Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01633:body:0:p42
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01633
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 132563–138666

ANTARCTIC
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Indicative Cost                                                              Indicative Cost

A: Assessing and addressing threats
A1: Maintain and improve existing legal and management protection                                                       * Continue or improve existing national and state legislative and management actions to minimise anthropogenic threats               Core government business                                                     Core government business
A2: Assessing and addressing anthropogenic noise                                                                        * Seismic guidelines are reviewed and updated if necessary                                                                           Core government business                                                     Core government business
                                                                                                                        * Research assessing impacts on blue whales exposed to anthropogenic noise

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Not less than $5 million
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Could include contributions from Marine based Industries

A3:Understanding Impacts of climate variability and change                                                              * Australian Government climate change adaptation initiatives                                                                        Core government business                                                     Core government business
                                                                                                                        * Ongoing Commonwealth and state monitoring programs
                                                                                                                        * Ongoing research activity
                                                                                                                        * Government grant programs for new research priorities

A4: Minimising vessel collisions                                                                                        * Development and implementation of the Australian Government ship strike strategy to mitigate against vessel / cetacean collisions  Core government business plus $100,000                                       Core government business

B: Enabling and measuring recovery
B1: Measuring and monitoring population recovery                                                                        * Ongoing Australian and state government monitoring programs                                                                        $500,000 Pilot to determine monitoring technique for population abundance    $3 million per dedicated whale research voyage to Antarctica
                                                                                                                        * Ongoing research activity
                                                                                                                        * Government grant programs for new research priorities
B2: Describe the population structure of blue whales                                                                    * Ongoing Commonwealth and state research activity.                                                                                  $300,000                                                                     $200,000 contingent upon B1
                                                                                                                        * Government grant programs for new research priorities.
B.3: Describe the spatial and temporal distribution of blue whales and further define Biologically Important Areas      * Ongoing Commonwealth and state research activity.                                                                                  $500,000 –  $1 million                                                       $500,000 - $1 million
                                                                                                                        * Government grant program for new research priorities.

6.3.Reporting Process
A comprehensive monitoring regime for this Conservation Management Plan includes two aspects:
     1. Monitoring of the population; and
     2. Monitoring of the progress of actions in the plan and detailing the adaptive management for the next plan.
Monitoring the population
Monitoring of the population will occur under Action Areas B1. The aim of this monitoring is to understand the current population abundance and at what rate, if any, each subspecies is recovering. This will determine whether the objectives of recovery, as defined in Section 1.2 of this Plan, are being met.
An important complement to this monitoring is the development of an adaptive management regime for the population. This for example can occur in cases where knowledge on blue whale populations becomes available during the life span of the Plan, potentially creating need for immediate change in management actions to achieve better conservation outcomes.
Monitoring progress towards the actions of the Conservation Management Plan
Monitoring of the plan itself will require tracking the progress of actions designed to improve management of the population and reduce threats. It is