Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L00289:body:0:p7
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L00289
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 20879–23997

fishing entanglements

A.4: Impacts of climate variability and change

A.5: Addressing vessel collisions

A.6: Addressing infrastructure and coastal development impacts

B: Measuring Recovery

B.1: Measuring and monitoring population recovery

B.2: Investigating the two-population model

B.3: Understanding offshore distribution and migration

B.4: Characterising behaviour and movements

1. Introduction
Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) are currently listed as endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). An initial recovery plan for southern right whales was developed for the period 2005 to 2010. This new plan reviews and builds on the previous plan and has been presented in a new format that conforms with the International Whaling Commission's 'Conservation Management Plan' format, while meeting the requirements of a recovery plan under the EPBC Act.

Nineteenth century whaling drastically reduced southern right whale numbers. An estimated 55 000 to 70 000 southern right whales were present in the southern hemisphere in the late 1700s. By the 1920s there may have been fewer than 300 individuals remaining. Subsequent protection measures have seen numbers increase to the point where the most recent estimate for the Australian population is 3500 individuals11. However, it is important to note that the increase has not been consistent across the species range and some populations remain at greater risk than others.

Southern right whales in Australia were until recently considered to be one population. It is now proposed that south-east Australian right whales are most likely a separate population from those in the south-west35. Southern right whales in south-western Australia appear to be increasing at the maximum biological rate but there is little evidence of increase in south-eastern Australian waters. The 2011–2021 Conservation Management Plan is therefore based around the need to aid and monitor the recovery of two possibly separate populations.

This Conservation Management Plan outlines the current status of, and threats to, the southern right whale in Australian waters and prioritises recovery actions for the 2011–2021 period. This plan should be considered in the context of a number of significant developments in Australian cetacean conservation over the life of the initial 2005–2010 Recovery Plan including:

      * Scientific advances in our knowledge of Australian southern right whales. Results from research and monitoring reports and publications produced during the 2005–2010 Recovery Plan period have been used to update this recovery plan, and are listed in the bibliography of this document.

      * Australian Government participation in the IWC particularly in relation to the development of the Conservation Management Plan framework as a new way of protecting cetaceans under the auspices of the IWC.

      * Establishment of the Australian Marine Mammal Centre (AMMC) – an organization involved in the research and management of marine mammals around Australia and