The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Pressures on the marine environment associated with recreational fishing". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESSURE Australia’s marine recreational fishery applies substantial pressure to specific species and taxa. For some targeted species harvest can exceed the take of the commercial fishery. For instance recreational tonnage of southern sand flathead in Tasmania in 2012/13 was six times that of the commercial fishery (Lyle et al., 2014), while the estimated recreational harvest of King George whiting in South Australia in 2013/14 was 1.46 million fish or 367 tonnes, which was more than half (58%) of the total harvest (Hall and Giti, 2015). While participation rates remain high in absolute terms for WA, NSW, QLD and TAS there has been a trend of declines in effort, participation and harvest. In contrast in South Australia there was an increase in participation but a decline in effort and harvest. For VIC expert opinion suggests an increase across all fishery metrics while for NT effort and participation has increased but harvest has declined. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT Expert opinion and state assessment reports were sourced from all states. 14 interviews were conducted with experts based in all states. While more interviews would have been useful to better gauge perception the high level picture was easily discernible. 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details] • 2016 • Assessment grade: High impact Assessment trend: Stable Confidence grade: Adequate high quality evidence and high level of consensus Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus Comparability: Grade and trend are not comparable to the 2011 assessment • 2011 • Assessment grade: Low impact Assessment trend: Improving Confidence grade: Adequate high quality evidence and high level of consensus Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT N/A

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Pressures on the marine environment associated with shipping". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESSURE Australia as an island relies heavily on shipping for transportation of its imports and exports. In 2013–14, approximately 1274 million tonnes of cargo were loaded and 151 million tonnes discharged at Australian wharves by 5499 vessels that made 28 714 port calls. As this shipping traverses Australian waters there is potential for adverse interactions with the marine environment across all regions (see Figure 1). Specifically, there is a risk of environmental damage from collision or grounding of vessels, and ship strike, which is a significant cause of anthropogenic mortality to whales worldwide. Also although not addressed specifically here it should be noted small recreational vessels regularly injure dugongs, turtles, and dolphins. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT • AIS: AIS data for 2014, coverage over all regions, based on CTS product from AMSA • Ship strike database: Coverage over all regions 1872-2015. For the assessment we mainly looked at post 2000 records. • Shipping statistics: Coverage over all regions from 1998-2013 (Predictions from infrastructure Australia used for 2014-2015 growth). 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details] • 2016 • Assessment grade: Low Assessment trend: Deteriorating Confidence grade: High level of consensus Confidence trend: High level of consensus Comparability: Comparable • 2011 • CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT The assessment is unchanged.

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Pressures on the marine environment associated with traditional use of marine resources". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESSURE Quantifying the traditional use of marine resources by Indigenous communities is difficult due to the dispersed and sporadic nature of much traditional harvesting and the often complex and sensitive process of building community endorsement for long term monitoring programs to quantify harvest levels. Across Australia, there is a high diversity of community initiatives for monitoring and managing traditional harvest due to the specific local context for planning, managing and conservation. Since the 2011 assessment, the workforce of Indigenous rangers has grown around Australia and this has increased the on-ground capacity for monitoring the traditional take (e.g., GBRMPA, 2011; DIPF, 2013). In the Great Barrier Reef, as part of a Traditional use of marine resource agreement (TUMRA), Traditional owners are required to monitor, record and report traditional harvest activities (GBRMPA, 2008). In the Northern Territory, Indigenous rangers record information on the loss or return of aquatic species (e.g. fish, dugong, turtles) in their patrol areas (DIPF, 2013). Kimberley coastal communities are advancing with developing and implementing monitoring and evaluation frameworks (Jackson et al., 2015). Wide scale involvement of Indigenous rangers in monitoring programs also occurs in the Torres Strait (Johnson et al., 2015). Even with increased effort dedicated to Indigenous natural and cultural resource management, results have been mixed, with many projects falling well short of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous expectations (Barbour & Schlesinger, 2012). Natural and cultural resource management is considered a worthy and necessary goal (Ens et al., 2012), yet designing and implementing programs to achieve sustainability goals are not straightforward (Dressler et al., 2010). Determining whether traditional harvest is sustainable needs to be assessed on a case-by-case community basis given the wider ecological and pressure conditions within an area and as such, it is important to consider the state of the harvested population, state of supporting habitats, range of threats, and controls to limit human impacts. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT The information used in the assessment was based on extracting insightful statements from reports and articles across Australia on Traditional use of marine resources. No data sets were used to generate this assessment. 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details] • 2016 • Assessment grade: Low impact Assessment trend: Unclear Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus Comparability: Grade and trend are somewhat comparable to the 2011 assessment • 2011 • Assessment grade: Very good Assessment trend: Stable Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT Since 2011, focus had been placed on monitoring and recording harvest levels to help quantify trends in Traditional use of marine resources.

