NESP MaC Project 2.1 - Mapping temperate continental shelf seabed habitats, 2022-2023 (IMAS, UWA)

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub project "Mapping temperate continental shelf seabed habitats". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata.

Rocky reefs on Australia's temperate continental shelf support diverse ecological communities, including corals, sponges, mobile invertebrates, fish, and marine mammals. These habitats underpin important natural, economic, and cultural values and are subject to pressures from fishing, shipping, and climate change. Rocky reefs are key features of many Australian Marine Parks (AMPs), and improving knowledge of their extent and condition is essential for effective management and evaluation of conservation outcomes - particularly in offshore areas where seafloor habitat data is limited.

This project addressed knowledge gaps on the extent and distribution of seabed habitats by focusing on rocky reef systems within the South-west and South-east Marine Parks Networks. It built on previous research from the NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub by collating and analysing existing seafloor data, and deploying drop cameras at priority sites (selected in consultation with Parks Australia and other end-users) to validate seafloor habitat extent and type. This new survey data was incorporated with newly developed data workflows to generate ecosystem models of reef and soft sediments, and broad-scale ecosystem classes - with a focus on workflows enabling rapid update of products and ensuring consistency across mapping outputs. These data products directly support NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Project 2.3 (Improving knowledge transfer for AMP management).

The project team worked with Indigenous Rangers and organisations in the South-west region to identify opportunities for collaboration, incorporate cultural knowledge into research design, and support knowledge exchange through field-based activities and on-country engagement. The project aimed to strengthen both established and emerging relationships, building on existing collaborations between University of Western Australia (UWA) researchers and the Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (ETNTAC) on complementary projects. UWA had also previously partnered with the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC), in consultation with the South West Boojarah (now Karri Karrak) and the Undalup Association, to support cultural mapping and biodiversity surveys under the NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub. These partnerships informed the project’s cultural engagement approach and laid the groundwork for ongoing collaboration.

Outcomes of this work included improved capacity for AMP managers to identify and monitor rocky reef habitats and key natural values, assess management effectiveness, and support initiatives such as marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based fisheries management, and contribute to emerging frameworks such as ocean accounting. It also helped to guide the targeting of future surveys, particularly in ecosystems with high conservation value. 

Outputs
• Seafloor imagery and annotations [dataset]
• Predicted 'ecosystem component' habitat maps for the temperate continental shelf [dataset]
• Predicted reef and sediment extent map for the temperate continental shelf [dataset]
• Final technical report [written]

Tags: Drop camera, Marine habitat map, National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine and Coastal Hub, National Marine Ecosystems Map, Reef map, Reef model
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network