Distribution and foraging maps of apex predators and iconic species demonstrate the importance of the Great Australian Bight, both in the national and global context, for many marine species. Australian sea lions fur seals Australian sea lions Mako sharks Blue sharks White sharks Little penguins Short-tailed shearwaters Crested terns
Profi es of the economy and community The pristine marine environment was a key factor underlying SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS Regional communities in the Eyre Peninsula and West Coast of South Australia could be affected by the development of a petroleum industry in the Great Australian Bight. the region. So an understanding of the nature, structure and capacity of these communities is needed to predict the impacts. Researchers in the GABRP’s Socio-economic Analysis Theme undertook the first targeted socio-economic assessment of the Eyre Peninsula, and developed an economic model for the region that can be used in assessments of the economic impacts of future developments. The region’s population was 56,286 in 2011 (3.5 per cent of South Australia). Approximately 64 per cent of the region’s population lived in the City of Whyalla (22,088) and City of Port Lincoln (14,086), while 635 people lived on the unincorporated Below: A baseline of social and economic data of the Eyre Peninsula and West Coast region has been developed, against which future development and change can be assessed. Photo: Crystal Beckmann. west coast (not part of any local government area). Almost 83 per cent of the region’s population was born in Australia; over 5.5 per cent (3162) identified as an Aboriginal person in the 2011 census. The Nauo (south western Eyre), Barngarla (eastern Eyre), Wirangu (north western Eyre), and Mirning (far western Eyre) are the Aboriginal Nations that were present when Europeans arrived, and they maintain traditional ties to Country in the study area. The research provided a regional economic baseline, identifying the range and relative importance of different industries to employment, income and the processes currently driving development. The project developed a series of regional models for subsequent analysis of economic impacts. GABRP: Program Findings 2013-2017 33
economic and social costs and benefits of development scenarios, including cumulative impacts. It incorporates oceanographic data and dynamics (e.g. temperature, salinity, and horizontal and vertical advection-diffusion) and 64 functional groups (each group aggregates species with similar major shipping routes. Scenarios of high fishing had the greatest negative impact on relative biomasses of individual functional groups, while scenarios of ocean warming had the largest impacts on the indicators of ecosystem structure and integrity. Oil spills caused by potential shipping accidents would have greatest impacts on seabirds, pelagic fishes and marine mammals, with flow on effects to the whole ecosystem, but only in a confined area immediately around the incident’s footprint. The simulations allow whole-of-system management decisions to be tested in support of sustainable development. GABRP: Program Findings 2013-2017 37
A conceptual model that integrated knowledge of ecosystem processes and socio-economic values obtained in the Great Australian Bight Research Program. Food web & habitat Mussels & Oysters Industry ASSESSMENT Tuna Monitoring Oceanography & Geochemistry Transport & Shipping Lobby Groups FISHING Profit Costs & Markets Other Industries, Catchment & inflows SOCIAL & Social Networks, Culture & Jobs actions rules C
Internal presentation to Origin Energy, Brisbane, 3-6 July 2017. Kempton R, Bourdet J, Gong S, Ross A and Pironon J (2017). Using fluid inclusions to trace petroleum systems – an integrated case study of oil and gas migration in the Bight Basin to constrain source, composition and timing. The Geological Society, Application of Analytical Techniques to Petroleum System Problems, London, 28 February – 1 March 2017. Kloser R, Ryan T and Downie R (2017). Exploring the slope/ offshore Great Australian Bight (GAB) pelagic habitat paradox with bioacoustics. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Working Group on Fisheries Acoustics Science and Technology meeting, Nelson, New Zealand, 5-7 April 2017. GABRP: Program Findings 2013-2017 45
Verma A, Duncan A and Kloser R (2016). Developing active broadband acoustic methods to investigate the pelagic zone of the Great Australian Bight, The 2nd Australasian Acoustical Societies’ Conference, ACOUSTICS 2016, Brisbane, 9-11 November 2016. GABRP: Program Findings 2013-2017 47