Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00100:front:0:p22
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00100
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 63846–66917

mining operations, but all other areas of the network have been closed to mining.

      * Recreational use – Due to the remoteness of many of the parks, recreational use is generally lower compared with near-shore areas, although it may increase during the life of this plan as bigger vessels become more available and more users can travel further offshore. Certain parks, such as Freycinet Marine Park, provide important recreational opportunities for the recreational boating, deep diving and fishing community.

      * Scientific use – The South-east Network supports scientific research and monitoring through allowing access to protected areas and providing important scientific reference areas to better understand differences between protected and exploited areas to inform management of the broader marine environment. Under the previous plan, there were on average 8 active authorisations for science activities annually.

      * Sea Country connections – The network provides for traditional uses to continue across all zoning, and management provides opportunities for First Nations people to visit and connect with Sea Country that intersects the marine parks.

    2.4           Pressures in the South-east Network
Pressures are human-driven processes, events and activities that may impact negatively on marine park values. The pressures on marine park values of the South-east Network are strongly influenced by human activities occurring within the south-east marine region  the most intensely used marine region in Australia.
The pressures in the region are expected to result in increased pressures on the South-east Network over the life of this plan. The range of new and emerging uses are expected to add to the cumulative impacts on marine park values. For example, emerging industries may influence species distributions directly and indirectly through the displacement of other activities into the parks. Climate change is also driving significant ecological change across the south-east marine region and network, including, for example, climate-driven changes in the distribution of species.
Key pressures on values in the South-east Network are outlined below and additional information on pressures is provided on the Parks Australia website.

    2.4.1     Climate change
The impacts of climate change on the marine environment are complex and may include longer lasting marine heatwaves, continued rise in sea level, further ocean acidification, changes to ocean currents and eddies, increased storm frequency, and species range extensions or local extinctions. These multifaceted changes have the potential to significantly impact on marine park values. Moreover, climate changes will interact with and amplify other non-climate pressures affecting marine park values.
The marine environments of south-eastern Australia are a global marine warming hotspot  regions where the rate of warming over the past 50 years is in the top 10% globally. The warm, nutrient-poor waters of the East Australian Current extend along the east coast of