Marine park management planning
Mainland marine park network
A draft management plan for the NSW mainland marine park network has been developed by the Marine Estate Management Authority in consultation with the marine park advisory committees, the Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel and agencies responsible for marine estate management.
The mainland marine park network is comprised of Cape Byron, Solitary Islands, Port Stephens—Great Lakes, Jervis Bay and Batemans marine parks.
The draft 10-year plan includes a range of actions to conserve values and manage threats, including research, education, on-ground rehabilitation, infrastructure, compliance, policy, partnerships and regulation. Actions will be based on the best available knowledge and evidence. Regulation (including zoning) will be one of many actions considered.
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A strong foundation
The draft network management plan was built on a strong evidence-base including the:
Other background reports
- Batemans Marine Park Management Plan Pilot – Stakeholder Consultation Outcomes Report (Elton Consulting 2018) (PDF, 1236.96 KB)
- Developing a management plan for Batemans Marine Park: Summary of discussions & outcomes from Aboriginal community workshops (Feary & Donaldson 2018) (PDF, 660.95 KB)
- Survey of values, perceptions of threats and attitudes to Batemans Marine Park (Juntos Marketing 2019) (PDF, 1786.17 KB)
- Port Stephens—Great Lakes Marine Park Consultation Workshops – Outcomes Report (BMT 2020) (PDF, 3360.96 KB)
Lord Howe Island Marine Park
Lord Howe Island Marine Park has many unique values, issues and management arrangements.
Existing information on the Lord Howe Island Marine Park has been compiled into two reports:
- Environmental values of the Lord Howe Island Marine Park (2022) (PDF, 16759.3 KB)
- Literature review of social, economic and cultural information for Lord Howe Island Marine Park (2023) (PDF, 1666.29 KB)
A community survey of the Lord Howe Island Marine Park will also support future development of a management plan:
- Lord Howe Island Marine Park - Community survey summary of findings (2024) (PDF, 1577.96 KB)
- Lord Howe Island Marine Park - Community survey full report (2024) (PDF, 3738.36 KB)
More information
Marine parks in NSW require a management plan.
Management plans must identify the environmental, social (including cultural) and economic values of marine parks, identify threats to those values, then outline management objectives and actions to conserve those values.
Management plans can be prepared for one or more marine parks.
More information is available in the following publications: