Pressures affecting the marine environment

Climate and system variability

How climate variability across multiple timescales will be affected by climate change is poorly understood

Year(s):

2016

3

Unclear

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Adequate

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Climate and system variability

2016

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Literature review, consultation with relevant experts.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=fe13d....

Data/Information sources

Brown et al. 2013

Brown J, Sen Gupta A, Brown J, Muir L, Risbey J, Whetton P, Zhang X, Ganachaud A, Murphy B & Wijffels S (2013). Implications of CMIP3 model biases and uncertainties for climate projections in the western tropical Pacific. Climatic Change119:147–161.

Cai & van Rensch 2012

Cai W & van Rensch P (2012). The 2011 southeast Queensland extreme summer rainfall: a confirmation of a negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation phase? Geophysical Research Letters 39:L08702, doi:10.1029/2011GL050820.

Ceccarelli et al. 2013

Ceccarelli DM, McKinnon AD, Andréfouët S, Allain V, Young J, Gledhill DC, Flynn A, Bax NJ, Beaman R, Borsa P, Brinkman R, Bustamante RH, Campbell R, Cappo M, Cravatte S, D’Agata S, Dichmont CM, Dunstan PK, Dupouy C, Edgar G, Farman R, Furnas M, Garrigue C, Hutton T, Kulbicki M, Letourneur Y, Lindsay D, Menkes C, Mouillot D, Parravicini V, Payri C, Pelletier B, Richer de Forges B, Ridgway K, Rodier M, Samadi S, Schoeman D, Skewes T, Swearer S, Vigliola L, Wantiez L, Williams A, Williams A & Richardson AJ (2013). The Coral Sea: physical environment, ecosystem status and biodiversity assets. In: Lesser M (ed.), Advances in marine biology, vol. 66, Academic Press, London, 213–290.

Christensen et al. 2013

Christensen JH, Krishna Kumar K, Aldrian E, An S-I, Cavalcanti IFA, de Castro M, Dong W, Goswami P, Hall A, Kanyanga JK, Kitoh A, Kossin J, Lau N-C, Renwick J, Stephenson DB, Xie S-P & Zhou T (2013). Climate phenomena and their relevance for future regional climate change. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner G-K, Tignor M, Allen SK, Boschung J, Nauels A, Xia Y, Bex V & Midgley PM (eds), Climate change 2013: the physical science basis, contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, & New York, USA, 1217–1308.

Evans et al. 2015

Evans K, Brown JN, Sen Gupta A, Nicol SJ, Hoyle S, Matear R & Arrizabalaga H (2015). When 1 + 1 can be > 2: uncertainties compound when simulating climate, fisheries and marine ecosystems. Deep-Sea Research II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 113:312–322.

Feng et al. 2010

Feng M, McPhaden MJ & Lee T (2010). Decadal variability of the Pacific subtropical cells and their influence on the southeast Indian Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters 37:L09606, doi:10.1029/2010GL042796.

Feng et al. 2003

Feng M, Meyers G, Pearce A & Wijffels S (2003). Annual and interannual variations of the Leeuwin Current at 32°S. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 108(C11):3355, doi:10.1029/2002JC001763.

Gill 2002

Gill PC (2002). A blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) feeding ground in a southern Australian coastal upwelling zone. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 4(2):179–184.

Harrison & Chiodi 2015

Harrison DE & Chiodi AM (2015). Multi-decadal variability and trends in El Niño–Southern Oscillation and tropical Pacific fisheries implications. Deep-Sea Research II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 113:9–21.

Heithaus 2001

Heithaus MR (2001). The biology of tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, in Shark Bay, Western Australia: sex ratio, size distribution, diet, and seasonal changes in catch rates. Environmental Biology of Fishes 61:25–36.

Jin et al. 2008

Jin EK, Iii JLK, Wang B, Park C-K, Kang I-S, Kirtman BP, Kug J-S, Kumar A, Luo J-J, Schemm J, Shukla J & Yamagata T (2008). Current status of ENSO prediction skill in coupled ocean–atmosphere models. Climate Dynamics 31:647–664.

Kirtman et al. 2013

Kirtman B, Power SB, Adedoyin JA, Boer GJ, Bojariu R, Camilloni I, Doblas-Reyes FJ, Fiore AM, Kimoto M, Meehl GA, Prather M, Sarr A, Schär C, Sutton R, van Oldenborgh GJ, Vecchi G & Wang HJ (2013). Near-term climate change: projections and predictability. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner G-K, Tignor M, Allen SK, Boschung J, Nauels A, Xia Y, Bex V & Midgley PM (eds),Climate change 2013: the physical science basis, contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, & New York, United States, 953–1028.

Lau & Nath 2000

Lau N-C & Nath MJ (2000). Impact of the ENSO on the variability of the Asian–Australian monsoons as simulated in GCM experiments. Journal of Climate 13:4287–4309.

Lough 1994

Lough JM (1994). Climate variation and El Niño–Southern Oscillation events on the Great Barrier Reef: 1958 to 1987. Coral Reefs 13:181–185.

Mantua & Hare 2002

Mantua NJ & Hare SR (2002). The Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Journal of Oceanography 58:35–44.

McBride & Nicholls 1983

McBride JL & Nicholls N (1983). Seasonal relationships between Australian rainfall and the Southern Oscillation. Monthly Weather Review 111:1998–2004.

McPherson 1991

McPherson GR (1991). A possible mechanism for the aggregation of yellowfin and bigeye tuna in the north-western Coral Sea, Information Series QI91013, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane.

Mitchell & Wallace 1996

Mitchell TP & Wallace JM (1996). ENSO seasonality: 1950–78 versus 1979–92. Journal of Climate 9:3149–3161.

Patterson et al. 2008

Patterson TP, Evans K, Carter TI & Gunn JS (2008). Movement and behaviour of large southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) in the Australian region determined using pop-up satellite archival tags. Fisheries Oceanography 17:352–267.

Pearce & Feng 2013

Pearce AF & Feng M (2013). The rise and fall of the ‘marine heat wave’ off Western Australia during the summer of 2010/2011.Journal of Marine Systems 111–112:139–156.

Pearce et al. 2011

Pearce A, Lenanton R, Jackson G, Moore J, Feng M & Gaughan D (2011). The ‘marine heat wave’ off Western Australia during the summer of 2010/11, Fisheries Research Report 222, Western Australian Department of Fisheries, Perth.

Redondo-Rodriguez et al. 2012

Redondo-Rodriguez A, Weeks SJ, Berkelmans R, Hoegh-Guldberg O & Lough JM (2012). Climate variability of the Great Barrier Reef in relation to the tropical Pacific and El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Marine and Freshwater Research 63:34–47.

Ridgway 2007

Ridgway KR (2007). Long-term trend and decadal variability of the southward penetration of the East Australian Current.Geophysical Research Letters 34:L13613, doi:10.1029/2007GL030393.

Ridgway & Condie 2004

Ridgway KR & Condie SA (2004). The 5500-km-long boundary flow off western and southern Australia. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 109:C04017, doi:10.1029/2003JC001921.

Singh et al. 2011

Singh A, Delcroix T & Cravatte S (2011). Contrasting the flavors of El Niño–Southern Oscillation using sea surface salinity observations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 116:C06016, doi:10.1029/2010JC006862.

Stevens & Lyle 1989

Stevens JD & Lyle JM (1989). Biology of three hammerhead sharks (Eusphyra blochii, Sphyrna mokarran and S. lewini) from northern Australia. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 40:129–146.

