Project final Report: Assessment of the conservation values of the Norfolk Seamounts area. A component of the Commonwealth Marine Conservation Assessment Program 2002-2004. By A. Williams, F. Althaus and D. Furlani. Report to Department of the Environment and Heritage, March 2006

This report is available from the Department of the Environment and Heritage website at: http://www.deh.gov.au/coasts/
mbp/publications/
norfolk-seamounts.html

• Final Report accepted and printed
• Final Report Reference:
  Williams, A, Althaus, F and Furlani, D. 2006. Assessment of the conservation values of the Norfolk Seamounts area: a component of the Commonwealth Marine Conservation Assessment Program 2002-2004. Report to the Department of the Environment and Heritage. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research.

• the Department of the Environment and Heritage is consulting with other commonwealth agencies (through the Commonwealth Marine Protected Areas Committee) on the draft final report.
• The report will be finalised on receipt of the comments.
• It is expected that the report will be printed and distributed in August 05.

• continued data collation, literature review and report writing
• preliminary data analyses and summaries in preparation for project workshop
• administation of the workshop - organising of travel, venues etc.
• preparation of background documents for the workshop participants
• communication with prospective workshop participants
• exchange of data in preparation for the workshop
• discussion of analytical techniques

OCTOBER 2004

• released an article in the Norfolk Islander of October 2, publicising our web-site and calling for information from the local Norfolk Island community
• addressed the October 5 meeting of the Norfolk Island Flora and Fauna Society
• continued data collation, literature review and report writing
• reviewed data availability and formats received to date and considered potential analytical methods
• organised a workshop inviting 4 seamount researchers who are working in the Coral and Tasman Sea areas

In order to address the guidelines for identification of MPAs we need to compare species/species group presence and absence between areas, i.e. between groupings of samples on seamounts, in the Tasman and Coral Sea regions. Such comparisons are necessary to determine richness, biogeographic relationships and endemicity. The workshop we organised for December 2004 is to facilitate the exchange and discussion of available biological data from Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. A workshop setting was proposed as an effective way to discuss some of the context of the available data, such as the reliability of the taxonomic identifications, as well as a good opportunity to swap ideas on the analytical approaches.

SEPTEMBER 2004

• continued data collation, literature review and report writing
• collaboration with SeamountsOnline compiler K. Stocks organising data exchange
• Conversation with international research agencies involved with seamounts research, comparing data and analytical methods
• 22/9/2004 the web-site has come online — sent alert to all organisations contacted in the initial mail-out
• received, documented and followed up new information

JULY/AUGUST 2004

• Continued data collation
• Documented replies/communication from the mail-out and followed up leads provided
• Commenced report writing describing the physical environment and human uses
• Continued development of the website

>Past project updates