The NSW Marine Habitat Mapping Project has been a collaboration between the Coastal Catchment Management Authorities (CMA’s), NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) and NSW Department of Industry and Investment (DII). Jointly funded by the Commonwealth and State governments, the best available bathymetric and seabed habitat data has been compiled to create the first marine habitat maps for all NSW State coastal waters. As part of the project DECCW undertook the marine mapping and DII the estuarine mapping, with a number of external consultants conducting more detailed biodiversity assessments for key faunal and floral groups. A review of underwater volunteer groups in NSW was also undertaken to examine their capacity to collaborate with scientists on future projects.
The general aim of the project was to collate all existing statewide information on the spatial distribution of key oceanic and estuarine benthic habitats in NSW, and to conduct targeted mapping surveys to fill in knowledge gaps. Marine and estuarine habitat maps are required by CMA’s for sustainable natural resource management by focusing investments on activities such as seagrass friendly moorings, coastal catchment initiatives and habitat protection through community education. Baseline habitat information is also essential for monitoring, evaluation and reporting which measures performance towards natural resource management targets.
NSW Marine habitat mapping project
Representative images of seabed habitats
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Mangrove | Sponge | Ecklonia radiata | Posidonia australis |
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Salmarsh | Rocky shore | Halophia ovalis | Urchin barren |
Fly-throughs of seabed bathymetry of the NSW shelf (coming soon)