following subsections describe the main physical features of the Western Australian
marine environment where there are significant knowledge gaps.
Dominance of the Leeuwin Current
There are four main currents that affect the Western Australian marine environment:
Indonesian Flowthrough
Holloway Current
Eastern Gyral Current
Leeuwin Current
Originating from both the Indonesian Flow-through and the tropical Indian Ocean, the
Leeuwin Current is the dominant current feature in the Western Australian ocean
environment. The Leeuwin Current and variability in the Leeuwin Current has profound
impact on the marine ecosystems and fisheries off the west and south coasts of Australia19
19 Feng, M., Weller, E. and Hill, K. (2009), ‘The Leeuwin Current’, A Marine Climate Change
Impacts and Adaption Report Card for Australia
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and is the main vector for interconnectivity between the northwest marine environment and
southern coastal waters of Western Australia.
The fact that the Leeuwin current is connected to the world’s oceans by the Indonesian
Flowthrough, Holloway and Eastern Gyral currents means that anthropogenic and natural
events that occur elsewhere in the world can have a dramatic impact on the physical
ocean environment off the coast of Western Australia. Changes in the Leeuwin Current can
affect a wide range of physical ocean conditions along the entire length of the Western
Australian coastline including water temperature (see subsequent section) and salinity, which
have a profound effect on industries such as commercial fishing. The Leeuwin Current and
changes in the Leeuwin Current will also determine, to a large extent, the impact of climate
change along the Western Australian coastline.
A much deeper understanding of the Leeuwin Current is critical to understanding the local,
regional and international interconnectedness of the waters off the Western Australian coast
so that the broader impact of natural events and anthropogenic pressures can be
accurately predicted and optimally managed.
Eddy Currents
Eddy currents are currents that move contrary to the direction of the main current in a
circular motion. Because the Leeuwin Current is an inherently unstable current, meso-scale
eddy currents, which are eddy currents of between 10 and 500 kilometres in diameter, are a
ubiquitous feature of the Leeuwin Current. With the highest eddy current energy of all
eastern boundary current systems in the world, the eddy currents associated with the
Leeuwin Current impact tremendously on the circulation of waters of the Western Australian
coastline and have significant impact on the immediate physical ocean conditions and
biological activity.
Understanding where these eddy currents predominately occur can lead to improved
understanding of ocean circulation and better informed decisions as to where to establish
ocean infrastructure.
Internal Waves (Solitons)
Solitons, or internal waves, are waves that travel within the interior of the ocean. They occur
as the result of stratified density structure of two fluids, with a very sharp density change
occurring along the interface and with the properties that the smaller the density contrast,
the lower the wave frequency and slower the propagation speed.
Solitons represent a major hazard to the operation of offshore oil and gas facilities. Because
solitons of depression push the warm water deeper and solitons of uplift push the cold water
up, they can impact on the management of hydrate formation in subsea production
equipment and risers. They can also impact on anchoring systems for topsides, as they can
move and twist anchoring systems. However, both of these issues can be addressed by
engineering for the worst possible case. Arguably the biggest impact of Solitons is on
operational decision pertaining to side-by-side loading between vessels and floating
structures, particularly in the case of FLNG where it is not possible to decouple a vessel until
the loading/unloading process is complete. Solitons also transfer suspended biota and are a
medium for ecosystem interconnectivity.
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Ocean Thermal Structure
Waters off Western Australia are approximately 4 degrees Celsius warmer than waters at
corresponding latitudes off the west coasts of the African and South American continents.
The Leeuwin Current has a significant impact on water temperatures along the Western
Australian coast.
While measurements of water temperature along the Western Australian coast are relatively
sparse, they suggest that between Shark Bay and Cape Leeuwin the overall along–shore
temperature gradient is approximately 0.5 degrees Celsius per 100 kilometres and there is a
seasonally-reversing temperature gradient across the continental shelf. During the summer
months, shallow near-coastal waters increase in temperature because of heat input from the
sun and atmosphere and as such, the temperature decreases slightly with distance offshore.
