Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01633:body:0:p29
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01633
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 78850–81847

requires nets or cages to contain the finfish and supplemental feeding. Baleen whales could potentially be affected from offshore aquaculture by displacement.
Baleen whales can become entangled in nets, lines and ropes that are used for commercial fishing or aquaculture. Entanglement has the potential to cause physical injury that can result in loss of reproductive fitness, and mortality of individuals from drowning, impaired foraging and associated starvation, or infection or physical trauma22. There was an unconfirmed report of a blue whale entangled in a lobster pot off Portland in 2009.
Marine debris
Marine debris or litter known to harm cetaceans includes discarded or lost fishing gear that can cause entanglement, or plastics such as plastic bags or bottles that can cause problems by ingestion or as entanglement in small cetaceans22,31,46. Plastics often float and can travel large distances in the ocean currents, and as they are not generally biodegradable they can remain in the environment for long time periods. Marine debris are found in areas where oceanographic features promote their concentration such as enclosed seas or inside gyres which can trap marine debris like the sub-tropical gyre of the South Pacific Ocean22,31. Ingestion of plastics by cetaceans can cause internal damage and the blocking of the digestive tract which can lead to starvation.
Entanglement and ingestion may result in the loss of reproductive fitness or mortality. It therefore has the potential for impeding the recovery of populations if these consequences are impacting a sufficiently large number of individuals.
Marine debris causing entanglement and ingestion was recognised as a key threatening process for vertebrate marine life (including blue whales) in 2003 under the EPBC Act. This lead to the development of the Threat abatement plan for the impacts of marine debris on vertebrate marine life to prevent, remove and mitigate the impacts of marine debris26,27.
Infrastructure /coastal developments
Ports and marinas alter near-shore habitat and therefore are a threat to blue whales in near-shore areas, and oil and gas platforms and rigs can displace animals using offshore waters. The construction of such infrastructure can involve dredging and pile driving which can alter habitat and create underwater noise.
Marine-based renewable energy involves using naturally replenished offshore wind, waves and tidal power for energy. In Australia marine-based renewable energy facilities are a potential future threat to blue whales through potential displacement as there are sites in Australia with appropriate conditions for offshore wind farms, wave and tidal energy facilities47,50,78. Currently there are no offshore wind farms in Australia 78 but there are wave energy projects under consideration to operate in the Bonney Upwelling.
Acute and chronic chemical discharge
A wide variety of pollutants can enter the marine environment through processes including dumping, run-off