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Effectiveness of marine management of commercial fishing". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESSURE BEING MANAGED, AND ITS IMPACT Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) is a common objective across all Australian jurisdictions resulting in a good level of understanding of the direct pressures commercial fishing has on the marine environment. All Australian jurisdictions have introduced one or more measures to address those pressures that are increasingly based on risk assessment and implementing a management response. These include harvest strategies for the main commercial species, adaptive management involving expert judgement, more quantitative management strategy evaluation, ecosystem modelling and broader ecological risk assessments. There is now a greater understanding of the effects of climate change and ocean acidification on the marine environment and the need to consider this when determining appropriate fisheries management responses. However, management agencies are yet to integrate all the available science into their management systems. Likewise, current habitat analysis work will identify the emerging priorities in managing the environmental effects on habitats of commercial fishing. Spatial management has been introduced to mitigate the impacts on both vulnerable species and habitats where identified i.e. gulper shark closures in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery and the introduction of gillnet zoning closures to limit interactions with the Australian sea lion. Similarly, spatial closures that specifically prohibit trawling within seagrass and other sensitive nursery habitats are often used for many fisheries including, for example, the Shark Bay and Exmouth Gulf prawn trawl fisheries in Western Australia. Specific mitigation measures for protected species are also used to reduce the effects of commercial fishing. This includes such things as: seal and turtle excluder devices, square mesh panels in trawls, tori lines and other sea bird deterrent devices. Education programs for the fishing industry have also been improved to provide a greater understanding of how to avoid and/or handle protected species. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT The assessment is based on relevant literature and reports on current management measures associated with commercial fishing – a list is provided in the attached Expert Assessment. 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details] • Understanding of pressure: Understanding of fisheries and effective management frameworks is reasonably high and improving. • Planning associated with management of pressure: Improved planning processes directed towards research and risk-based assessment processes are resulting in more robust outcomes. • Input for informing management of pressure: Greater use of technology for data collection informs management decisions and measures the trajectory of trends over time. • Processes associated with developing, monitoring, and updating management: Improved processes have been developed to expand the range of fishery assessment tools with an increased use of risk-based approaches. • Outputs from management framework in place: Biennial State of key Australian Fish Stocks Report form the primary assessment output for national commercial fisheries. • Outcomes of management framework in place: Improvements in data gathering and reporting direct resources towards commercial fishing operations that pose the highest risk to the marine environment. CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Pressures on the marine environment associated with climate and system variability". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESSURE Climate and the marine environment varies on multiple temporal and spatial scales. This variability results in seasonal, inter-annual, decadal and longer changes to water temperature, rainfall patterns affecting ocean salinity, and surface winds, oceanic currents and tidal regimes which can influence the degree of vertical mixing through the water column. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT Published papers and reports on climate variability. Details of the specific data sets used to generate this assessment have not been provided. 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details] • 2016 • Assessment grade: Low impact Assessment trend: Unclear Confidence grade: Adequate high quality evidence or high level of consensus Confidence trend: Adequate high quality evidence or high level of consensus Comparability: Not previously asssessed • 2011 • (Not previously assessed) CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT Climate and system variability as a pressure on the marine environment was not assessed in 2011.

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Pressures on the marine environment associated with marine mining". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESSURE A wide variety of mineral resources exist within Australia’s maritime jurisdiction (see Table 1 in attached Expert Assessment). Mining of those resources however, remains an 'emerging industry'. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT Published papers and reports. Assessment has been completed by literature review. 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details] • 2016 • Assessment grade: Low impact Assessment trend: Unclear Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus Confidence trend: Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment Comparability: Grade and trend are somewhat comparable to the 2011 assessment • 2011 • Assessment grade: Very good Assessment trend: Stable Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT Climate and system variability as a pressure on the marine environment was not assessed in 2011.

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Pressures on the marine environment associated with climate change - sea surface temperature". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESSURE Sea-surface temperature (SST) is a vital component of the marine ecosystem system as it exerts a major influence on the structure and function of the marine and atmospheric environment. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT The majority of the assessment is based on data and analyses published in peer review papers. Some analyses of SST observations and model output have been included in the assessment. Details of specific data sets used to generate the assessment have not been provided. 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details] • Assessment grade: High impact. Sea surface temperature has continued to increase and extreme events have occurred in some regions. • Assessment trend: Deteriorating. Increasing sea surface temperature has significant impact on marine biodiversity and ocean health • Confidence grade: • Confidence trend: Adequate high-quality evidence or high level of consensus. Observations and models agree that sea surface temperature will continue to increase and extreme events may increase in frequency CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT Grade and trends are somewhat comparable to the 2011 assessment.

