Lord Howe Island Marine Park is the site of Australia's and the world's most southern coral reef ecosystem. The island is 10 km in length, 2 km wide and consists of a large lagoonal reef system along its leeward side, with 28 small islets along its coast. In 1999, the waters within three nautical miles of Lord Howe Island (465.45 km2) were declared a marine park under the NSW Marine Park Act 1997 to protect its unique marine biodiversity, with the park currently being managed by the New South Wales Marine Parks Authority. Both Lord Howe Island and Balls Pyramid are incorporated within the three nautical miles protected by the state marine park. Both marine parks complement the island's status as a World Heritage Site.
Lord Howe Island is located approximately northeast of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Lord Howe Island is remote, has a biologically diverse marine system with a high degree of endemism. Lord Howe Island Marine Park was declared after it was recognised as an area with outstanding natural values, an extraordinary array of marine habitats and biodiversity, rich maritime cultural heritage and social and economic importance to the island community, giving it both national and international importance.
History of management
Establishment of the Marine Park
The marine park was declared on 26 February 1999 under the Marine Parks Act 1997, with a zoning plan commencing on 1 December 2004 to protect the important natural and cultural values of the park while providing a range of sustainable uses. Due to its isolated geographic location, small size and limited access, there are a number of threats to biodiversity that require management. The marine park status helps protect marine biodiversity from fishing pressure and population pressure.
A range of scientific, social, cultural and economic information was collated to design the zoning plan. In August 2001 an Issues Paper was released for public comment and submissions reviewed. In June 2002, a draft zoning plan document was established outlining a number of options for zoning, incorporating the submissions gained through the public comment period, advice taken from the Lord Howe Island Marine Park Advisory Committee and a review of relevant information. This plan was released for public comment in December 2003 with a finalised zoning plan and implementation of marine park zones commencing on 1 December 2004. The waters from 3–12 nautical miles were declared a federal marine park on 21 June 2000, see Lord Howe Island Marine Park (Commonwealth waters).
Management practices
In 1999, the Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) was enacted. The EPBC Act provides guidance about regional biodiversity conservation priorities through the implementation of the marine bioregional planning process. This process conserves marine biodiversity by considering the whole ecosystem a species is in and how different species interact in the marine environment. This process identified the regional conservation priorities in a number of different marine regions and identified the marine reserves to be added to Australia's National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas. Lord Howe Island Marine park was identified as requiring protection.
To protect the various marine conservation values associated with the waters around Lord Howe Island, the New South Wales government proclaimed the Lord Howe Island Marine Park in 1999. However, it wasn't until 2004 that a zoning scheme came into force due to lengthy negotiations with stakeholders. This zoning scheme partitioned the coastal waters of Lord Howe Island to permit different human uses, in order to minimise the threat to marine conservation values.
The objectives of the zoning plan under the Marine Parks Act 1997 include: 1) to conserve marine biological diversity and marine habitats, 2) to maintain ecological processes, 3) where consistent with the preceding, to provide for ecologically sustainable use of fish and marine vegetation, and 4) to provide opportunities for public appreciation, understanding and enjoyment.