Tilburg et al. 2002

Tilburg CE, Subrahmanyam B & O’Brien JJ (2002). Ocean color variability in the Tasman Sea. Geophysical Research Letters29(10):1487, doi:10.1029/2001GL014071.

Thompson et al. 2015b

Thompson PA, O’Brien TD, Paerl HW, Peierls BL, Harrison PJ & Robb M (2015b). Precipitation as a driver of phytoplankton ecology in coastal waters: a climatic perspective. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 162:119–129.

Wernberg et al. 2016

Wernberg T, Bennett S, Babcock RC, de Bettignies T, Cure K, Depezynski M, Dufois F, Fromont J, Fulton CJ, Hovey RK, Harvey ES, Holmes TH, Kendrick GA, Bradford B, Santana-Garcon J, Saunders BJ, Smale DA, Thomsen MS, Tuckett CA, Tuya F, Vanderklift MA & Wilson S (2016). Climate-driven regime shift of a temperate marine ecosystem. Science 353:169–172.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Climate and system variability

Climate change - sea temperature

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011.

Many components identified as physical and chemical processes in SoE 2011 are collectively presented under impacts associated with the pressure of climate change in SoE 2016. This is because many of the changes being observed in these components during the SoE reporting period are the direct result of changes occurring as a result of climate change. This thereby avoids repetition of content between sections of the SoE report.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

Pressures resulting from climate change

Ocean warming and extreme events will continue to significantly impact and stress marine ecosystems

Year(s):

2016

2

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Adequate

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Climate change - sea temperature

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Literature review, consultation with relevant experts.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=cca8c5ce-4b21-406d-b20c-7b333f8e605c.

Data/Information sources

Huang & Feng 2015

Huang Z & Feng M (2015). Remotely sensed spatial and temporal variability of the Leeuwin Current using MODIS data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 214-232.

Feng et al. 2013

Feng M, McPhaden MJ, Xie S & Hafner J (2013). La Niña forces unprecedented Leeuwin Current warming in 2011. Scientific reports, 3.

Reynolds et al. 2002

Reynolds RW, Rayner NA, Smith TM, Stokes DC & Wang W (2002). An improved in situ and satellite SST analysis for climate. Journal of Climate, 1609-1625.

Smith et al. 2008

Smith TM, Reynolds RW, Peterson TC & Lawrimore J (2008). Improvements to NOAA's historical merged land-ocean surface temperature analysis (1880-2006). Journal of Climatology, 2283-2296.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Climate change

Sea level rise, increasing ocean temperatures and acidity are beginning to have significant impacts in all regions, and these effects are expected to increase. The worst affected areas are in the south-east and south-west, and are irreversibly and very seriously impacted. Changes in ocean current dynamics driven by climate change are also affecting these two regions

Year(s):

2011

3

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Climate change

Climate change - ocean acidification

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011. It was reported on under State and trends and the component title has changed.

Many components identified as physical and chemical processes in SoE 2011 are collectively presented under impacts associated with the pressure of climate change in SoE 2016. This is because many of the changes being observed in these components during the SoE reporting period are the direct result of changes occurring as a result of climate change. This thereby avoids repetition of content between sections of the SoE report.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

Ocean acidity

State and trends of physical and chemical processes

Ocean acidification will have widespread impacts across marine ecosystems. The state and trend is for open-ocean surface water only

Year(s):

2016

2

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Adequate

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Climate change - ocean acidification

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

The state was determined using current observations and extrapolation and pH on total scale and other CO_² parameters calculated as described in Lenton et al., 2016.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=96603e1a-f40e-44eb-9965-02d7a262e322.

Dickson et al., 2007

Dickson AG, Sabine CL & Christian JR (2007). Guide to best practices for ocean CO2 measurements. PICES Special Publication.

Lenton et al., 2016

Lenton A, Tilbrook B, Matear RJ, Sasse TP & Noriji Y (2016). Historical reconstruction of ocean acidification in the Australian region. Biogeosciences 13:1753–1765.

Sasse et al., 2013

Sasse TP, McNeil BI & Abramowitz G (2013). A new constraint on global air-sea CO2 fluxes using bottle carbon data. Geophysical Research Letters, 1594-1599.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Climate change

Acidification is a significant risk in all regions, although only limited evidence of change to date

Year(s):

2011

4

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Climate change

Climate change - ocean currents and eddies

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011.

Many components identified as physical and chemical processes in SoE 2011 are collectively presented under impacts associated with the pressure of climate change in SoE 2016. This is because many of the changes being observed in these components during the SoE reporting period are the direct result of changes occurring as a result of climate change. This thereby avoids repetition of content between sections of the SoE report.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

Pressures resulting from climate change

The boundary currents are highly variable as a result of changes in the large-scale ocean gyre circulation and major climate drivers

Year(s):

2016

2

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Adequate

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Climate change - ocean currents and eddies

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Analysis of results in peer-reviewed publications.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=a5073976-25d9-45e9-9d33-9d7e03f38233.

Data/Information sources

Cetina-Heredia et al. 2014

Cetina-Heredia P, Roughan M, van Sebille E & Coleman M (2014). Long-term trends in the East Australian Current separation latitude and eddy driven transport. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 119:4351–4366.

Everett et al. 2012

Everett JD, Baird ME, Oke PR & Suthers IM (2012). An avenue 416 of eddies: Quantifying the biophysical properties of mesoscale eddies in the Tasman Sea. Geophysical Research Letters, L16 608.

Everett et al. 2014

Everett JD, Baird ME, Roughan M, Suthers IM & Doblin MA (2014). Relative impact of seasonal and oceanographic drivers on surface chlorophyll a along a Western Boundary Current. Pacific Oceanography, 340-351.

Feng et al. 2013

Feng M, McPhaden MJ, Xie S & Hafner J (2013). La Niña forces unprecedented Leeuwin Current warming in 2011. Scientific reports, 3.

Feng et al. 2015

Feng M, Benthuysen J, Zhang N & Slawinski D (2015). Freshening anomalies in the Indonesian throughflow and impacts on the Leeuwin Current during 2010-2011. Geophysical Research Letters, 8555-8562.

Huang & Feng 2015

Huang Z & Feng M (2015). Remotely sensed spatial and temporal variability of the Leeuwin Current using MODIS data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 214-232.

Oliver & Holbrook 2014

Oliver E & Holbrook N (2014). Extending our understanding of South Pacific gyre "spin-up": Modeling the East Australian Current in a future climate. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 119:2788-2805.

Ridgway et al. 2008

Ridgway KR, Coleman RC, Bailey RJ & Sutton P (2008). Decadal variability of East Australian Current transport inferred from repeated high-density XBT transects, a CTD survey and satellite altimetry. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 18.

Ridgway & Godfrey 1997

Ridgway K & Godfrey J (1997). Seasonal cycle of the East Australian Current. Journal of Geophysical Research, 102, 921-936.

Ridgway 2007

Ridgway KR (2007). Long-term trend and decadal variability of the southward penetration of the East Australian Current.Geophysical Research Letters 34:L13613, doi:10.1029/2007GL030393.

Ridgway & Dunn 2003

Ridgway KR & Dunn JR (2003). Mesoscale structure of the mean East Australian Current system and its relationship with topography. Progress in Oceanography 56:189–222.

