Towed Video transects + Digital StillsCTDSBRUVS ARP7 Shoals Trip 6079To characterise the status of and natural temporal variability in sessile benthic biota and associated fish communities, across the plateau areas on the two named shoals in the Browse Basin closest to the Prelude/Ichthys operational wells. The project will provide a reference dataset, updated annually, for the status of key biodiversity indicators habitats at Echuca and Heywood Shoals.

Towed Video transects + Digital StillsCTDSBRUVS ARP7 Shoals Trip 6429To characterise the status of and natural temporal variability in sessile benthic biota and associated fish communities, across the plateau areas on the two named shoals in the Browse Basin closest to the Prelude/Ichthys operational wells. The project will provide a reference dataset, updated annually, for the status of key biodiversity indicators habitats at Echuca and Heywood Shoals.

Towed Video transects + Digital StillsSloVid Digital StillsCTDBRUVSSBRUVSEcho SounderDrone ImagerySediment Samples (CSIRO) ARP7 Reefs Trip 6684To characterise the status of and natural temporal variability in sessile benthic biota and associated fish communities, across the plateau areas around Browse Island and its deeper waters. The project will provide a reference dataset, updated seasonally for two years, for the status of key biodiversity indicator habitats around Browse Island.

Towed Video transects + Digital Stills SloVid Digital Stills Shallow and Deepwater BRUVs CTD casts Multibeam sonar ARP7 Reefs Trip 6903 To characterise the status of and natural temporal variability in sessile benthic biota and associated fish communities, across the plateau areas around Browse Island and its deeper waters. The project will provide a reference dataset, updated seasonally for two years, for the status of key biodiversity indicator habitats around Browse Island.

Towed Video transects + Digital Stills SloVid Digital Stills CTD BRUVS SBRUVS Echo Sounder Wave Glider Sediment Samples (CSIRO) ARP7 Reefs Trip 6823 To characterise the status of and natural temporal variability in sessile benthic biota and associated fish communities, across the plateau areas around Browse Island and its deeper waters. The project will provide a reference dataset, updated seasonally for two years, for the status of key biodiversity indicator habitats around Browse Island.

Towed Video transects + Digital StillsStereo BRUVSMultibeamCTD This biological survey will provide targeted benthic habitat and fish biodiversity information for six key areas associated with a) potential pipeline routes b) potential sensitive receptor habitats outside the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Protected Area c) potential sensitive receptor habitats within the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Protected Area. The biological survey will use standardised methods so that data collected can be referenced to, and compared with, other survey data collected on this shelf by AIMS, ConocoPhillips and Geoscience Australia.

Towed Video transects + Digital StillsStereo BRUVSMultibeamSmith And McIntyre sediment grabsPanda Cam (drop cam)CTD A seabed biodiversity survey was conducted north of Darwin during an 18 day voyage, 13 September -1 October 2015, on the RV Solander. Areas identified for assessment included two mid-shelf regions and three submerged shoals. Multibeam and towed video were used at all locations to map the seabed and classify seabed habitats. At the shoals additional sampling of biodiversity, specifically the fish communities, was undertaken using sBRUVS.The mid-shelf locations were separate areas along a potential cross-shelf pipeline route from the Barossa field to Darwin. The southernmost of these was to the west of Cape Helvetius, at the southwest corner of Bathurst Island. The second area was midway to the shelf break, adjacent to and off the western side of Goodrich Bank. Evans and Tassie Shoals, lying further northwest on the outer shelf, were selected for investigation as larger submerged shoals, closest to the Barossa field. An initial towed video inspection was also undertaken at the much smaller Blackwood Shoal, lying a few kilometres to the west of Evans Shoal. In total the survey sampled in five principle locations, consisting of Evans, Tassie and Blackwood Shoals, open shelf adjacent to Goodrich Bank and open shelf adjacent to Cape Helvetius.

This field survey was planned around the outcomes of the towed video and acoustic survey undertaken by AIMS staff and FUGRO in April of 2006. The towed video and acoustic survey provided information on the distribution of benthic habitats in the area between the 15 and 100 m depth contours and allowed us to target sampling within specific habitats and depths. Within these areas a number of random samples were allocated. Sampling occurred in five areas including Mandu, Osprey and Cloates Sanctuary Zones, and Osprey and Cloates reference areas. 185 stereo-Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (stereo-BRUVS) samples in total were collected. The aim of this research was to characterize the structure and distribution of deepwater fish assemblages (greater than 10 m depth) outside the crest of the Ningaloo Reef and to provide information about the diversity, spatial distribution and habitat affiliation of demersal fin fishes across a range of depths and habitats within the northern section of Ningaloo Marine Park. The stereo-BRUVS used Sony HC15 digital camcorders within waterproof housings. Bait arms made of 20 mm plastic conduit with a standard rock lobster bait canister fastened to one end were attached to the stereo-video frame and detached after deployment. We used ~ 800 gms of crushed Sardinops sagax placed in the bait bag for each deployment. The stereo-BRUVS were retrieved after recording for one hour at each station. At deep sites where available light was extremely low on the seafloor, the stereo-BRUVS were set to record on night shot. Stereo-BRUVS rather than single cameras were used due to their ability to capture a baseline of the relative abundance of fishes and their length frequency. Single video BRUVS can only provide a measure of absence or presence of a species as data cannot be standardized for area sampled. Stereo-BRUVs facilitate measurement of distance allowing a consistent area to be defined and used spatially and temporally. Interrogation of each tape was conducted using a custom interface (BRUVS1.5.mdb©, Australian Institute of Marine Science 2006) to manage data from field operations, tape reading, capture the timing of events, capture reference images of the seafloor and fish in the field of view. The following data were recorded for each species; the time of first sighting, time of first feeding at the bait, the maximum number seen together at any one time on the whole tape (MaxN), time at which MaxN occurred, and any intraspecific and interspecific behaviour. The use of MaxN as an estimator of relative abundance has been reviewed in detail by Cappo et al. (2003, 2004). Estimates of MaxN are considered conservative, particularly in areas where fish occur in high densities.

Aim To provide a better understanding of the regional biodiversity found throughout the Kimberley, identify and characterise in finer detail the major habitat types in selected coastal areas such as Camden Sound Marine Park and Bonaparte Archipelago. Four major ship-based surveys of subtidal seabed were completed in the Southern (Camden Sound), Central (Bonaparte Archipelago) and Northern (Eclipse Archipelago) Kimberly regions, to provide a representative benthic biodiversity assessment along the Kimberley ria coast. Survey methods included multibeam to characterise the seabed, Smith McIntyre grab samples to determine the nature of sediments, towed video observations of the abundance (as %cover) and diversity of benthic biota, and benthic sleds to collect biological specimens for taxonomic identification. Outcomes A habitat map identifying the mixed benthic assemblages throughout the Kimberley and a better understanding and appreciation of the importance of marine biodiversity in the Kimberley (including number of species and identification of species new to science and/or new to the region). Where possible field data was collated and combined into ESRI GIS shapefiles or georeferenced raster layers.