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1. Home
2. Jervis Bay Marine Park
3. Overview

Overview of the zoning plan Jervis Bay Marine Park

• Jervis Bay Habitat Protection Zone
• Key map. Zoning scheme of the Jervis Bay Marine Park (Map 1)
• Foreword
• Summary
• Introduction
• The zoning plan   
• Activities permitted in protective zoning
• Location of the zones within the Jervis Bay Marine Park
• Regulation of specific activities
• Species protection

Introduction

This document provides an overview of the zoning and management arrangements for Jervis Bay Marine Park, including detailed maps and descriptions of zones and activities that may be conducted in specific locations. It is an interim guide only, and a detailed user guide will be available before the zoning plan takes effect.

The objectives of the Marine Parks Act 1997, are:

• to conserve marine biological diversity and marine habitats by declaring and providing for the management of a comprehensive system of marine parks,
• to maintain ecological processes in marine parks,

and where consistent with the preceding objectives:

• to provide for ecologically sustainable use of fish (including commercial and recreational fishing) and marine vegetation in marine parks, and
• to provide opportunities for public appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of marine parks.

Jervis Bay Marine Park is approximately 180km south of Sydney and 20km south east of Nowra, in the Batemans marine bioregion. The marine park covers an area of approximately 22,000 hectares and spans over 100km of coastline and adjacent ocean extending from Kinghorn Point in the north to Sussex Inlet in the south and including most of Jervis Bay (see Key Map). The marine park boundary extends from the tidal limit of creeks and estuaries and from the mean high water mark seaward to 1.5km from Beecroft Head, Crocodile Head, Point Perpendicular, Cape St George and St Georges Head.

The waters south of a line from the northern tip of Bowen Island and HMAS Creswell and including the southern portion of Sailors Beach, are part of the Booderee National Park (Commonwealth) owned by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council and jointly managed by the Council and Environment Australia. A Management Plan for Booderee National Park was introduced recently and includes management zoning of the marine portion of the national park. The Marine Parks Authority and Environment Australia have a memorandum of understanding to ensure co-operative management of the waters of Jervis Bay. The management of Booderee National Park waters remains separate to that of the marine park.

Indigenous people have strong ties to the land and sea in and around the area now known as Jervis Bay and many significant cultural and spiritual sites are located within or adjacent to the marine park. The Aboriginal history of the area adds to the cultural and heritage values of the marine park. Aboriginal association with the land and sea in the area dates back thousands of years and many traditional practices such as fishing and collecting continue today.

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has been associated with Jervis Bay for almost 90 years and uses Jervis Bay and surrounds for a variety of training activities. Admiralty charts show that the whole of Jervis Bay west of a line from Longnose Point to Bowen Island is declared Naval Waters. Defence services are exempt from NSW marine parks legislation, however co-operative management strategies are in place through an agreement between the Marine Parks Authority and the Department of Defence.

There are a diverse range of habitats within the marine park including extensive seagrass beds, mangroves, sandy beaches, intertidal rocky shores, subtidal rocky reefs, soft substrate habitats and drift algae communities. The wide variety of aquatic and coastal habitats that are found in and around Jervis Bay and that have remained relatively undisturbed in close proximity to urban centres, are a signature feature of the area and of the marine park.

Oceanographic currents in the region are predominantly temperate with seasonal tropical influences and support a biologically diverse range of marine species, some of which are at the limits of their distribution. The marine park is home to the grey nurse shark, eastern blue devil fish, weedy seadragon and elegant wrasse and marine mammal species such as the bottlenose dolphin, Australian and New Zealand fur seals and hump back and southern right whales. A number of migratory bird species listed under the Japan Australia Migratory Birds Agreement, and China Australia Migratory Birds Agreement also occur within the marine park.

Other important features are the tall cliffs, the relatively natural, undeveloped coastline and the general beauty of the area. Jervis Bay and surrounds are listed on the Register of the National Estate in recognition of their significant marine ecosystems and geological features. The marine park also contains a specific site of geological significance, the glendonite beds at Tapalla Point. Tapalla Point has an additional listing in the Register.

Jervis Bay is also well known for its exceptional water clarity. There is limited influx of suspended particulate material into the bay due to a combination of the absence of a large estuary draining into the bay, heavy industry, dense settlement and widespread land clearing in the surrounding catchment. The resultant clear waters enable deeper light penetration and support extensive subtidal and estuarine seagrass beds, particularly around Hare Bay.

Much of the land within the catchment of the marine park is managed by a range of agencies including NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Environment Australia, Department of Defence, Shoalhaven City Council, Department of Land and Water Conservation and State Forests. Land use is strictly regulated, strengthening protection of the catchment for water quality and other environmental attributes. Some wetlands and littoral rainforest located within and adjacent to the marine park are also protected under state environmental planning policies.

The marine park is a multiple-use park that aims to protect representative examples of marine biodiversity, while catering for a broad range of recreational and commercial activities. Popular activities undertaken within the park include commercial and recreational fishing, scuba diving, whale and dolphin watching, research, boating, surfing and other beach activities.

Under the Marine Parks Act, the Marine Parks Authority is required to prepare a zoning plan to ensure conservation of the biodiversity of the marine park and to regulate its use.

To achieve these objectives, the zoning plan establishes:

• sanctuary zones in areas of the marine park considered representative of each habitat type, highest in biological diversity, significant to maintaining ecological processes, key sites for threatened or other significant species, or sites that contain important natural and cultural features.
• habitat protection zones in additional areas considered representative of each habitat type, high in biological diversity, important to maintaining ecological processes, key sites for threatened or other significant species, or sites that contain important natural and cultural features.
• special purpose zones in areas considered to have special management requirements due to existing public infrastructure, such as public wharves, and naval training activities.
• general use zones in areas considered to warrant a broad level of protection within the marine park.

The habitats supporting ecological assemblages inside Jervis Bay are different to those outside the bay. Similarly there are differences between habitats to the north and south and to the east and west as well as inshore and offshore. This zoning plan considers these differences and places representative areas of the different habitat types occurring within the marine park into sanctuary and habitat protection zones to achieve the objects of the Marine Parks Act.

The zoning outlined in this document applies from 1 October 2002. It is put into effect by a regulation under the Marine Parks Act and will be reviewed in five years.