Sloyan et al. 2016

Sloyan BM, Ridgway K & Cowley R (2016). The East Australian Current and property transport at 27°S from 2012-2013. Journal of Physical Oceanography.

Sloyan & O’Kane 2015

Sloyan BM & O'Kane TJ (2015). Drivers of decadal variability in the Tasman Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Climate change

Sea level rise, increasing ocean temperatures and acidity are beginning to have significant impacts in all regions, and these effects are expected to increase. The worst affected areas are in the south-east and south-west, and are irreversibly and very seriously impacted. Changes in ocean current dynamics driven by climate change are also affecting these two regions

Year(s):

2011

3

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Climate change

Climate change - nutrient supply and cycling

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011.

Many components identified as physical and chemical processes in SoE 2011 are collectively presented under impacts associated with the pressure of climate change in SoE 2016. This is because many of the changes being observed in these components during the SoE reporting period are the direct result of changes occurring as a result of climate change. This thereby avoids repetition of content between sections of the SoE report.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

Pressures resulting from climate change

Improved understanding of the relative role of key physical drivers and better understanding of recent trends is required for future projection assessments

Year(s):

2016

2

Unclear

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Low

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not comparable

Climate change - nutrient supply and cycling

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Ocean state based on the annual mean nitrate and dissolved oxygen data.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=4c9f1afb-329f-4002-bd3d-d46177f6fc70.

Data/Information sources

Bopp et al. 2013

Bopp L, Resplandy L, Orr JC, Doney SC, Dunne JP, Gehlen M, Halloran P, Heinze C, Ilyina T, Seferian R, Tjiputra J & Vichi M (2013). Multiple stressors of ocean ecosystems in the 21st century: projections with CMIP5 models. Biogeosciences 10:6225–6245.

Brown et al. 2010

Brown CJ, Fulton EA, Hobday AJ, Matear RJ, Possingham HP, Bulman C, Christensen V, Forrest RE, Gehrke PC, Gribble NA, Griffiths SP, Lozano-Montes H, Martin JM, Metcalf S, Okey TA, Watson R & Richardson AJ (2010). Effects of climate-driven primary production change on marine food webs: implications for fisheries and conservation. Global Change Biology 16:1194–1212.

Lenton et al. 2015

Lenton A, McInnes KL & O’Grady JG (2015). Marine projections of warming and ocean acidification in the Australasian region.Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Journal 65(1):S1–S28.

Matear et al. 2013

Matear RJ, Chamberlain MA, Sun C & Feng M (2013). Climate change projection of the Tasman Sea from an Eddy-resolving Ocean Model. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 118(6):2961–2976.

Ridgway et al. 2002

Ridgway KR, Dunn JR & Wilkin JL (2002). Ocean interpolation by four-dimensional weighted least squares-application to the waters around Australasia. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 1357-1375.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Climate change

Sea level rise, increasing ocean temperatures and acidity are beginning to have significant impacts in all regions, and these effects are expected to increase. The worst affected areas are in the south-east and south-west, and are irreversibly and very seriously impacted. Changes in ocean current dynamics driven by climate change are also affecting these two regions

Year(s):

2011

3

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Climate change

Climate change - ocean salinity

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011. It was reported on under State and trends and the component title has changed.

Many components identified as physical and chemical processes in SoE 2011 are collectively presented under impacts associated with the pressure of climate change in SoE 2016. This is because many of the changes being observed in these components during the SoE reporting period are the direct result of changes occurring as a result of climate change. This reflects the move of the assessment of Ocean salinity from the 2011 State and trend of physical and chemical processes section.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

Ocean salinity

State and trends of physical and chemical processes

Spatially highly variable; mean surface salinity patterns have intensified during the past 50 years

Year(s):

2016

3

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Adequate

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not comparable

Climate change - ocean salinity

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Literature review, consultation with relevant experts.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=86ec16dd-99b7-400d-b054-d218da14858c.

Cravatte et al., 2009

Cravatte S, Delcroix T, Zhang DX, McPhaden M & Leloup J (2009). Observed freshening and warming of the western Pacific Warm Pool. Climate Dynamics, 565-589.

Durack and Wijffels, 2010

Durack PJ & Wijffels SE (2010). Fifty-year trends in global ocean salinities and their relationship to broad-scale warming. Journal of Climate, 4342-4362.

Durack et al., 2012

Durack P, Wijffels SE & Matear RJ (2012). Ocean salinities reveal strong global water cycle intensification during 1950 to 2000. Science, 455-458.

Feng et al., 2015

Feng M, Benthuysen J, Zhang N & Slawinski D (2015). Freshening anomalies in the Indonesian throughflow and impacts on the Leeuwin Current during 2010-2011. Geophysical Research Letters, 8555-8562.

Ganachaud et al., 2013

Ganachaud A, Sen Gupta A, Brown JN, Evans K, Maes C, Muir LC & Graham F (2013). Projected changes in the tropical Pacific Ocean of importance to tuna fisheries. Climatic Change, 163-179.

Kelly et al., 2015

Kelly P, Clementson L & Lyne V (2015). Decadal and seasonal changes in temperature, salinity, nitrate and chlorophyll in inshore and offshore waters along southeast Australia. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120:4226-4244.

Rhein et al., 2013

Rhein M, Rintoul SR, Aoki S, Campos E, Chambers D, Feely RA, Gulev S, Johnson GC, Josey SA, Kostianoy A, Mauritzen C, Roemmich D, Talley LD & Wang F (2013). Observations: Ocean. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner G, Tignor M, Allen SK, Boschung J, Nauels A, Xia Y, Bex V & Midgley PM (eds.) Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.

Rykova and Oke, 2015

Rykova T & Oke PR (2015). Recent freshening of the East Australian Current and its eddies. Geophysical Research Letters, 9369-9378.

Steele and Ermold, 2007

Steele M & Ermold W (2007). Steric sea level change in the northern seas. Journal of Climatology, 403-417.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Climate change

Significant changes evident in the south-east

Year(s):

2011

4

Stable

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Climate change

Climate change - dissolved oxygen and oxygen minimum zones

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011.

Many components identified as physical and chemical processes in SoE 2011 are collectively presented under impacts associated with the pressure of climate change in SoE 2016. This is because many of the changes being observed in these components during the SoE reporting period are the direct result of changes occurring as a result of climate change. This reflects the move of the assessment of Low oxygen - dead zones from the 2011 State and trend of physical and chemical processes section.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

Pressures resulting from climate change

Low oxygen—dead zones

Observed changes are few in open ocean environments and there are currently insufficient temporal data to assess trends. Based on model projections, dissolved oxygen is expected to decline

Year(s):

2016

3

Unclear

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Low

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Climate change - dissolved oxygen and oxygen minimum zones

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Ocean state based on the annual mean nitrate and dissolved oxygen data.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=60c2976b-9bb2-41f0-9e2b-fb6dd6954dd2.

Chu & Tunnicliffe 2015

Chu JWF & Tunnicliffe V (2015). Oxygen limitations on marine animal distributions and the collapse of epibenthic community structure during shoaling hypoxia. Global Change Biology 21:2989–3004.

Cocco et al. 2013

Cocco V, Joos F, Steinacher M, Frölicher TL, Bopp L, Dunne J, Gehlen M, Heinze C, Orr J, Oschlies A, Schneider B, Segschneider J & Tjiputra J (2013). Oxygen and indicators of stress for marine life in multi-model global warming projections. Biogeosciences, 10(3):1849-1868.

