Role of habitat mapping in marine protected area planning - a case study in the Bruny bioregion, Tasmania

Mapping of coastal seabed habitats throughout the Bruny bioregion has proved to be an essential tool needed to determine Marine Protected Area (MPA) options in a ecologically complex bioregion, to select appropriate boundaries and to ensure that protected areas are comprehensive, representative and adequate. This has been achieved through the accurate definition of habitat boundaries and description of the dominant macroalgae and seagrass assemblages. Suggestions for potential MPA locations can be objectively derived from the mapping results in a process aimed at maximising the habitat diversity for each location. However, substantial additional biological information is also required if the protection of small-scale unique features or species distribution is to be an important component of the MPA planning process. Much of this information already exists but requires analysis within an MPA framework and incorporation into a comprehensive Geographic Information System. A habitat management strategy, together with MPAs and appropriate fisheries and land use management, would provide the flexibility required to conserve coastal and estuarine biodiversity within the Bruny bioregion, Tasmania, in the long term.