This technical report is likely to be of interest to policy makers, managers, researchers and the general public. The Ningaloo Marine Park (NMP) is one of the few commonwealth marine parks readily accessible to large numbers of recreational fishers in small vessels. This project aimed to determine the composition and abundance of fish, especially those targeted by recreational fishers in deeper areas of the NMP including the National Park Zone (NPZ) at Point Cloates. Fish species composition, abundance and size composition were studied using baited remote underwater stereo-videos. The study recorded a total of 169 fish species. Recreationally targeted fish were more abundant with increasing distance from boat ramps, even allowing for the fact that water depth increases with distance from shore. The relatively remote location of the NPZ off Point Cloates explains why there are generally more fish within the NPZ than more easily accessible areas of the NMP. The report recommends follow-up surveys every 3 years, to allow comparisons between fished and unfished given that this study has provided a baseline near to the time of the establishment of the NPZ.

This report is part of a series of eco-narrative documents that synthesize our existing knowledge of Australia’s individual Marine Parks. This series is a product of the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub Project D3, which seeks to determine the status of marine biodiversity assets on the continental shelf to inform monitoring of Australian Marine Parks. The South-west Corner Marine Park contains large areas of high biodiversity and benthic productivity, although most of the Marine Park still remains to be surveyed. The Park is defined by extensive plains across the continental shelf covered by mixed communities of macroalgae, seagrasses and sponges. Since these plains cover ~95% of the surveyed area, such communities account for a large proportion of benthic productivity and biodiversity in the region. Black and octocorals, hydroids and bryozoans are present in deeper areas of the continental shelf, while areas deeper than 120 m are mostly formed by soft sediments. A total of 140 fish species across 61 families were identified in the Marine Park, including several shark species and other commercially targeted species. The Park is also habitat for numerous seabirds and migratory passage for several cetacean species.

This report presents a case study of how to improve the quality control and interoperability of marine spatial data, and focuses on the quality control of fish and shark annotations from baited remote underwater stereo-video (stereo-BRUV) imagery. The GlobalArchive-CheckEM service conducts a series of quality control checks on annotation data against life-history information, based on the Codes for Australian Aquatic Biota (CAAB). This report provides a ‘how-to guide’ for CheckEM and we propose that, in addition to review by expert fish ecologists, any fish and shark image annotations collected in Australia should be validated using CheckEM. Data validation, quality control and interoperability of spatial data are key to enable data discovery and re-use for biodiversity reporting and science communication. This report outlines how Findable Accessible Interoperable Reproducible (FAIR) aspects of marine data can be improved and implemented at a national scale.

1. Baited remote underwater stereo-video systems (stereo-BRUVs) are a popular tool to sample demersal fish assemblages and gather data on their relative abundance and body size structure in a robust, cost-effective and non-invasive manner. Given the rapid uptake of the method, subtle differences have emerged in the way stereo-BRUVs are deployed and how the resulting imagery is annotated. These disparities limit the interoperability of datasets obtained across studies, preventing broadscale insights into the dynamics of ecological systems. 

2. We provide the first globally accepted guide for using stereo-BRUVs to survey demersal fish assemblages and associated benthic habitats.

3. Information on stereo-BRUVs design, camera settings, field operations and image annotation are outlined. Additionally, we provide links to protocols for data validation, archiving and sharing.

4. Globally, the use of stereo-BRUVs is spreading rapidly. We provide a standardized protocol that will reduce methodological variation among researchers and encourage the use of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable workflows to increase the ability to synthesize global datasets and answer a broad suite of ecological questions.

This is a technical report for the Hunter Marine Park surveys as part of the NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub D3 project. The report summarises five years worth of multibeam echo sounder, towed video, stereo-baited remote underwater video and remotely operated vehicle surveys to provide Parks Australia with baseline information for the Hunter Marine Park. The Hunter Marine Park is located of the mid-NSW coast and continental shelf rocky reef was identified as a key ecological feature of the Park. The MBES surveys mapped 30% of the continental shelf component of the Marine Park and identified approximately 5.5km2 of rocky reef. Towed video surveys found these reefs to covered in a diverse range of sessile invertebrate assemblages. The stereo-BRUV surveys focused on three distinct regions across a depth range of 35-120 m. Up to 112 species of fish were identified, including three threatened and protected species. Each of the three locations were deemed to support a unique species assemblages. However, the patterns in distribution where highly species specific and often related to reef structure and season. These are the first mapping and biological surveys of the Hunter Marine Park region.