NSW marine survey

Acting Premier and Acting Minister for Primary Industries Andrew Stoner and Minister for the Environment Robyn Parker have announced that community views on the NSW marine estate will be sought early this year to inform its future management.
 
Mr Stoner said the Marine Estate Management Authority had recently released the paper, Managing the NSW Marine Estate: Purpose, Underpinning Principles and Priority Setting, with the first underpinning principle to effectively engage communities and identify benefits and threats to the marine estate.
 
“As recommended by the Authority, on the advice of the independent Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel, understanding community values in terms of economics, social use and appreciation, and ecological features and functions is a critical first step,” Mr Stoner said.
 
Ms Parker said the project would cover a range of stakeholders, along the NSW coast and from inland areas. 
 
"Given the passion the people of NSW have for their marine estate, it’s important that the Authority and the NSW Government appreciate the views and values of the community," Ms Parker said.
 
Sweeney Research has been commissioned to capture a variety of community views at local, regional and State levels.
 
Marine Estate Management Authority Chair Dr Wendy Craik said the community would be asked to have its say from January to March 2014. 
 
"More than 1600 people will be surveyed during the research project through a combination of regional focus groups, an online survey, field intercept surveys and face-to-face interviews," Dr Craik said.
 
The results of the research will be used by the Authority to inform several key marine estate reform projects, including; the development of the new Marine Estate Management Act; a threat and risk assessment process; piloting the new marine park management planning process in the Batemans and Solitary Islands Marine Parks; and the Marine Estate Management Strategy.
 
Further information can be found at www.marine.nsw.gov.au