Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L01047:reg:21:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L01047
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 21 (pt 1/5)
Character Range: 62409–66769

21

         Ocean circulation patterns can concentrate marine debris at certain locations along the coast and within Australian waters. To prioritise protection of species, it is important to understand where these accumulations occur, and their overlap with threatened species distributions and other marine priorities, such as World Heritage Areas, Commonwealth Marine Reserves, Marine Key Ecological Features and Biologically Important Areas. For example, debris along the northern Australian coastline is driven by oceanic currents that circulate in a clockwise gyre, with materials (for example ghost nets) transported into the Gulf of Carpentaria by south-easterly trade winds. This is cause for concern because the waters of the Gulf support important foraging, breeding, and nesting grounds for six of the world's seven marine turtle species (Wilcox et al., 2015a). Similarly, more than 50 per cent of post-hatchling loggerhead and green turtles captured while drifting in the East Australian Current through waters off south Queensland and New South Wales carried ingested microplastic fragments in their digestive tracts (Boyle and Limpus, 2008).

         22  /  Threat Abatement Plan

 Actions for Objective 2: Understand the scale of marine plastic and microplastic impact on key species, ecological communities and locations

Action                                                                                                                                                                                                             Priority/timeframe                                Output                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Outcome                                                                                                                                     Responsibility
2.01 Update the list of marine debris impacted EPBC Act-listed vertebrate species as scientific evidence is published                                                                                              Medium priority—ongoing for the life of the plan  An annual review of relevant published literature, as well as data from state- or Northern Territory- based stranding, ingestion and entanglement datasets, to maintain an up-to-date list of EPBC Act-listed threatened species for which the impact of marine debris is clearly demonstrated  Better understanding of the EPBC Act-listed threatened species most in need of action and protection in relation to marine debris           TAP team, Department of the Environment and Energy
2.02 Monitor relevant ecological research to determine if further EPBC Act-listed ecological communities are threatened by marine debris                                                                           High priority—ongoing for the life of the plan    An annual literature review to maintain an up-to-date list of EPBC Act-listed threatened ecological communities for which the impact of marine debris is clearly demonstrated                                                                                                                   Better understanding of the EPBC Act threatened ecological communities most in need of action and protection in relation to marine debris   TAP team, Department of the Environment and Energy

2.03 Identify locations where aggregations of debris intersect with the temporal and spatial distribution of EPBC Act-listed species, especially during vulnerable life stages (e.g. whale and turtle migrations)  High priority—ongoing for the life of the plan    Identified locations within 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