Ridgway et al. 2002

Ridgway KR, Dunn JR & Wilkin JL (2002). Ocean interpolation by four-dimensional weighted least squares-application to the waters around Australasia. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 1357-1375.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Climate change

Pressures resulting from climate change
Sea level rise, increasing ocean temperatures and acidity are beginning to have significant impacts in all regions, and these effects are expected to increase. The worst affected areas are in the south-east and south-west, and are irreversibly and very seriously impacted. Changes in ocean current dynamics driven by climate change are also affecting these two regions

Year(s):

2011

3

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Climate change

Low oxygen - dead zones
Each region has one or more examples, and these have major or extreme local impacts, but limited regional consequences

Year(s):

2011

4

Stable

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Climate change

Commercial fishing

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011:

The 2011 assessment has been divided into commercial and recreational components to support comprehensive assessment of the pressures, monitoring processes and management structures associated with each for the purposes of the report.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting cycles.

Fishing

Many pressures have been reduced through management. However, some significant pressures still exist for a number of target and bycatch species, and a number of species and habitats are not recovering from past pressures

Year(s):

2016

3

Improving

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Adequate

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not comparable

Commercial fishing

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Methods are detailed at: http://www.nespmarine.edu.au/theme/understanding-pressures-marine-environment.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=43e574c3-be1d-490f-bedd-ce62c8f63ae7.

Data/Information sources

André et al. 2015

André J, Lyle J & Hartmann K (2015). Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery assessment 2012/13, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart.

DAFF 2013

DAFF (2013). Stock status of Queensland's fisheries resources 2012, Queensland, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Fletcher & Santoro 2015

Fletcher WJ & Santoro K (eds) (2015). Status reports of the fisheries and aquatic resources of Western Australia 2014/15: the state of the fisheries, Western Australian Department of Fisheries, Perth.

Flood et al. 2014

Flood M, Stobutzki I, Andrews J, Ashby C, Begg G, Fletcher R, Gardner C, Georgeson L, Hansen S, Hartmann K, Hone P, Horvat P, Maloney L, McDonald B, Moore A, Roelofs A, Sainsbury K, Saunders T, Smith T, Stewardson C, Stewart J & Wise B (eds) (2014). Status of key Australian fish stocks reports 2014, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra.

Fowler et al. 2011

Fowler AJ, McGarvey R, Steer M & Feenstra JE (2011) The South Australian marine scalefish fishery stock status report, SARDI Aquatic Sciences, West Beach, SARDI Aquatic Sciences.

Grubert et al. 2013

Grubert MA, Saunders TM, Martin JM, Lee HS & Walters CJ (2013). Stock assessments of selected Northern Territory fishes, Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries, Darwin.

Hamer et al. 2008

Hamer DJ, Ward TM & McGarvey R (2008). Measurement, management and mitigation of operational interactions between the South Australian Sardine Fishery and short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). Biological Conservation, 141:2865-2878.

Hobday et al. 2006

Hobday AJ, Smith ADM, Stobutzkib IC, Bulman C, Daley R, Dambacher JM, Deng RA, Dowdney J, Fuller M, Furlani D, Griffiths SP, Johnson D, Kenyon R, Knuckey IA & Ling SD (2006). Fishery management strategy for the NSW ocean trap and line fishery, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Cronulla.

Kangas et al. 2007

Kangas MI, Morrison S, Unsworth P, Lai E, Wright I & Thomson A (2007). Development of biodiversity and habitat monitoring systems for key trawl fisheries in Western Australia, FRDC project 2002/038, Fisheries Research Report 160, Western Australian Department of Fisheries, Perth.

NSW DPI 2015a

NSW DPI (NSW Department of Primary Industries) (2015a). Status of fisheries resources in NSW 2013–2014: summary, NSW DPI, Cronulla, Sydney.

Patterson et al. 2015a

Patterson H, Georgeson L, Stobutzki I & Curtotti R (eds) (2015a). Fishery status reports 2015, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.

Pitcher et al. 2011

Pitcher, R., Sainsbury, K. .., Sporcic, M., Smith, T., Turnbull, C., Walker, T. I., Wayte, S. E., Webb, H., Williams, A., Wise, B. S. and Zhou, S. 2011. Ecological risk assessment for the effects of fishing. Fisheries Research, 372-384.

Savage & Hobsbawn 2015

Savage J & Hobsbawn P (2015). Australian fisheries and aquaculture statistics 2014, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation project 2014/245, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.

Tuck et al. 2013

Tuck GN, Knuckey I & Klaer NL (2013). Informing the review of the Commonwealth Policy on fisheries bycatch through assessing trends in bycatch of key Commonwealth fisheries, FRDC project 2012/046, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Hobart.

Woodhams et al. 2013

Woodhams J Vieira S & Stobutzki I (2013). Fishery status reports 2012, Canberra, Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Commercial and recreational fishing

Pressures are decreasing overall, although in the worst areas of the south-east, east and south-west, pressures are widespread and causing serious degradation, and the east continues to degrade

Year(s):

2011

3

Improving

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Commercial and recreational fishing

Recreational Fishing

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011:

The 2011 assessment has been divided into commercial and recreational components to support comprehensive assessment of the pressures, monitoring processes and management structures associated with each for the purposes of the report.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting cycles.

Fishing

Pressure from recreational fishing is substantial for specific species and trends, but is variable across marine regions.

Year(s):

2016

2

Stable

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not comparable

Recreational Fishing

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Expert assessment based on a standardised phone interview and snowball sampling. The following background was provided to experts, and then the questionnaire was administered:

'Recreational fisheries management is predominantly the responsibilities of the states. For national State of the Environment (SoE) reporting, we are approaching you as a state-based identified expert in recreational fishing to provide advice. Collegial advice will be collected over the phone by CSIRO and guided by Table 1 (below). Additional comments made during discussion may also be noted to provide further insight. All information provided by participants will remain confidential. A semistructured agenda, comprising both open-ended and closed questions has been developed to collect advice on a range of topics (Table 1). Questions will take approximately 10–20 minutes to complete and data will be entered by the organiser. The open-ended items were developed to include topics about state recreational fisheries status, trends and key recent research. The closed component of the agenda was based on the "key to grades trend assessment" provided as background for developing SoE reporting. For a variety of agenda items, you will be asked to indicate a degree of agreement or disagreement using either a three- or a four-point Likert scale. As a participant, you will be asked to respond to the questions in the context of your state, unless your expertise is at a national level. A snowball sampling strategy will be used, with you asked to identify other experts to contact to participate in the virtual workshop.'

Table 1. Questions for virtual workshop with recreational fisheries experts

Open-ended questions:

Workshop participant information: name, email, affiliation, category: manager, researcher or stakeholder, sex, % rec-fish work, location and state, number of years working in rec-fish, specific interests. Are your responses at the state and/or national level?
Can you identify key research and reports on your state’s rec-fish since 2010–11?
After discussion, can you identify any recent changes in rec-fish including management since 2011 with 5 keywords or short phrases?
What is your state's main source of research investment?
What are the ranked 3 most important (tonnage) targeted fish/invertebrates?
Can you rank recent (since 2011) general trends in rec-fish a) effort, b) participation and c) harvest? Using this scale 1) decrease, 2) stayed the same, 3) increase or n/a) unsure,

Closed grade (assessment) questions:

Does recreational fishing currently have: 1) minor, 2) some, 3) substantial, 4) widespread or n/a) unsure, pressure on the environment?
How confident are you in the scientific evidence for your answer? 1) low, 2) limited or 3) high
How confident are you of state expert consensus on your answer? 1) low, 2) limited or 3) high
For the following pressure points on the environment can you rank pressure as 1) low, 2) limited, 3) high or n/a) unsure? Pressure points: habitats, specific species/taxa groups, physical environment, biogeochemical processes, biological processes or ecological processes.
Combining all of these pressure points, has the general trend of pressure from recreational fishing on the state environment since 2011: 1) reduced, 2) remained stable, 3) increased or is this n/a) unclear?
How confident are you in the scientific evidence for your answer to the trend question? 1) low, 2) limited or 3) high
How confident are you of state expert consensus on your answer to the trend question? 1) low, 2) limited, 3) high or n/a) unsure
Are there others that I should talk to as a recognized expert on recreational fishing in your State or elsewhere?

