Photo © Meg Green

In 1998 the Beattie Government made an election promise to deliver border to border marine parks for Queensland. To the best of our knowledge this has not been removed from Labour policy. Since this announcement, there have been some extensions to Queensland marine parks, however there are a number of gaps remaining that require immediate government attention.

The major gaps in the Queensland marine protected area network are:

• between the NSW border and southern tip of Moreton Bay Marine Park (MBMP)
• between northern tip of MBMP and southern tip of Great Sandy Marine Park (GSMP)
• between the northern tip of Great Barrier Reef Coastal Marine Park (GBRCMP) to the NT border.

Note: There are other gaps along the coast, however they are relatively small and many are in port locations.

Currently in Queensland there are four marine bioregions (Carpenteria, Wellesley-Karumba-Nassau, West Cape York and Torres Strait) that are not represented in a marine protected area (MPA). The Government needs to act on their 1998 election promise and protect and effectively managed these marine ecosystems. Wildlife Queensland recognises that indigenous peoples of these areas have a deep connection to the land and sea. There is a need to document and integrate indigenous knowledge with conventional management practices. Indigenous peoples must be involved in MPA declaration and management strategies.

Currently 73% of the Queensland coast is within MPAs, however unlike national parks, MPAs are multi-use areas and often small percentages are designated for conservation purposes. In Queensland we have 3 state multi-use marine parks.

1. The Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park (GBRCMP). GBRCMP is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) which has 33.4% fully protected in marine national parks.
2. Great Sandy Marine Park (GSMP). Currently only 4% of GSMP is protected in marine national parks which is far short of what is scientifically recommended.
3. Moreton Bay Marine Park (MBMP). In 2009 after strong lobbying from Wildlife Queensland and other conservation groups marine national park protection was increased from less than 0.5% to 16%. While a significant step forward it is still short of what is needed for this fragile area.

Individual MPA’s should be sufficient in size to adequately protect identified conservation values and reflect ecosystem linkage and connectivity of the surrounding system. They must follow the CAR system: comprehensive, adequate and representative - but they should also incorporate connectivity and resilience to mitigate climate change.

What is WPSQ doing?

Wildlife Queensland Sunshine Coast Branch is part of an alliance of conservation groups campaigning for marine park protection in the gap between the GSMP and MBMP.

Wildlife Queensland has written to the Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change and will be meeting with her to discuss our concerns. We will keep you updated on how this campaign progresses.

More Information:

• Marine Parks along the Queensland Coast - June 2010
• Discussions on marine park promise - May 2010
• The forgotten Gulf and Torres Strait – protect all our marine life - April 2010

For more information on Wildlife Queensland's activities, call us on +61 7 3221 0194 or send us an email.