In winter, on the other hand, coastal waters cool rapidly because of heat loss to the
atmosphere, and at the same time the Leeuwin Current is maintaining warm conditions
offshore, so there can be a large increase in surface temperature between the coast and
the edge of the continental shelf.20 However, studies in areas where there has been more
comprehensive measurement of ocean temperature suggest that there is significantly
greater variability.
A deeper understanding of the ocean’s thermal structure informs many other aspects of
ocean physics and marine ecosystems including the behaviour of solitons, currents, tides,
waves and water quality as well as biota. It also impacts on the design of subsea petroleum
production systems and in the longer term may assist in the identification of siting options for
ocean thermal energy systems.
Marine Heatwaves
Sudden changes in temperature in waters off the Western Australian coast are not a unique
phenomenon. However, in February and March of 2011, water temperatures off the south-
western coast of Western Australia rose to unprecedented levels. Commonly referred to as a
marine heat-wave, this event saw surface temperatures rise to more than 3 degrees Celsius
above the long-term monthly average over an extended area in February 2011 and in some
localised areas in coastal waters exceeded the long-term monthly average by 5 degrees for
periods of a day or two in late February/early March21.
This event had a number of biological impacts including fish and invertebrate mortalities,
extensions and contractions of species distributions, variation in recruitment and growth-
rates, impacts on trophic relationships and community structure and variations in fisheries
catch rates. It has also had the effect of bleaching several coral reefs along the Western
Australian coast. Understanding and predicting marine heatwaves is critically important to
managing marine conservation estates and determining the viability of specific fisheries
along the coast.
20 CSIRO, Coastal Ocean Temperatures off WA 21 Pearce, A., Lenanton, R., Jackson, G., Moore, J., Feng, M. and Gaughan, D. (2011), The
Marine Heatwave off Western Australia During the Summer of 2010-11, Department of
Fisheries Research Report No. 222, 2011
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Mobile Seabed
Much of the seabed off the Western Australian coastline is understood to be mobile.
Propagating in the northwest, seafloor sediments and transported southward by mobile
subsea dune systems. These subsea dunes are caused by wave induced pressure on the
seabed and are an important mechanism of connectivity between ecosystems as they
transport sediments and biota southward along the Western Australian coastline.
Understanding the impact of waves, solitons and bottom boundary steady currents on the
mobility of the seafloor is key in understanding design requirements for pipelines, dredging
channels and other infrastructure, as well as the impact of this infrastructure and channels on
the connectivity of ecosystems.
Swell Prediction
Swells can arrive at the Western Australian ocean environment from a wide range of sources,
including the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean. They can also propagate from
hurricanes occurring as far away as the North Atlantic. Accurate swell prediction is key to
many installation and operational decisions in an offshore environment, including optimal
navigation of vessel traffic.
Infra-gravity Waves
Infragravity waves are generated by nonlinear interactions among the primary waves, have
depth independent horizontal velocity and pressure profiles and propagate as non-
dispersive shallow water waves22. They commonly occur within ports causing problems with
berthing and unloading-loading procedures.
Infragravity waves are a common feature of the Esperance, Bunbury and Geraldton ports.
Tropical Cyclones
Tropical cyclones in the northwest are frequent and often severe. They tend to form off the
coast of the Kimberley Region and when they cross the coast they tend to cross in the
Kimberley or more commonly, the Pilbara coastline. Figure 1223 below illustrates the pathway
and intensity of tropical cyclones that crossed the Australian coast between 1970 and 2009.
22 Uchyama, Y. and McWilliams, C. (2008), ‘Infragravity waves in the deep ocean:
generation, propogation and seismic hum excitation’, Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol.
113, C07029, p1-25 23 Haig et al (2013) IN: Pattiaratchi, C. (2013), An Overview of the Oceanography of Northern
Australia
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FIGURE 12 – TROPICAL CYCLONE PATHWAYS 1970 TO 2009
Tropical cyclones are a major factor in many aspects of operational planning and decision
making in the northwest. They are also a threat to local communities, and are often
associated with storm surges that place coastal infrastructure at risk. A deeper understanding
of the parameterisation of tropical cyclones, including tropical cyclone wind fields, will help
understand how to operate ocean assets in the wind fields around the vortex and the
impact that these wind fields have on ocean circulation in the region.