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=92655447-fa83-4848-86f3-d56dcb38e17c.

Data/Information sources

Conron et al., 2014

Conron S, Bridge N, Grixti D, Ward M & Stokie T (2014). Angler diary monitoring of recreational target fish stocks in selected Victorian estuaries, Victorian Government, http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/fisheries/recreational-fishing/recreational-fishing-grants-program/your-licence-fees-at-work-2011-12/angler-diary-monitoring-of-recreational-target-fish-stocks-in-selected-victorian-estuaries.

Griffiths and Fay, 2015

Griffiths SP & Fay G (2015). Integrating recreational fisheries data into stock assessment: implications for model performance and subsequent harvest strategies. Fisheries Management and Ecology 22:197–212.

Hall and Giri, 2015

Hall K & Giri K (2015) South Australian Recreational Fishing Survey, Fisheries Victoria, Internal report series no. 62, http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/fishing/publications/rec_fishi ng_survey.

Henry and Lyle, 2003

Henry GW & Lyle JM (2003). The national recreational and Indigenous fishing survey, final report 99/158 to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Canberra.

Ryan et al., 2015

Ryan KL, Hall NG, Lai EK, Smallwood CB, Taylor SM & Wise BS (2015). State-wide survey of boat-based recreational fishing in Western Australia 2013/14, Fisheries Research Report 268, Western Australian Department of Fisheries, Perth.

Lyle et al., 2014

Lyle JM, Stark KE & Tracey SR (2014). 2012–13 survey of recreational fishing in Tasmania, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania.

Lynch, 2014

Lynch TP (2014). A decadal time-series of recreational fishing effort collected before and after implementation of a multiple use marine park shows high inter-annual but low spatial variability. Fisheries Research 151:85–90.

Moore et al., 2015

Moore A, Hall H, Khageswor G, Tracey S, Hansen S, Ward P, Stobutzki I, Andrews J, Nicol S & Brown P (2015) . Developing robust and cost effective methods for estimating the national recreational catch of Southern Bluefin Tuna in Australia, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra, 2012/022.

Queensland Government, 2015

Queensland Government 2015. State-wide and regional recreational fishing survey 2013â14, Brisbane, Queensland Government.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Commercial and recreational fishing

Pressures are decreasing overall, although in the worst areas of the south-east, east and south-west, pressures are widespread and causing serious degradation, and the east continues to degrade

Year(s):

2011

3

Improving

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Commercial and recreational fishing

Traditional use of marine resources

Traditional use is generally considered localised and sustainable, but future effective monitoring is required for quantifying trend

Year(s):

2016

3

Unclear

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Low

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Traditional use of marine resources

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

A desktop study was undertaken by reviewing the literature to extract and identify successes and barriers identified in association with traditional use of marine resources. The literature review required a synthesis of the extent and trend in traditional use. The review included key material based on national and state-based studies, grey literature, government and non-government reports and scientific journal articles.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=1f21892a-2499-4f8d-9d42-2d1f381c1482.

Barbour & Schlesinger 2012

Barbour W & Schlesinger C (2012). Who’s the boss? Post-colonialism, ecological research and conservation management on Australian Indigenous lands. Ecological Management and Restoration 13(1):36–41.

Butler et al. 2012

Butler JRA, Tawake A, Skewes T, Tawake L & McGrath V (2012). Integrating traditional ecological knowledge and fisheries management in the Torres Strait, Australia: the catalytic role of turtles and dugong as cultural keystone species. Ecology and Society 17(4):article 34, doi:10.5751/ES-05165-170434.

DPIF 2013

DPIF (Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries) (2013). Indigenous community marine ranger program, DPIF, Darwin.

Dobbs 2007

Dobbs K (2007). A reef-wide framework for managing traditional use of marine resources in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville.

Dressler et al. 2010

Dressler W, Buscher B, Schoon M, Brockington D, Hayes T, Kull CA, McCarthy J & Shrestha K (2010). From hope to crisis and back again? A critical history of the global CBNCRM narrative. Environmental Conservation, 5-15.

Ens et al. 2012

Ens EJ, Finlayson M, Preuss K, Jackson S & Holcombe S (2012). Australian approaches for managing 'country' using Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge. Ecological Management and Restoration, 13:100-107.

GBRMPA 2008

GBRMPA (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) (2008). Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreement (TUMRA) workbook, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

GBRMPA 2011

GBRMPA (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) (2011). Traditional owners of the Great Barrier Reef, reef facts for tour guides, issue 4, GBRMPA, Townsville.

Hill et al. 2012

Hill R, Grant C, George M, Robinson C, Jackson S & Abel N (2012). A typology of Indigenous engagement in Australian environmental management: implications for knowledge integration and social-ecological system sustainability. Ecology and Society 17(1):23.

Hope Vale Aboriginal Council 1999

Hope Vale Aboriginal Council (1999). Guugu Yimmithir Bam Wii: Ngawiya and Girrbithi: a turtle and dugong hunting management plan, Hope Vale, Hope Vale Aboriginal Council.

Jackson et al. 2015

Jackson MV, Kennett R, Bayliss P, Warren R, Waina N, Adams J, Cheinmora L, Vigilante T, Jungine E, Woolagoodja K, Woolagoodja F, Umbagai J, Holmes J & Weisenberger F (2015). Developing collaborative marine turtle monitoring in the Kimberley region of northern Australia. Ecological Management and Restoration 16(3):163–176.

Johnson et al. 2015

Johnson JE, Marsh H, Hamann M, Duke N, Burrows D, Bainbridge S, Sweatman H, Brodie J, Bohensky E, Butler J & Laurance S (2015). Tropical research in Australia’s Torres Strait region: synthesis of NERP Tropical Ecosystems Hub Torres Strait research outputs 2011–2014, report to the National Environmental Research Program, Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited, Cairns.

NAILSMA 2009

NAILSMA (North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance) (2009). Performance story report on evaluation of investment in the Dugong and Marine Turtle Project, NAILSMA, Darwin.

Nursey-Bray & Jacobson 2014

Nursey-Bray M & Jacobson C (2014). 'Which way?': the contribution of Indigenous marine governance. Australian Journal of Maritime and Ocean Affairs, 6.

Marsh et al. 2015

Marsh H, Grayson J, Grech A, Hagihara R & Sobtzich S (2015). Re-evaluation of the sustainability of a marine mammal harvest by Indigenous people using several lines of evidence. Biological Conservation 192:324–330.

Moorcroft 2012

Moorcroft H (2012). Wunambal Gaambera healthy country plan. In: Figgis P, Fitzsimons J & Irving J (eds), Innovation for 21st century conservation, Australian Committee for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Sydney, 116–123.

