Report of the Australia — France/New Caledonia Coral Sea Transboundary
Collaboration Workshop
Held on 25 – 26 March 2013 Brisbane, Australia
A workshop on Coral Sea Transboundary Collaboration was jointly hosted by the Australian
and France-New Caledonian governments in Brisbane, Australia from 25-26 March 2013. It
was held pursuant to the Declaration of Intentions between France-New Caledonia and
Australia on the Sustainable Management of the Coral Sea.
The workshop was attended by 37 participants from Australian, New Caledonian, and French
government agencies, research institutions and universities. The full list of participants is at
Attachment A.
The workshop focused on identifying and describing trans-boundary interests between
Australia and New Caledonian waters in the Coral Sea. This included ecological features that
cross the boundary, straddling stocks, and migration routes of key species. This work was
undertaken to provide a scientific foundation for working towards the establishment of
complementary management arrangements in relation to trans-boundary interests. The
workshop agenda is at Attachment B.
The workshop explored four categories of trans-boundary interest:
1. Ecologically Significant and Migratory Species - Fish, marine mammals, turtles and
seabirds and their connectivity and migration pathways (including to and from breeding
aggregations), life histories and timing across boundaries;
2. Deep Water Environments - Biodiversity, habitats, connectivity, and ecological
functioning of deep sea environments (seamounts, troughs and rises);
3. Shallow Water Environments - Reefs, cays, atolls and associated benthic biodiversity,
habitats and connectivity, including herbivorous fish and reef fish in ecosystem roles and
the role of supporting regional coral reef communities; and
4. Pressures on the Marine Environment - How a changing climate, increased seafood
demand, increased vessel traffic and marine debris are, and will be, affecting the Coral
Sea.
At the workshop, presentations were given on each of the above issues (these presentations
are available on request, email CTIAUSFocalPoint@environment.gov.au). Following the
presentations, break out groups were formed – one on each of the first three topics, with the
fourth topic addressed as a cross cutting issue that was considered by all groups. Each break
out group was asked to discuss the following questions:

What are the key transboundary issues of interest to the collaborative management of
the Coral Sea? What are the relative priorities of these issues?
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
What do we know about the issue? What are the key gaps in knowledge? How easy or
difficult is it to address these gaps?

What are the priorities for future collaborative work and why? How might this be taken
forward (including by whom)?
Reports from each of the breakout groups are at Attachment C.
The group on ecologically significant and migratory species identified as a key research
priority, an understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of “hotspots” that support
the iconic wildlife populations of the Coral Sea. A number of key gaps in knowledge were
identified in this context related to the environmental drivers of the distribution of
“hotspots.” Priorities for future work included standardisation of methodologies, collation of
key data sets, and clarification of management objectives and priorities to help guide to
research efforts.
The deep water environment group identified seamounts as a priority topic for focus, and
went on to assess identified deep sea environmental features in the Coral Sea from the
perspectives of the state of existing knowledge, whether they are trans-boundary in nature,
and the difficulties associated in undertaking work in relation to each feature. In the context
of this assessment, the group noted that priority areas for trans-boundary collaboration
included the development of a common inventory of data and analysis, and the sharing of
technical expertise. Priorities for future research work identified included understanding
changes in species composition at different depth ranges, understanding commonalities and
connectivity between seamount chains in the Coral Sea, and testing the principles
underpinning bio-regionalisation.
The shallow water environment group identified the issue of most importance to transboundary management to be the question of whether shallow water environments of the
Coral Sea operate as a single entity, and if so, how. This would include consideration of the
connectivity of reefs and cays in the region, and whether the resilience of these systems is
driven by regional as well as local factors. The group noted that there are reasonably good
data on shallow water environments at large- to medium-scale, but that finer-scale data are
required, including on ecological connectivity and long-term trends in reef health and
resistance. The group proposed the development of predictive models of reef biodiversity,
connectivity and resilience as a basis for exploring hypotheses on what drives biodiversity
connectivity and resilience, and identifying gaps in knowledge.
Following the break out group discussions, the workshop reconvened as a whole. After
reporting back, workshop participants discussed the following questions:

What are the most important issues for future focus to support collaborative
management of the Coral Sea?
Participants identified the following response to this question:
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
-
Develop a shared understanding of the physical environment and regional
distributions of biodiversity and community structure, and the distributions of key
species.
-
Develop a shared understanding of the ecosystem processes, pathways and
functional interrelationships to inform ecosystem based management.
-
Standardisation of data collection and analysis and monitoring.
What work needs to be done to progress these issues?
Participants identified the following response to this question:
-

