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Conflict and Impacts of Divers and Anglers in a Marine Park

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Abstract

The New South Wales State Government (Australia) gazetted the Jervis Bay Marine Park (JBMP) in 1998. During the preparation of the draft zoning plan in 2000, societal data on two conflicting park user groups—recreational scuba divers and fishers (anglers)—was collected. While conflict resolution was a plan priority, other factors, such as cumulative environmental impacts of users and protection for the critically endangered grey nurse shark (Carcharias taurus), further complicated planning. Both scuba diving and angling are primary summer activities and are disproportionately concentrated around the headlands of the bay. Furthermore, shore based game-fishing was concentrated on the northern headland, where the conflict was centered. However, when the exact locations of divers and anglers were determined, there was a partial partitioning of the available space, with only a small contested overlap. To resolve conflict and maximize positive environmental outcomes, a sanctuary zone and no-anchoring zone option in the draft zoning plan was sought to formalize this partition. The human dimension data proved valuable in guiding environmental management in this politically volatile situation. A baseline study conducted 11 years previously was also used to gain a limited perspective on change in user numbers. Comparison between study periods indicated dive numbers had remained similar, while the number of dive charter trips was significantly less. The numbers of anglers, for the four months compared, had doubled and tripled. The actual data used to inform management is presented and the limitations of this “best available data” approach are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the commercial diver operators—Sea Sports, Prodive, Ocean Trek, and Jervis Bay Charters—for providing data. Lynette Finch provided indispensable ArcView GIS support, and Ross Alford, Rob Williams, and Aldo Steffe gave valuable advice on sampling design and analysis. We thank Phillip Kopeman, Alan Norman, Fran Clements, Dave Cunningham, Gai Doyle, Alex Burleigh, Tomoko Shiine, Julie Brown, Lucy Vahaun, Renee Charlton, Simon Anderson, and Rod Peever for assisting in the field. The JBMP steering committee—John Moore, Diane Garrood, Grahame Byron, Lee de Gail, and Andrew Read— provided valuable intellectual input. Early drafts of the manuscript benefited from comments from Rodney James, Hamish Malcolm, Grahame Byron, Andy Davis, Dave Pollard, Kevin Ferguson, Steve Kennelly, Jennifer Spencer, Aldo Steffe, Bob Creese, Nick Otway, and Kirsten Benkendorff. Daniel Suman, Mark Orams, and an anonymous reviewer provided valuable comment on the submitted manuscript. Thanks are also due for personal observations by Dr. Neville Barrett and Mr. Terry Smith on their descriptions of divers at grey nurse shark aggregation off Sydney in May 2001.

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Tania Adami, JBMP Planner.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jervis Bay Marine Park, PO Box 89, Huskisson, NSW, 2540, Australia

    Tim P. Lynch & Elizabeth Wilkinson

  2. University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, 1797, Australia

    Louise Melling & Rebecca Hamilton

  3. University of Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Anne Macready

  4. National Parks and Wildlife Service, PO Box 707, Nowra, NSW, 2541, Australia

    Sue Feary

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Lynch, T., Wilkinson, E., Melling, L. et al. Conflict and Impacts of Divers and Anglers in a Marine Park . Environmental Management 33, 196–211 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-003-3014-6

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