DSEWPaC 2012e

DSEWPaC (2012e). Northern Australia Indigenous Ranger Coordinators Workshop. Darwin, June 7-8. Workshop Outcomes Report, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra.

TRSA 2014

TRSA (2014). Ranger achievements for 2014-2015, Torres Strait Regional Authority.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Traditional use of marine resources

These pressures are localised and stable

Year(s):

2011

3

Stable

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Traditional use of marine resources

Marine oil and gas exploration and production

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011.

The assessment title has been revised to to maintain distinction between land and marine environments for the purposes of the report

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

Oil and gas exploration and production

Pressures remain localised, with the greatest activity occurring in the North-west and South-east marine regions. Exploration activity in the Great Australian Bight is increasing

Year(s):

2016

3

Improving

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Adequate

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Marine oil and gas exploration and production

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Review of SoE 2011 and industry changes since that time, informed by industry statistics. The assessment includes only oil and gas activities in Commonwealth waters. The approach taken was to focus on the point of view of the regulator, with an independent industry review.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=95d74a57-a199-4fcc-8b6c-2b62ac57bd6c.

Data/Information sources

Environmental data spans only 2012–2015 since NOPSEMA was formed. A combination of qualitative and quantitative data was used. Details of the specific datasets used to generate this assessment have not been provided, but all information is available from the annual data tables on the NOPSEMA website: http://www.nopsema.gov.au/assets/Data-and-statistics/An
nual-Data-Tables-2005-Q4-2015-December-2015.pdf.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Marine oil and gas exploration and production

Most pressures are localised. The worst areas are in the south-east and north-west, but impacts remain minor overall. Pressures are expected to increase in the north-west.

Year(s):

2011

4

Stable

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Marine oil and gas exploration and production

Marine mining and industry

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011.

The assessment title has been revised to to maintain distinction between land and marine environments for the purposes of the report

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

Mining and industry

Sea-floor modification is localised. More regional environmental pressures are likely to be associated with disturbed sediments

Year(s):

2016

0

Unclear

Confidence (in grade):

Low

Confidence (in trend):

Low

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Marine mining and industry

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Literature review.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=a7b3ff09-dbc7-4d12-9c97-1e829abb2ae3.

AIMS 2014

AIMS (Australian Institute of Marine Science) (2014). The AIMS index of marine industry, AIMS, Townsville.

NT EPA, 2012

NT EPA (2012). Interim report: seabed mining in the Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory Environmental Protection Authority.

Mason et al. 2014

Mason C, Paxton G, Parsons R, Parr J & Moffat K (2014). For the benefit of Australians: exploring expectations for the mining industry from a national perspective. Resources Policy, 1-8.

Comments

In relation to the assessment grade of 'Not assessed', note that the current data are not extensive enough to provide a definitive rating, although attempts were made to assess this pressure. The pressure could therefore be better described as 'Unclear'—a rating not available to the authors.

Topics

Marine mining and industry

The worst areas, in the south-east and south-west, have suffered serious degradation

Year(s):

2011

3

Stable

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Marine mining and industry

Marine renewable energy generation

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011.

The assessment title has been revised to to maintain distinction between land and marine environments and other sources of energy generation such as oil and gas for the purposes of the report.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

Energy generation

Industry-scale deployments are sparse, with few quantitative data available for environmental pressures. Pressures are likely localised

Year(s):

2016

4

Unclear

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Low

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Marine renewable energy generation

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Assessment of impacts of marine renewable energy is an emerging science. Few deployments are available in Australia, and the assessment is largely derived from a review of international scientific literature.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=a6a9c581-b009-40d4-a653-68974cb8a108.

Data/Information sources

Copping et al., 2013

Copping A, Hanna L, Whiting J, Geerlofs S, Grear M, Blake K, Coffey A, Massaua M, Brown-Saracino J, & Battey H (2013).Environmental effects of marine energy development around the world: annex IV final report, Ocean Energy Systems, Lisbon.

TETHYS, 2016

TETHYS (2016). TETHYS knowledge database of marine environmental effects of marine renewable energy, http://tethys.pnnl.gov/.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Marine renewable energy generation

These pressures are localised and stable

Year(s):

2011

4

Unclear

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Marine renewable energy generation

Marine vessel activity

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011.

The assessment title has been revised to support a comprehensive assessment of commercial and recreational marine vessels for the purposes of the report.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

Shipping

Vessel activity is continuing to increase in all regions, resulting in a range of increased risks

Year(s):

2016

3

Unclear

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Low

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Marine vessel activity

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Based on data for increases in vessel activity as well as whale population size increases, in the case of ship strike risk.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=b5487f41-83e6-46f5-9170-7c4709350e26.

BITRE, 2015

BITRE (Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics) (2015). Yearbook 2015: Australian infrastructure statistical report, BITRE, Canberra.

Silber et al., 2012

Silber GK, Vanderlaan ASM, Tejedor Arceredillo A, Johnson L, Taggart CT, Brown MW, Bettridge S & Sagarminaga R (2012). The role of the International Maritime Organization in reducing vessel threat to whales: process, options, actions and effectiveness. Marine Policy 36:1221–1233.

Peel et al., 2015

Peel D, Kelly N, Smith J & Childerhouse S (2015). Quantitative assessment of the risk of ship strike to humpback whales in the Great Barrier Reef: AMMC final report.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Marine vessel activity

Pressures are increasing in all regions, resulting in declining conditions

Year(s):

2011

3

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Marine vessel activity

Anthropogenic Noise

Monitoring is currently spatially and temporally limited, although data now exist to quantify noise. Pressures are mostly localised, although some sources can have large spatial and temporal footprints.

Year(s):

2016

2

Unclear

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Low

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Anthropogenic Noise

2016

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Qualitative assessment of temporal changes in datasets for each bioregion, literature review, and consultation with relevant experts.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=969f4e36-0cfe-4d71-823f-13feaaa3a9d2.

Cato, 2010

Cato DH (2010). The effects of noise on marine animals in the context of their natural acoustic environment. In: Burgess M, Don C, Davey J & McMinn T (eds), Proceedings of the 20th International Congress on Acoustics, Sydney, 23–27 August 2010, International Congress on Acoustics, Sydney, 5:4159–4166.

Cato et al., 2016

Cato DH, Dunlop RA, Noad MJ, McCauley RD, Kniest E, Paton D & Kavanagh AS (2016). Addressing challenges in studies of behavioral responses of whales to noise. In: Popper AN & Hawkins A (eds), Advances in experimental medicine and biology, vol. 875, The effects of noise on aquatic life II, Springer, New York, 145–152.

Cato et al., 2012

Cato DH, Noad MJ, Dunlop RA, McCauley RD, Gales NJ, Salgado Kent CP, Kniest H, Paton D, Jenner CS, Noad J, Maggi AL, Parnum IM & Duncan AJ (2012). Project BRAHSS: behavioural response of Australian humpback whales to seismic surveys. In: McMinn T (ed.), Acoustics 2012: Acoustics, development, and the environment, proceedings of the Australian Acoustical Society Conference, Fremantle, 21–23 November 2012, Australian Acoustical Society, Adelaide, 260–266.

Dunlop et al., 2016

Dunlop RA, Noad MJ, McCauley RD, Kniest E, Slade R, Paton D & Cato DH (2016). Response of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) to ramp-up of a small experimental air gun array. Marine Pollution Bulletin 103(1–2):72–83.

