The Western Australian Government is establishing a comprehensive and Statewide system of multiple-use marine conservation reserves, as a part of the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas.

The multiple-use marine conservation reserve system in Western Australia has two primary objectives:

1. To preserve representative as well as special ecosystems in the marine environment; and
2. To put a formal management framework in place to ensure the various uses of marine conservation reserves are managed in an equitable, integrated and sustainable manner.

Marine conservation reserves in Western Australia are vested in the Marine Parks and Reserves Authority. The Authority's function includes the development of marine reserve policies and management plans, and oversees their implementation by the Department of Conservation and Land Management, on behalf of the community.

A joint policy has been developed by the Marine Parks and Reserves Authority and the Department of Conservation and Land Management for the management of moorings in marine conservation reserves of Western Australia.

The mooring policy has been developed to:

• maintain the ecological and social values of marine conservation reserves by minimising impacts of uncontrolled mooring and anchoring activities;
• enhance user safety, access and equity in relation to moorings in marine conservation reserves; and
• provide a framework to accommodate present and future mooring usage patterns in marine conservation reserves.

The Department of Environment and Conservation currently manages in excess of 1,145,940 hectares of Western Australian waters, of which 132,000 hectares are marine nature reserves managed for the purpose of conservation of marine and terrestrial flora and fauna and their habitats and for approved recreation. The remaining 1,013,940 hectares are marine parks managed primarily for the purpose of conservation and recreation. Most reserves are located in high-use areas such as Swan Estuary, Shoalwater Islands, Marmion, Shark Bay and Ningaloo marine parks.

Increasingly, Western Australians are enjoying these marine environment, whether it be for recreational swimming, fishing or diving, or with a commercial tour operator. With this increase of use, there is a need to manage locations where vessels drop an anchor or install a mooring so as to protect the environment.

Moorings can, where appropriately designed and sited, play an important role in protecting areas of high conservation values (eg. coral reef and seagrass) by minimising the need for anchoring, thus reducing potential anchor damage. Moorings also facilitate better access to locations of interest (eg. dive sites) and provide a level of security with regards to safety for vessels. Because of the range of biophysical characteristics and patterns of use from reserve to reserve, there is a need for a policy that provides a number of management options, thereby allowing an open, transparent, accountable and flexible approach for each area—given the unique characteristics of those areas.

Historically, the Department has not discouraged regular users, such as tourism operators, from installing privately-owned moorings at their preferred sites. However, in the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park, privately-owned moorings, relating to commercial tourism, have been minimal, whereas individually-owned private moorings are more prevalent. The contrast between the marine parks r