While most offshore infrastructure is designed to endure severe tropical cyclones, operational
decisions such as navigation, putting moored vessels to sea, deferring a loading operation,
de-manning a facility or uncoupling and sailing away an FPSO require prediction as to the
pathway and intensity of tropical cyclones, which are inherently unpredictable. The need for
accurate predictability of cyclone intensity and pathways is significant in the case of FLNG
offloading operations because it is not possible to decouple during an offloading process.
Importantly, the frequency and severity of tropical cyclone events combined with the
interconnectivity facilitated by the Leeuwin current, means that tropical cyclones often have
a dramatic impact on the physical oceanography and ecosystems along the entire Western
Australian coastline.
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Key Questions for the Reader
1. Does this section identify at a high level the key areas of scientific investigation that
will be required to address the main knowledge needs identified in the previous
section of the discussion paper?
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Capability Requirements
Parallel to the Blueprint process, WAMSI is currently undertaking a review of the collective
marine science capability of the WAMSI partners. The purpose of this review is to understand
the specific marine scientific capabilities and capacity that can realistically be deployed to
advance the science that is needed to service the knowledge needs of the stakeholders in
the Western Australian marine environment.
Enhanced Marine Datasets Advancing marine science in Western Australia will require access to larger, more
representative high quality physical and biological datasets pertaining to the marine
environment.
As expressed previously, the acquisition of physical and biological data pertaining to the
marine environment is very expensive by virtue of the remote and challenging operating
conditions presented by the ocean environment. Given this expense, the ability for science
to respond to the knowledge challenges outlined in the Blueprint will require an efficient
approach to how ocean observation data is developed and accessed.
Monitoring infrastructure, and long term operational funding to operate it, is also key to
developing baseline and long term trends necessary to develop some of the knowledge
highlighted earlier in this paper. Currently regional and ‘bluewater’ monitoring is provided by
the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), with a range of more concentrated near-
shore, near-activity, monitoring undertaken mainly by State agencies and operators. The
future needs of long terms monitoring, and the integration of various monitoring efforts may
need to be assessed against the needs identified by this blueprint.
There are a number of opportunities to improve the accessibility and efficiency of data use
that arise regularly. These include:
Improved accessibility to the data developed by offshore industry and government
agencies
Improved sharing between researchers
Consistent approaches to recording, storage and quality assurance of data
Use of the Pawsey Centre supercomputing capability
Scientists It is acknowledged that a substantial quantum of marine science capability exists outside of
the WAMSI partnership, including other academic institutions across Australia and the private
sector. Arguably, a major distinguishing feature of the marine scientific capability and
capacity as far as it pertains to the Western Australian marine environment is that, when
compared to other areas of scientific interest, a disproportionately large amount of scientific
capability and capacity resides with the private sector, rather than with the public sector
and public research organisations. This includes scientific expertise, research infrastructure
and biological and physical datasets.
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Effectively and efficiently harnessing the net scientific capability for the purposes of
addressing the issues identified by the Blueprint will likely require significant inter-institutional
and inter-sector collaboration.
Infrastructure While Perth hosts some significant marine science facilities and laboratories, the 13,000
kilometre coast has limited other bases for research operations. This can increase the cost of
research, particularly in the distant north of the State and also limits some experimentation
due to issues associated with transferring sensitive species.
Key Questions for the Reader
1. Have the main capabilities that are needed to support the emerging fields of
scientific investigation been identified in this section of the discussion paper?
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The Requirement for Prioritisation As discussed in an earlier section of this paper, much is not known about the Western
Australian marine environment and marine science is expensive. This implies a need to focus
resources on priority knowledge requirements.
