PROTECTING AND MAINTAINING THE SYSTEM developing enforcement and education Victorians are fortunate to have marine strategies to ensure compliance and reduce environments in relatively good health compared illegal harvesting of marine species, and to with other regions around the world. However, we minimise other illegal activities such as must recognise that human activities on both sea dumping of vessel waste; and land can put pressure on the health and integrity of the marine environment, and cause loss planning for the risk of marine incidents such or damage to natural values. Pressures on as oil spills, cetacean strandings and new marine environments include urban, marine exotic pest incursions, and building our Victoria’s agricultural, industrial and shipping pollution, capacity to respond to them; excessive sedimentation, physical disturbance, ensuring that appropriate levels of over-harvesting and the introduction of exotic environmental assessment are undertaken by organisms. responsible coastal and catchment managers While some of these pressures originate from and with respect to existing and future planning, can be managed within the boundaries of Marine infrastructure and development proposals that National Parks and Sanctuaries, other pressures may have an impact on Marine National Parks originate externally. For this reason the and Sanctuaries; management of the system must also involve increasing our understanding of vulnerable understanding and working cooperatively with other marine habitats such as seagrass beds, managers and the community, in order to identify mangroves and saltmarshes, and risks and develop strategies for ensuring the threatened marine species; protection and improvement of the broader marine integrating with existing risk management and estuarine environment. processes and decision support systems to Key challenges and issues associated with the help set priorities to protect Marine National protection of the natural values of Marine Parks and Sanctuaries; and National Parks and Sanctuaries are: managing for an acceptable range of preventing and managing incursions of visitor uses (see Recreation, Tourism and marine exotic species; Visitor Management, pages 89–97). Western blue devilfish Paraplesiops meleagris. (Photography William Boyle). Sponges and red mullet vlamingii. Mary Malloy).
PROTECTING AND MAINTAINING THE SYSTEM Victorians are fortunate to have marine environments in relatively good health compared with other regions around the world. However, we must recognise that human activities on both sea and land can put pressure on the health and integrity of the marine environment, and cause loss or damage to natural values. Pressures on Victoria’s marine environments include urban, agricultural, industrial and shipping pollution, excessive sedimentation, physical disturbance, over-harvesting and the introduction of exotic organisms. While some of these pressures originate from and can be managed within the boundaries of Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries, other pressures originate externally. For this reason the management of the system must also involve understanding and working cooperatively with other managers and the community, in order to identify risks and develop strategies for ensuring the protection and improvement of the broader marine and estuarine environment. Key challenges and issues associated with the protection of the natural values of Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries are: preventing and managing incursions of marine exotic species; developing enforcement and education strategies to ensure compliance and reduce illegal harvesting of marine species, and to minimise other illegal activities such as dumping of vessel waste; planning for the risk of marine incidents such as oil spills, cetacean strandings and new marine exotic pest incursions, and building our capacity to respond to them; ensuring that appropriate levels of environmental assessment are undertaken by responsible coastal and catchment managers with respect to existing and future planning, infrastructure and development proposals that may have an impact on Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries; increasing our understanding of vulnerable marine habitats such as seagrass beds, mangroves and saltmarshes, and threatened marine species; integrating with existing risk management processes and decision support systems to help set priorities to protect Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries; and managing for an acceptable range of visitor uses (see Recreation, Tourism and Visitor Management, pages 89–97). Western blue devilfish Paraplesiops meleagris. (Photography William Boyle). Sponges and red mullet vlamingii. Mary Malloy).