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Pressures on the marine environment associated with climate change - ocean acidification". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESSURE The uptake of atmospheric CO2 by the ocean results in changes in seawater chemistry, including a decrease in pH and dissolved carbonate ion concentrations, know as ocean acidification. Since pre-industrial times the pH of waters around Australia are estimated to have decreased between 0.08 and 0.10, consistent with global estimates of pH change. Superimposed on the large-scale change is much more variability at seasonal and local scales where natural processes can amplify or offset ocean acidification in a range of environments (Mongin et al., 2016; Walbusser et al, 2014; Shaw et al., 2012). The detection of trends and state in most coastal, shelf and subsurface waters around Australia is limited by lack of data. The pH and dissolved carbonate ion concentration of ocean waters around Australia will continue to decrease at the ocean takes up atmospheric CO2 emissions. The rates of change are linked to different emission scenarios (Lenton et al., 2015). Ocean acidification will persist for many millennia, even if emissions are reduced (e.g. Frolicher and Joos, 2010). Seasonal undersaturation of aragonite in surface waters of the Southern Ocean is predicted to occur by 2030 with consequences for calcifying organisms like pteropods (McNeil and Matear, 2008; Hauri et al., 2015). Ocean acidification is expected to lead to widespread shifts in ecosystems and puts at risk regional economies reliant on healthy and sustainable marine ecosystems such as tourism and aquaculture. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT Offshore data from around Australia as described in Lenton et al 2015. Details of the specific data sets used to generate this assessment have not been provided. 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details] • 2016 • Assessment grade: Very high impact Assessment trend: Deteriorating Confidence grade: Adequate high quality evidence and high level of consensus Confidence trend: Adequate high quality evidence and high level of consensus Comparability: Grade and trend are somewhat comparable to the 2011 assessment • 2011 • Assessment grade: Very good Assessment trend: Deteriorating Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT More data are now available.

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "The state and trends of quality of species and groups – Epipelagic fish species". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. DESCRIPTION OF ECOLOGICAL SPECIES/COMMUNITY FOR EXPERT ASSESSMENT Australia’s coastal small pelagic fishes (<50 cm) include species such as Australian Sardines, Maray, Blue and Sandy Sprats, Australian anchovy, scads, Jack Mackerel, hardyheads, silversides, Blue mackerel, Australian Herring and Redbait. Tropical and temperate assemblages are comprised of different species and there are also regional differences in species composition (Hobday et al. 2009). This assessment refers only to temperate species in the East, South-east and South-west regions. Blue Mackerel, Common Jack Mackerel, Redbait and Australian Sardine (off eastern Australia only) are targeted by the Commonwealth Small Pelagic Fishery. The SPF is managed in two Zones: East spanning half of the East and eastern South-east regions and the West spanning the South west and western half of South-east). State fisheries primarily target Australian Sardine but may also take Australian Anchovy, Blue Mackerel, sprats and Maray. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT The assessment is based on data and analyses published in the peer review literature, stock assessment reports and minutes of the meetings of the Small Pelagic Fishery Scientific Panel. Details of specific data sets used to generate the assessment have not been provided. 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details] • 2016 • Assessment grade: Good Assessment trend: Stable Confidence grade: Adequate high quality evidence and high level of consensus Confidence trend: Adequate high quality evidence and high level of consensus Comparability: Grade and trend are comparable to the 2011 assessment • 2011 • Assessment grade: Good Assessment trend: Stable Confidence grade: Adequate high quality evidence and high level of consensus Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT Additional fishery catch data, more recent stock assessments.

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Pressures on the marine environment associated with marine renewable energy generation". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESSURE Marine renewable energy generation is a fledgling industry in Australia. Presently, marine energy generator deployments are limited to two pre-commercial scale (small-scale, < 500kW) power stations, and a few experimental / prototype deployments. Any pressures on the marine environment associated with marine renewable energy generation are localised, and sparse. The marine renewable energy industry is an emerging industry globally. Numerous ocean energy technologies and devices are being developed around the world, and understanding of the environmental effects of these devices are dispersed among technology developers and countries. The environmental impacts of marine renewable energy are poorly known, and further research and understanding of the issue constitutes a major work programme of the International Energy Agency’s working group on Ocean Energy Systems (IEA-OES Annex IV – Assessment of Environmental Effects of and Monitoring Efforts for Ocean Wave, Tidal and Current Energy Systems) (NOTE: Australia has lapsed membership of IEA-OES). This task has focused on three interactions between marine energy devices and the marine environment: 1) The physical interactions between animals and tidal turbines; 2) The acoustic impact of marine energy devices on marine animals; and 3) the effects of energy removal on the physical environment. This task has identified and documented a growing database on the environmental effects of marine energy development. However, the working group summarise their Stage 1 final report by stating that ‘there continues to be a dearth of quantitative environmental information from tidal and wave devices that have been deployed in coastal waters’. Furthermore, they conclude ‘there are inadequate research and modelling data to adequately characterise the potential effects of marine energy devices, particularly at the large commercial scale’. The Australian marine renewable energy sector is predominantly focused on wave energy, with the focus being the large resource along the southern temperate coasts of Australia. There is a smaller tidal energy sector, where the predominant resource is located in tropical Northern waters (aside from localised areas adjacent to Bass Strait Islands). Through a number of commonwealth and industry funded activities, Australia is endeavouring to improve the knowledge base of the environmental effects of wave energy devices in these temperate environments. Whether these activities are applicable to large scale deployment (>100 MW capacity) is currently unclear. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT Assessment of impacts of marine renewable energy is an emerging science. Few deployments are available in Australia, and assessment is largely derived from review of international scientific literature. 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details] • 2016 • Assessment grade: Very low Assessment trend: Unclear Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus Confidence trend: Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment Comparability: Grade and trend are comparable to the 2011 assessment • 2011 • Assessment grade: Very low Assessment trend: Unclear Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus Confidence trend: Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT No change.