A need to focus on priority knowledge needs, in turn, requires the identification of a basis for
prioritisation. Determining the basis for prioritisation is challenging and this section of the
discussion paper outlines options for prioritising knowledge requirements.
Regional Prioritisation
The shear length of the Western Australian coastline suggests that determining prioritisation
on the basis of regional demarcation might be a sensible approach. The prioritisation of
regions could be based on a number of possible criteria such as:
Regions where we know the least about the marine environment
This would arguably mean that the marine environments off the Kimberley, Central
West and Southern coasts would be the priority areas.
Regions that are truly unique with respect to marine ecosystem and/or physical
ocean environment and which are relatively unspoilt.
This would prioritise the Kimberley region, a tropical marine wilderness with high tidal
movements.
Regions where the greatest economic development is occurring.
This would prioritise the Pilbara, Kimberley and Southwest marine environments
Regions that we know very little about, but which are about to undergo significant
economic activity.
This would prioritise the Kimberley marine environment, as while we may not
understand much about processes in the Pilbara and South West marine
environments, we at least have data that explains patterns. It would also potentially
prioritise the deeper, offshore areas of the economic exclusion zone in areas where
oil and gas development is and/or is likely to progress into deeper waters in the near
future.
Ocean Area Prioritisation
Whilst variable, our general knowledge of coastal, reef and near-shore environments along
much of the Western Australian coast is much greater than our knowledge of the outer
continental shelf and slope. This includes large areas of open-ocean between Albany and
Esperance on the south coast that have not been surveyed, as well as deeper ocean in the
Northwest where oil and gas development is likely to progress.
Ecosystem Prioritisation
Some key ecosystems such as Scott Reef, Shark Bay, Barrow Island, Ningaloo Reef, Abrolhus
Islands that are key sources of biota have been well studied. However, there are many other
marine ecosystems of which we know relatively less about such as the Rolley Shoals and
Wheatstone coral reefs. While many of these ecosystems are protected under the system of
Commonwealth Reserves discussed in an earlier section of this report, a better understanding
of these ecosystems will inform their future management.
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Physical Oceanography
Because the Western Australian marine environment is so large, and by virtue of the Leeuwin
Current and other major physical ocean features, highly interconnected, there is an
argument that a deeper understanding of the physical oceanography along the Western
Australian coast will yield much greater knowledge dividends that research that is focused
on specific regions, areas of ocean or ecosystems. Furthermore, a deeper understanding of
the physical ocean and ability to model ocean physics along the Western Australian coast
will substantially improve our understanding of regions, areas of ocean and ecosystems and
their relationships. In turn, this offers the potential for offshore and coastal industries to better
design infrastructure, mitigate operational risks and respond to emergencies. It also offers the
potential for more efficient and effective coastal protection and marine reserve zoning and
design.
This basis of focus also delivers more immediate productivity dividends to investors and
operators of offshore economic activity and to the community.
Key Questions for the Reader
1. Assuming that prioritisation is a necessary evil, what parameters determine the
prioritisation and what are the best criteria for prioritising investment in marine
science in Western Australia?
2. What are the lowest priorities for marine research in Western Australia, and why?
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Moving Forward
This paper is not the Blueprint. Nor does it necessarily set a particular direction for the
Blueprint. Its sole purpose is to stimulate interest in the Blueprint and promote debate and
discussion on where the Blueprint should take marine science in Western Australia over the
next 35 years.
Under the guidance of WAMSI and the Blueprint Steering Group, Australian Venture
Consultants will continue to develop the Blueprint over the next few months with a
consultation draft available toward the end of this calendar year.
WAMSI and Australian Venture Consultants invite anyone or any organisation that is a
stakeholder in the Western Australian marine environment to offer a contribution to this
important research plan. Contributions can be made by contacting Australian Venture
Consultants directly or through WAMSI.
Contact:
Russell Barnett
Partner
Australian Venture Consultants
Email: [email protected]
Direct: 08 6555 0324
Mobile: 0438 710 917
Patrick Seares
CEO
Western Australian Marine Science Institution
Email: [email protected]
Direct: 08 6488 4571