Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L01047:reg:21:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L01047
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 21 (pt 2/5)
Character Range: 66273–73059

Australian waters where major circulation patterns cause aggregations of marine debris                                                                                                                                                                              Prioritisation of source reduction efforts to mitigate marine debris threats to EPBC Act-listed species at these locations/times            National Environmental Science Programme (NESP), Department of the Environment and Energy, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, state government agencies

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     A review of the impact of ingestion of marine debris on the population dynamics of the southwestern Pacific stock of loggerhead turtles and of the southern Great Barrier Reef stock of green turtles at five-year intervals                                                                    Better understanding of the locations at which EPBC Act-listed threatened species and ecological communities are most at risk

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     An investigation into the sources of materials causing entanglements of humpback whales during their north/ south migrations during breeding and calving seasons                                                                                                                                Correlation of these locations with other priority marine sites (e.g. Commonwealth marine reserves, key ecological features)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Publicly available maps identifying marine debris accumulation sites and where possible, characterisation of the type of debris occurring at these sites.

Action                                                                  Priority/timeframe                      Output                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Outcome                                                                Responsibility
2.04 Build understanding related to plastic and microplastic pollution  High priority—over the life of the TAP  An appropriate suite of indicator species (invertebrate and vertebrate) identified for long-term monitoring to measure the impact of marine microplastic and plastic debris                                                                         Predictions on microplastic risk / threat for EPBC Act-listed species  NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub University-based researchers Industry (e.g. Chemicals Australia)

                                                                                                                Research on bioaccumulation and biomagnification of ingested microplastic contaminants in marine organisms at multiple biological scales

                                                                                                                An understanding of the qualities of plastics and plastic items (e.g. toxicity, colour, ability to fragment, density, format, composition, size) that increase the likelihood of negative impacts on marine vertebrates when ingested or entangled

                                                                                                                Ranking of impact risk for microplastic types (potentially informed by the developing understanding of human health impacts of microplastic, e.g. through use of plastic implants in medicine)

Action                                                                                                                                                        Priority/timeframe                                       Output                                                                                                                                                                                                    Outcome                                                                                                                                                                                         Responsibility
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       An assessment of the morbidity and the differential toxicity of plastic types for indicator species

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Research on the morbidity threshold (especially for impacted EPBC Act- listed vertebrates) from ingestion of plastic and microplastic, including generational impacts such as reproductive effectiveness

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Research   on the physical pathways leading to marine debris, including microplastic. For example, understanding of the microplastic content in land-based sewerage outputs.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Long-term monitoring of the ecological communities at Appendix B to measure the impact of plastic debris
2.05 Survey marine plastic pollution in the Southern Ocean, sub-Antarctic islands and other high-value offshore island environments                           High priority—over first 2 years of the life of the TAP  A baseline assessment of plastic marine debris and its potential wildlife impacts the Southern Ocean, sub-Antarctic islands and offshore islands of high ecological value                                 Improved understanding of the plastic pollution risk/threat to EPBC Act-listed impacted species in