Data collation, synthesis and analysis, gap identification, starting with the output
from this workshop.
What are the best ways for getting this work done?
Participants identified the following response to this question:
-
Collaborative work to develop a regional profile, with a draft discussed at a
subsequent workshop.
-
Mechanisms for bringing people together, generating relationships, building on
existing projects and opportunities.
-
Workshop on standardisation of data analysis and monitoring approaches.
-
Establish coordination and identify resourcing arrangements.
After the workshop, and in light of the workshop discussions and outputs, the Australian, New
Caledonian and French governments met to consider the next steps in their collaboration. The
report of this meeting, including agreed next steps, will be shared with workshop participants.
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ATTACHMENT A
WORKSHOP ON CORAL SEA TRANSBOUNDARY COLLABORATION
25 - 26 MARCH 2013
PARTICIPANT LIST
Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment,
Water, Population and Communities
Travis Bover
Belinda Jago
Martin Russell
Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
Jamie Oliver
David McKinnon
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Jock Young
Alan Williams
Roland Pitcher
Rich Hillary
Ian Cresswell
Nic Bax
James Cook University (JCU)
Brad Congdon
Robin Beaman
Mark Hamann
Alastair Birtles
The New Caledonian Government
Anne-Claire Goarant
Regis Etaix-Bonnin
The French Government
Lionel Gardes
Pierre Labrosse
Emmanuel Tessier
Marie-Hélène Wehr
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Institut de Recherche pour le développement (IRD)
Claude Payri
Serge Andrefouet
Laurent Vigliola
Bernard Pelletier
Christophe Menkes
Sophie Cravatte
Institut français de recherché pour l’exploitation de la mer (Ifremer)
Thierry Laugier
Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN)
Sarah Samadi
Université de la Nouvelle Calédonie (UNC)
Yves Letourneur
Aquarium des lagons
Richard Farman
Conservation International (CI)
Jean-Christophe Lefeuvre
La Société Calédonienne d’Ornithologie (SCO)
Julien Baudat
Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
Valerie Allain
Workshop Secretariat
Chavelli Sulikowski
Anne Radimin
Kirsty Hopkins
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ATTACHMENT B
Workshop on Coral Sea Transboundary Collaboration, 25 - 26 March 2013
AGENDA
The workshop will focus on identifying and describing trans-boundary interests between Australia and New
Caledonian waters in the Coral Sea. This will include ecological features that cross the boundary, straddling
stocks, and migration routes of key species etc. This work is being done to provide a scientific foundation
for the establishment of complementary management arrangements in relation to identified
transboundary interests.
The workshop will explore four categories of transboundary interests:

fish, marine mammals, turtles and seabirds and their connectivity and migration pathways
(including to and from feeding and breeding aggregations), life histories and timing across
boundaries;

Biodiversity, habitats, connectivity and ecological functioning of deep sea environments
(seamounts, troughs and rises);

Reefs, cays, atolls and associated benthic biodiversity, habitats and connectivity, including
herbivorous fish and reef fish in ecosystem roles and role of supporting regional coral reef
communities; and

