Marine Parks |
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Categories and Functions of the Marine Reserves Vested in the MPRA
The purpose of a marine park is for allowing only that level of recreational and commercial activity which is consistent with the proper conservation and restoration of the marine environment, the protection of indigenous flora and fauna and the preservation of any feature of archaeological, historic or scientific interest. While this may seem a backwards way of putting it, this purpose is interpreted to mean that some level of disturbance is acceptable in a marine park to enable a range of public activities (including commercial and recreational fishing and tourism) provided that it is consistent with sustainable management objectives. In practice, the objectives are defined in a management plan with specified management targets. A fundamental tool of sustainable management is spatial (and sometimes temporal) zoning of the park that separates potentially incompatible activities and ensures equity of access to all park users. WA has nine marine parks totalling approximately 1,261,062 ha in area, which are vested in the MPRA. These are:
Management Zones in Marine ParksThere are four types of management zones applicable to marine parks which indicate the different types of activities that can occur in different areas of each park - Recreation zones.In this zone category priority is given to a wide range of recreational activities, subject to determination (through the management planning process) that they are consistent with sustainable environment objectives. Recreational (but not commercial) fishing is permitted. General use zones.This is essentially a multiple use zone - any commercial or recreational activity is allowed, but again subject to determination (through the management planning process) that they are consistent with sustainable environment objectives. Sanctuary zones.A sanctuary zone is a no-take area, functionally directly equivalent to a marine nature reserve (see above). Fishing and any other activity that disturbs the environment and its flora and fauna is not permitted. Sanctuary zones are selected to be representative of the marine park's habitats and to provide special protection to any places or features deemed to be of special significance. Special purpose zones.In this category priority is given to particular activities or values. For example, it may designate aquaculture as a special purpose, possibly to the exclusion of some other park user activities that might be incompatible with it. Or the zone might include a turtle nesting site where, during specified seasons, public activities may be excluded if they are deemed to be potentially damaging to turtle nesting success. |