Erbe et al., 2014

Erbe C, Verma A, McCauley R, Gavrilov A & Parnum I (2015). The marine soundscape of the Perth Canyon. Progress in Oceanography 137:38–51.

Fewtrell and McCauley, 2012

Fewtrell JL & McCauley RD (2012). Impact of air gun noise on the behaviour of marine fish and squid. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 64(5):984–993.

Lynch et al., 2014

Lynch TP, Morello EB, Evans K, Richardson AJ, Rochester W, Steinberg CR, Roughan M, Thompson P, Middleton JF, Feng M, Sherrington R, Brando V, Tilbrook B, Ridgway K, Allen S, Doherty P, Hill K & Moltmann TC (2014). IMOS national reference stations: a continental-wide physical, chemical and biological coastal observing system. PLoS ONE 9(12):e113652,doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0113652.

McCauley et al., 2003

McCauley RD, Fewtrell J & Popper AN (2003). High intensity anthropogenic sound damages fish ears. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 113(1):638–641.

OSPAR, 2009

OSPAR (2009). Overview of the impacts of anthropogenic underwater sound in the marine environment, OSPAR Commission, London.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Anthropogenic noise

Marine debris

Increasing losses of debris into the marine environment are expected to continue, with a corresponding increase in marine fauna impacted, and associated socio-economic, environmental, navigation and hazard impacts.

Year(s):

2016

2

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Adequate

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Marine debris

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Quantitative surveys. Methods available upon request or on CSIRO website.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=b6c205fa-d8f4-474a-9a17-99db6f084607.

Acampora et al. 2013

Acampora H, Schuyler Q, Townsend K & Hardesty BD (2013). Comparing plastic ingestion between juvenile and adult stranded short-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) in eastern Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin 78:63–68.

Carey 2011

Carey MJ (2011). Intergenerational transfer of plastic debris by short-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris). Emu, 229-234.

Eriksen et al. 2014

Eriksen M, Lebreton LCM, Carson HS, Thiel M, Moore CJ, Borerro JC, Galgani F, Ryan PG & Reisser J (2014). Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans: more than 5 trillion plastic pieces weighing over 250,000 tons afloat at sea. PLoS ONE9(12):e111913, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111913.

Gall & Thompson 2015

Gall SC & Thompson RC (2015). The impact of debris on marine life. Marine Pollution Bulletin 92(1):170–179.

Hardesty et al. 2016

Hardesty BD, Wilcox C & Lebreton L (2016). Modelling and monitoring marine litter movement, transport and accumulation: state of knowledge on litter in the marine environment, Hobart, CSIRO.

Hardesty et al. 2014

Hardesty BD, Wilcox C, Lawson TJ, Lansdell M & van der Velde T (2014). Understanding the effects of marine debris on wildlife, final report to Earthwatch Australia, CSIRO, Hobart.

Hardesty &Wilcox 2012

Hardesty BD & Wilcox C (2012). Understanding the types, sources and at-sea distribution of marine debris in Australian waters, CSIRO, Hobart, Final report to the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Health, Population and Communities.

Jambeck et al. 2015

Jambeck JR, Geyer R, Wilcox C, Siegler TR, Perryman M, Andrady A, Narayan R & Law KL (2015). Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science 347(6223):768–771.

Lavers et al. 2014

Lavers JL, Bond AL & Hutton I (2014). Plastic ingestion by flesh-footed shearwaters (Puffinus carneipes): implications for fledgling body condition and the accumulation of plastic derived chemicals. Environmental Pollution 187:124–129.

Lawson et al. 2015

Lawson TJ, Johns K, Dann P, Wilcox C & Hardesty BD (2015). Net characteristics that entangle Australian fur seals in Southern Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin 98:354–357.

Reisser et al. 2014

Reisser J, Shaw J, Hallegraeff G, Proietti M, Barnes D, Thums M, Wilcox C, Hardesty BD & Pattiaratchi C (2014). Millimeter-sized marine plastics: a new pelagic habitat for microorganisms and invertebrates. PLoS ONE, 9, e100289.

Reisser et al. 2013

Reisser J, Shaw J, Wilcox C, Hardesty BD, Proietti M, Thums M & Pattiaratchi C (2013). Marine plastic pollution in waters around Australia: characteristics, concentrations, and pathways. PloS one, 8, e80466.

Rochman et al. 2015

Rochman CM, Tahir A, Williams SL, Baxa DV, Lam R, Miller JT, Teh FC, Werorilangi S & Teh SJ (2015). Anthropogenic debris in seafood: plastic debris and fibers from textiles in fish and bivalves sold for human consumption. Scientific Reports 5:article 14340, doi:10.1038/srep14340.

Schuyler et al. 2012

Schuyler Q, Townsend K, Hardesty BD & Wilcox C (2012). To eat or not to eat: debris selectivity by marine turtles. . PLoS One, 7, e40884.

Schuyler et al. 2013

Schuyler Q, Hardesty BD, Wilcox C & Townsend K (2013). A global analysis of anthropogenic debris ingestion by sea turtles.Conservation Biology 28:129–139.

Schuyler et al. 2015

Schuyler Q, Wilcox C, Townsend K, Wedemeyer-Strombel KR, Balazs G, van Sebille E & Hardesty BD (2015). A global risk analysis for turtles and marine debris. Global Change Biology.

Vegter et al. 2014

Vegter AC, Barletta M, Beck C, Borrero J, Burton H, Campbell ML, Costa MF, Eriksen M, Eriksson C, Estrades A, Gilardi KVK, Hardesty BD, do Sul JAI, Lavers JL, Lazar B, Lebreton L, Nichols WJ, Ribic CA, Ryan PG, Schuyler QA, Smith SDA, Takada H, Townsend KA, Wabnitz CCC, Wilcox C, Young LC & Hamann M (2014). Global research priorities to mitigate plastic pollution impacts on marine wildlife. Endangered Species Research 25:225–247.

Wilcox et al. 2013

Wilcox C, Hardesty BD, Sharples R, Griffin DA, Lawson TJ & Gunn R (2013). Ghost net impacts on globally threatened turtles, a spatial risk analysis for northern Australia. Conservation Letters 6:247–254.

Wilcox et al. 2015

Wilcox C, van Sebille E & Hardesty BD (2015). The threat of plastic pollution to seabirds is global, pervasive and increasing.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112(38):11899–11904.

Wilcox et al. 2015

Wilcox C, Mallos N, Leonard GH, Rodriguez A & Hardesty BD (2015). Using expert elicitation to estimate the impacts of plastic pollution on marine wildlife. Marine Policy.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Marine debris

There are widespread pressures in all regions

Year(s):

2011

2

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Marine debris

Toxins, pesticides and herbicides

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011. It was reported on under State and trends.

Toxins, pesticides, herbicides can be regarded as pressures impacting the marine environment. The assessment for Toxins, pesticides, herbicides has been moved to the Pressures affecting the marine environment section of the report.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

Toxins, pesticides, herbicides

State and trends of physical and chemical processes

Very little is known of levels of toxins, pesticides and herbicides outside coastal regions and the Great Barrier Reef. Impacts are assumed to be low.

Year(s):

2016

3

Unclear

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Low

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Toxins, pesticides and herbicides

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Literature review and consultation with relevant experts.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=c573bdac-a442-47b4-a8e6-57a6a1c053b1.

