parks victoria technical series marine natural values study vol 2 ...

Parks Victoria Technical Series No. 79
Flinders and Twofold Shelf Bioregions Marine Natural Values Study
Cape Howe MNP is thought to be an important feeding area for several threatened bird
species (Parks Victoria 2006c; Carey et al. 2007b). This includes the endangered
Australasian bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus, critically endangered grey-tailed tattler
Heteroscelus brevipes, and the endangered wandering albatross Diomedea exulans. All of
which are listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee (FFG) Act (1998) with the wandering
albatross also listed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation (EPBC) Act (1999). The MNP protects feeding areas for bird species that are
listed under the Japan–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA) and the China–
Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA). It is also an important foraging area for a
significant breeding colony of little penguins Eudyptula minor from neighbouring Gabo Island
(Plummer et al. 2003).
The conservation listed southern right Eubalaena australis and humpback whales Megaptera
novaeangliae, and leatherback Dermochelys coriacea, green Chelonia mydas and hawksbill
turtles Eretmochelys imbricata use the MNP waters (Parks Victoria 2006c). The southern
right whale E. australis has been observed to calf in the park but is not known to feed there.
The state vulnerable New Zealand fur seal Arctophoca forsteri has also been recorded
breeding in the MNP. The killer whale Orcinus orca, minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata
and Australian fur seal Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus have been observed in the waters in
and around the park.
Serious threats to the Cape Howe MNP include limited ecological knowledge of important
processes. Poaching of abalone, invasive marine pests from commercial and recreational
boats; anchor damage; and climate change all pose serious threats to the integrity of the
MNP (Carey et al. 2007b). Measures to address or minimise these threats form part of the
management plan for Cape Howe MNP (Parks Victoria 2006c). Ongoing intertidal and
subtidal reef monitoring, and specific research aims to increase ecological knowledge about
the natural values of, and threats to Cape Howe MNP.
2.4.1 PHYSICAL PARAMETERS & PROCESSES
Cape Howe MNP is 4060 hectares in size which makes it the fourth largest of the 24 Marine
National Parks or Sanctuaries in Victoria (Table 21, Figure 30). Its shoreline geology
consists of predominately large mobile dunes with sandy beaches, and boulder strewn
outcrops of sandstone in the east (Bird 1993). Water depths reach 105 m (Holmes et al.
2007b). Greater than 85 % of the MNP is > 20 m depth. Prevailing winds and swells are
generally from the south-west and north-east. The coastline is influenced by high-energy
waves and swells. Weather originating from the south-west and east influences water activity
and movement, as do twice-daily tides (Parks Victoria 2006c). The warm water East
Australian Current is a major influence in the MNP (Parks Victoria 2006c). As the continental
shelf is quite close to the far eastern Victorian shore, cold water upwellings are frequent and
mix with the warmer waters, bringing increased nutrients and creating an ecosystem high in
productivity (Parks Victoria 2006c; Edmunds et al. 2010a). A small intermittent estuary, the
outflow from Lake Wau Wauka, runs directly into the park (Table 21). The catchment
adjacent to the MNP is the remote and relatively undisturbed Cape Howe Wilderness Zone
which is part of Croajingolong National Park.
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