Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00324:front:0:p12
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00324
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 31479–34555

decisions about what activities can occur in the marine parks and what actions to take to manage them. This will involve the Director making decisions that carefully balance the need to protect natural, cultural, heritage and socio-economic values of marine parks with enabling use and managing pressures.
In making these decisions, the Director will carefully consider the impacts and risks to natural, cultural, heritage or socio-economic values for the relevant marine park/s. The Director will also consider any positive impacts associated with allowing an activity, such as socio-economic or cultural benefits, and ensure that activities are undertaken in a manner that minimises negative impacts.
In marine parks where there is limited information, environmental features are used as indicators for the types of species and habitats likely to occur. These include bioregions, water depth, seafloor features and key ecological features (Schedule 3).
As understanding of marine park values improves over the life of this plan, the Director will make new information about values available on the Parks Australia website. Other important sources of information on values (also on the Department's website) include:
  * Species profile and threats database for protected species;
  * Directory of important wetlands in Australia;
  * Australian heritage database for natural, historic and Indigenous heritage places;
  * Australian national shipwreck database for known shipwrecks;
  * National Conservation Values Atlas;
  * Marine bioregional plan for the North Marine Region (2012); and
  * North marine bioregional plan: bioregional profile (2008).
Table 2.1 Summary of values in the North Network
Statement of significance
The North Network was designed to protect representative examples of the region's ecosystems and biodiversity in accordance with the Goals and principles for the establishment of the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas in Commonwealth waters (ANZECC, 1998).
Natural values
Bioregions—the North Marine Region is divided into areas of ocean with broadly similar characteristics based on the distribution of marine species and seafloor features. The Network represents examples of the region's marine environments including ecosystems, species and habitats. There are four bioregions represented in the North Network (Schedule 2).
Key ecological features—elements of the marine environment considered to be of importance for biodiversity or ecosystem function and integrity, represented in the Network are:
  * Carbonate banks and terrace system of the Sahul Shelf;
  * Pinnacles of the Bonaparte Basin;
  * Carbonate bank and terrace system of the Van Diemen Rise;
  * Shelf break and slope of the Arafura Shelf;
  * Tributary canyons of the Arafura;
  * Gulf of Carpentaria basin;
  * Plateaux and saddle north-west of the Wellesley Islands; and
  * Submerged coral reefs of the Gulf of Carpentaria coastal zone.
Species and habitats—all species and habitats are important components of the ecosystems represented in the North