Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00324:front:0:p73
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00324
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 209025–212020

benefit of marine parks for people, businesses and the economy.
Values will be used to inform the Director's decisions when authorising activities in marine parks. Activities will be assessed in relation to their impacts on and risk to values, to ensure activities are undertaken in a manner that minimises impacts to as small as reasonably practicable (Section 4.3 Making decisions about activities).
As understanding of park values improves over time, updated information will be available on the Parks Australia website.
Other sources of information on marine park values can be found on the Department's website, in particular, for protected species (species profile and threats database), wetlands (Australian wetlands directory), heritage places (Australian heritage database), and shipwrecks (Australian national shipwrecks database); and in the Marine bioregional plan for the North Marine Region (2012) and the North marine bioregional plan: bioregional profile (2008).
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf Marine Park
The Joseph Bonaparte Gulf Marine Park (Figure S2.1) is located approximately 15 km west of Wadeye, Northern Territory, and approximately 90 km north of Wyndham, Western Australia, in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf. It is adjacent to the Western Australian North Kimberley Marine Park. The Marine Park covers an area of 8597 km² and water depth ranges between less than 15 m and 100 m.
The Marine Park was proclaimed under the EPBC Act on 14 December 2013 and renamed Joseph Bonaparte Gulf Marine Park on 9 October 2017. The Marine Park is assigned IUCN category VI and includes two zones assigned under this plan: Special Purpose Zone (VI) and Multiple Use Zone (VI). Coordinates for the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf Marine Park and zones are provided in Figure S2.1 and Schedule 4.
Statement of significance
The Joseph Bonaparte Gulf Marine Park is significant because it contains habitats, species and ecological communities associated with the Northwest Shelf Transition bioregion. It includes one key ecological feature: the carbonate bank and terrace system of the Sahul Shelf (valued as a unique seafloor feature with ecological properties of regional significance).
The Marine Park contains a number of prominent shallow seafloor features including an emergent reef system, shoals, and sand banks. It is near an important wetland systems including the Ord River floodplain Ramsar site and provides connectivity between the nearshore and sea environments. The Marine Park includes habitats connecting to and complementing the adjacent Western Australian North Kimberley Marine Park.
Natural values
The Marine Park includes examples of ecosystems representative of the Northwest Shelf Transition— a dynamic environment influenced by strong tidal currents, monsoonal winds, cyclones and wind-generated waves. The large tidal ranges and wide intertidal zones near the Marine Park create a physically dynamic and turbid marine environment.
The key ecological feature in the Marine Park is the