Summary meeting minutes of the Marine Estate Management Authority.

Meeting date: 9 March 2023

Attendance

Authority members or their nominees in attendance were:

• Chair, Marine Estate Management Authority (Dr Russell Reichelt AO FTSE)
• A/Deputy Secretary, Department of Planning and Environment – Environment and Heritage Group
• A/Executive Director, Department of Planning and Environment – Planning
• Deputy Director General, Department of Primary Industries – Fisheries
• A/Director, Maritime and Transport Safety Strategy, standing in for Chief, Centres for Road Safety and Maritime Safety, Transport for NSW

The Authority considered a range of matters at the meeting including those summarised below.

Matters considered

The Authority considered a range of matters at the meeting including those summarised below.

Ocean Business Leaders Summit

The Department of Planning and Environment – Environment and Heritage Group sponsored Ocean Decade Australia to deliver the Ocean Business Leaders Summit at the Australian National Maritime Museum from 1 to 2 March 2023. The Summit was well attended with international and national delegates leading and contributing to ocean conversations. Invitation was extended to MEMA members, with all agencies being well represented.

Marine Estate Management Strategy Implementation

The Authority noted the recommendations from the Marine Estate Management Strategy (the Strategy) Stage 3 Improvement Plan exercise. The project was undertaken by external consultants with a focus on how MEMA can improve the implementation of, and governance arrangements for the Strategy. A draft improvement plan will be developed based on the findings.

Community Wellbeing Surveys

The Authority reviewed and endorsed 3 NSW Community Wellbeing Survey Reports and associated communication materials. The surveys provide baseline data on how the marine estate contributes to community wellbeing, and will  be repeated every 3 years to monitor and respond to trends over time.

Marine park management planning

The NSW Government’s Management Plan for the NSW Mainland Marine Park Network 2021-2031 (draft plan) was released for public consultation on 1 November 2021 to 31 January 2022. The draft plan has been developed to guide the management of the state’s five existing mainland marine parks.

The final draft plan and feedback from community engagement was provided to the NSW Government for consideration.

The final draft plan does not include any specific proposals around changes to marine park rules or zones. The detail of any proposed changes to rules or zones will be developed in stage 2 and will be subject to further community consultation.

Work continues on a separate management plan for Lord Howe Island Marine Park that is currently under development.

For more information visit www.marine.nsw.gov.au/yoursay

Marine Integrated Monitoring Program

The Authority noted additional resources have been allocated to the Marine Integrated Monitoring Program (MIMP) to assist with delivery. The MIMP guides how we monitor the condition and trend of environmental assets and community benefits specific to the MEMS projects, how we assess management effectiveness of projects, how we prioritise filling key knowledge gaps. Several key pieces of work are now progressing, including the review of new evidence since 2016 to identify emerging threats facing the NSW marine estate.

Marine Spatial Planning

The Authority noted the emerging focus of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) nationally and internationally, and agreed to support a MSP scoping assessment for the NSW marine estate.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the Authority is scheduled for June 2023.