Marine park management planning

A new approach

A new approach to marine park management planning is underway across the five mainland marine parks in NSW.

Building on pilot work that started in Batemans and Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Parks in 2018-19, the new approach aims to conserve environmental, social, cultural and economic values, and manage priority threats to those values.

A new draft management plan for the NSW mainland marine park network has been developed by the Marine Estate Management Authority in consultation with the marine park advisory committees, the Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel and agencies responsible for marine estate management.

The draft plan has been developed in accordance with the Marine Estate Management Act 2014 and must state:

• environmental, economic and social values to be conserved by the marine park
• threats to those values
• management objectives in relation to those values and threats
• actions to achieve those management objectives, based on a consideration of risks
• programs to be implemented for managing the marine park.

The draft 10-year plan includes a range of actions to conserve values and manage threats, including research, education, on-ground rehabilitation, infrastructure, compliance, policy, partnerships and regulation. Actions will be based on the best available knowledge and evidence. Regulation (including zoning) will be one of many actions considered.

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A strong foundation

The new approach is building on a strong evidence-base including the:

• Marine estate community survey (2014)
• Threat and risk assessment (2017)
• Marine estate management strategy (2018-2028)
• Batemans and Port Stephens-Great Lakes pilot process and associated reports:
  • Batemans Marine Park Management Plan Pilot – Stakeholder Consultation Outcomes Report (Elton Consulting 2018) (PDF, 1236.96 KB)
  • Developing a management plan for Batemans Marine Park: Summary of discussions & outcomes from Aboriginal community workshops (Feary & Donaldson 2018) (PDF, 660.95 KB)
  • Survey of values, perceptions of threats and attitudes to Batemans Marine Park (Juntos Marketing 2019) (PDF, 1786.17 KB)
  • Port Stephens—Great Lakes Marine Park Consultation Workshops – Outcomes Report (BMT 2020). (PDF, 3360.96 KB)

Lord Howe Island Marine Park

Lord Howe Island Marine Park has many unique values, issues and management arrangements. A management plan for this marine park will be developed after management planning for the five NSW mainland marine parks has been  progressed.

More information

More information on the new approach is available in the following publications:

• NSW Marine Protected Areas Policy Statement (PDF, 561.57 KB) (2017)
• Government response to the Report of the Independent Scientific Audit of Marine Parks in NSW (PDF, 448.64 KB) (2013)