Data/Information sources

Aguilar et al., 1999

Aguilar A, Borrell A & Pastor T (1999). Biological factors affecting variability of persistent pollutant levels in cetaceans. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management Special Issue 1:83–116.

Brodie et al., 2012

Brodie JE, Kroon FJ, Schaffelke B, Wolanski EC, Lewis SE, Devlin MJ, Bohnet IC, Bainbridge ZT, Waterhouse J & Davis AM (2012). Terrestrial pollutant runoff to the Great Barrier Reef: an update of issues, priorities and management responses. Marine Pollution Bulletin 65:81–100.

Evans, 2001

Evans K (2001). Pollution and marine mammals in the Southern Hemisphere: potential or present threat? In: Gales N, Hindell M & Kirkwood R (eds), Marine mammals and humans: towards a sustainable balance, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 388–429.

Evans et al., 2003

Evans K, Hindell MA & Hince G (2003). Concentrations of organochlorines in sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) from southern Australian waters. Marine Pollution Bulletin 48:486–503.

Hale and La Guardia, 2002

Hale RC & La Guardia MJ (2002). Emerging contaminants of concern in coastal and estuarine environments. In: Newman MC, Roberts Jr MH & Hale RC (eds), Coastal and estuarine environments, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 41–72.

ACF, 2015

ACF 2015. Recovery planning: restoring life to our threatened species, Australian Conservation Foundation, BirdLife Australia and Environmental Justice Australia.

Haynes and Johnson, 2000

Haynes D & Johnson JE (2000). Organochlorine, heavy metal and polyaromatic hydrocarbon pollutant concentrations in the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) environment: a review. Marine Pollution Bulletin 41:7–12.

Shahidul Islam and Tanaka, 2004

Islam SM & Tanaka M (2004). Impacts of pollution on coastal and marine ecosystems including coastal and marine fisheries and approach for management: a review and synthesis. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 48:624-649.

Iwata et al., 1993

Iwata H, Tanabe S, Sakai N & Tatsukawa R (1993). Distribution of persistent organochlorines in the oceanic air and surface seawater and the role of the ocean on their global transport and fate. Environmental Science and Technology 27:1080–1098.

McKinney et al., 2015

McKinney MA, Pedro S, Dietz R, Sonne C, Fisk AT, Roy D, Jenssen BM & Letcher RJ (2015). A review of ecological impacts of global climate change on persistent organic pollutant and mercury pathways and exposures in arctic marine ecosystems.Current Zoology 61:617–628.

Reijnders, 1994

Reijnders PJH (1994). Toxicokinetics of chlorobiphenyls and associated physiological responses in marine mammals with particular reference to their potential for ecotoxicological risk assessment. Science of the Total Environment 154:229–236.

Skaare et al., 2000

Skaare JU, Bernhoft A, Derocher A, Gabrielsen GW, Goksøyr A, Henriksen E, Larsen HJ, Lie E & Wiig Ø (2000). Organochlorines in top predators at Svalbard—occurrence, levels and effects. Toxicology Letters 112:103–109.

Tanabe, 2002

Tanabe S (2002). Contamination and toxic effects of persistent endocrine disrupters in marine mammals and birds. Marine Pollution Bulletin 45:69–77.

Tanabe et al., 1994

Tanabe S, Iwata H & Tatsukawa R (1994). Global contamination by persistent organochlorines and the ecotoxicological impact on marine mammals. Science of the Total Environment 154:163–177.

Templeman and Kingsford, 2010

Templeman MA & Kingsford MJ (2010). Trace element accumulation in Cassiopea sp. (Scyphozoa) from urban marine environments in Australia. Marine Environmental Research 69:63–72.

Weijs et al., 2013

Weijs L, Tibax D, Roach AC, Manning TM, Chapman JC, Edge K, Blust R & Covaci A (2013). Assessing levels of halogenated organic compounds in mass-stranded long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) from Australia. Science of the Total Environment 461–462:117–125.

Wöhrnschimmel et al., 2013

Wöhrnschimmel H, MacLeod M & Hungerbuhler K (2013). Emissions, fate and transport of persistent organic pollutants to the Arctic in a changing global climate. Environmental Science and Technology 47:2323–2330.

Comments

Nil.

Topics

Toxins, pesticides and herbicides

Significant changes in the south-west and south-east

Year(s):

2011

4

Stable

Confidence (in grade):

Limited

Confidence (in trend):

Limited

Comparability (to previous reports):

Not assessed

Topics

Toxins, pesticides and herbicides

Dumped Wastes

This assessment summary component has changed from 2011. It was originally reported under State and trends.

Dumped wastes can be regarded as pressures impacting the marine environment. The assessment for Dumped wastes has been moved to the Pressures affecting the marine environment section of the report.

The original 2011 summary, grade, trend and confidence levels have been replicated here to assist comparison of changes between reporting
cycles.

The state of coastal sea-floor habitats is good, although potential for cumulative impacts is increasing and these impacts are possibly evident in localised areas

Year(s):

2016

3

Deteriorating

Confidence (in grade):

Adequate

Confidence (in trend):

Adequate

Comparability (to previous reports):

Somewhat comparable

Dumped Wastes

20162011

Marine environment

Pressures

Approach/Process

Literature search.

Further information on the assessment process can be accessed through the Australian Ocean Data Network SoE Metadata catalogue at http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=494bca38-9ee0-498b-87bf-7de277720984.

Data/Information sources

SKM 2013

SKM (Sinclair Knight Merz) (2013). Improved dredged material management for the Great Barrier Reef region: modelling sediment migration from current and hypothetical alternative placement sites, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville.

Bolam et al. 2006

Bolam SG, Rees HL, Somerfield P, Smith R, Clark K, Warwick R, Atkins M & Garnacho E (2006). Ecological consequences of dredged material disposed of in the marine environment: a holistic assessment of activities around the England and Wales coastline. Marine Pollution Bulletin 52:415–426.

Engler et al. 1991

Engler R, Saunders L & Wright T (1991). Environmental effects of aquatic disposal of dredged material. Environmental Professional 13:317–325.

Chevron Australia 2011

Chevron Australia (2011). Gorgon Gas Development and Jansz Feed Gas Pipeline: Dredging and Spoil Disposal Management and Monitoring Plan 2011, Chevron Australia.

Harvey et al. 1998

Harvey MD, Gauthier D & Munro J (1998). Temporal changes in the composition and abundance of macroinvertebrates at the dredge disposal sites on the Anse à Beaufils, baie des Chaleurs, Eastern Canada. Marine Pollution Bulletin 36(1):41–55.

Jones 1986

Jones AR (1986). The effects of dredging and spoil disposal on macrobenthos, Hawkesbury Estuary NSW. Marine Pollution Bulletin 17:17–20.

Neil et al. 2003

Neil KM, Stafford H, Rose C & Thomas R (2003). Flora and fauna survey: Cairns Port Authority ocean disposal site, report to Cairns Port Authority, CRC Reef Research Centre, Townsville, & Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane.

Ports Australia 2014

Ports Australia (2014). Dredging and Australian ports: temperate ports, Ports Australia, Sydney.

SKM 2013

SKM (Sinclair Knight Merz) (2013). Improved dredged material management for the Great Barrier Reef region: modelling sediment migration from current and hypothetical alternative placement sites, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville.

Chevron Australia 2014

Chevron Australia (2014). Wheatstone Project Dredging and Dredge Spoil Placement Environmental Monitoring and Management Plan, Chevron Australia.