How a changing climate, increased seafood demand, increased vessel traffic and marine debris are,
and will be, affecting the Coral Sea.
Prior to the workshop, research activities will be commissioned to compile data and information relevant to
the identification and description of transboundary interests. This data and information will be presented
and discussed at the workshop. The scope of the research activities will be jointly determined by the
Workshop Steering Committee.
DAY ONE
8.00 - 8.30
Arrival and registration/collection of name tags
8.30 - 8.45
Welcome and opening addresses from co-chairs
8.45 - 9.00
Outline and purpose of the workshop (Australian co-chair)
9:00 – 10:00
Overview of Coral Sea
 Policy and management frameworks (Belinda Jago, Regis Etaix-Bonnin)
 Scientific overview (Nic Bax, Sophie Cravatte)
10:00 – 10:15
Comments and Questions on the overview
10:15 – 10:30
Outline and purpose of the day (Nic Bax)
10:30 – 11:00
MORNING TEA
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11:00 – 12:00
Trans-boundary topic 1: Ecologically Significant and Migratory Species
 Introduction of session (Australia)
 Presentations on current knowledge and key gaps (Jock Young, Australia;
Richard Farman, New Caledonia)
 Questions and comments
12:00 – 1:00
Trans-boundary topic 2: Deep water environments
 Introduction of session (New Caledonia – Sarah Samadi)
 Presentations on current knowledge and key gaps (Alan Williams, Australia;
Sarah Samadi, New Caledonia)
 Questions and comments
1.00 – 2:00pm
LUNCH
2:00 – 3:00
Trans-boundary topic 3: Shallow water environments
 Introduction of session (New Caledonia - Serge Andrefouet)
 Presentations on current knowledge and key gaps (David McKinnon, Australia;
Laurent Vigliola, New Caledonia)
 Questions and comments
3:00 – 5:00
Break-out groups on topics 1-3
 Groups will be asked to discuss and record existing knowledge of transboundary features, gaps in knowledge and priorities for future research
DAY TWO
9:00 – 9:15
Outline and purpose of the day (Claude Payri, New Caledonia)
9:15 – 10:30
Report back from the break out groups (break out group facilitators)
10:30 – 11:00
MORNING TEA
11:00 – 12:30
Trans-boundary Topic 4: Pressures on the marine environment
 Introduction of session (Australia)
 Presentations on current knowledge and key gaps (Belinda Jago, Australia;
Thierry Laugier, New Caledonia)
 Plenary discussion and identification of existing knowledge of trans-boundary
issues, gaps in knowledge and priorities for future research
12.30 - 1.30pm
LUNCH
1.30 - 2.00pm
Presentation and discussion of existing CSIRO & AIMS Coral Sea collaboration
(Jock Young and David McKinnon)
2:00 – 3:30
Where to next?
 Summary of key findings from the workshop
 Discussion of priorities for research to support policy and management by the
Australian and New Caledonian governments
 Discussion of research priorities for the longer term
 Discussion of opportunities for scientific collaboration
3:30 - 4:00
Wrap up and Closing remarks (co-chairs)
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ATTACHMENT C
Coral Sea Transboundary Collaboration Workshop
25 – 26 March 2013 Brisbane, Australia
Breakout Group Report: Ecologically Significant and Migratory Species
1. What are the key transboundary issues of interest to collaborative management?
Desired future outcome - A shared conceptual framework of the Coral Sea for ecosystem
based management.
Key research need - Improve understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of
hotspots that support the (iconic) wildlife populations of the Coral Sea.
2. What do we know? What are the key gaps?
Birds
Species use of hotspots
(identify for each species)
Foraging
Migratory routes
Vertical integration
Interaction with coastal
species
Terrestrial use
Temporal/spatial variation
Oceanography
Functional connectivity
Life history stages
Genetic stock
Trophic linkages
Species specific info
Turtles
Tuna
Sharks
Mammals
O
O
O
O
O
N/A
X
⎷some
X
OX
X some
X
X
OX
⎷
O
O
OX
X
X
O
OX
O
OX
Key: O = priorities; X = gaps
Key gaps in knowledge
What are the key environmental drivers?
•
Species use – overlap in species hotspots, species specific information
•
Vertical structure
•
Interaction with coastal species
•
Genetic stock structure
•
Life history stages
•
Migratory routes
•
Foraging opportunities/food webs
•
Trophic linkages
•
Oceanographic drivers
•
Temporal and spatial drivers (location of hotspots)
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OX
O
ATTACHMENT C
•
Functional connectivity
3. What are the priorities for future collaborative work?
Priority needs for addressing knowledge gaps:
• Determine the key conservation objectives including management issues at
transboundary scale
• Standardise methodologies for research programs across regions (isotopes, tagging)
• List and collate existing metadata sets across jurisdictions
- start with species level data (determine overlap in species hotspots)
- oceanography (already shared)
- biogeochemical data
- productivity data (satellite data available)
• Ensure continuous, long term data sets with no gaps
• Focus on conservation species
• Isotopes, tagging, mapping, tracking, echo sounders on commercial vessels
•
Full regional approach (include PNG and Solomon, Vanuatu)
Priority research topics
• Functional connectivity
• Determine critical areas to support stable breeding colonies of seabirds
• Oceanography impacts on hotspots to predict viability into the future
• Foraging habitat mapping for species, e.g. seabirds, large pelagics
• Migration routes of tuna
• Collaborative project to understand if impacts, for example oceanography on turtle
species, are also occurring in other jurisdictions
• Knowledge gaps in leatherback turtle breeding – jurisdictions sit under different MOUs coordinate efforts to gather information
• Collaborative tagging of dwarf minke whales to determine where they go, do they use
seamount areas/productivity hotspots etc. – outcomes will underpin tourism industry
into the future and provide unique insight into the almost unknown tropical ecology of
oceanic rorqual whales
• Terns – common monitoring program based on Australia’s long-term data collection gene flow? Liaise with the Queensland government about priorities as this is currently
under discussion
•
Genetic links for bottlenose and spinner dolphins
Priority areas for sharing data
• Acoustic data from shark research (Aus)
• Breeding activities of turtles
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ATTACHMENT C
Coral Sea Transboundary Collaboration Workshop
25 – 26 March 2013 Brisbane, Australia
Breakout Group Report
Deep Water Environments
1. What are the key transboundary issues of interest to collaborative management?
• Species change at depth ranges
• Between areas/features at the same depth, are species the same/common?
- Across three seamount chains (Tasmantid, Lord Howe, Norfolk seamounts)
- Connectivity between seamount chains
• Opportunity to test/confirm the principles underpinning bio-regionalisation
2. What do we know? What are the key gaps?
Key deep sea
features
Extent of existing
knowledge
Transboundary
Difficulty
Tasmantid seamounts Biological and geological
Yes
Relatively easy
Mellish Plateau
Geological
Yes
Very difficult
Kenn Plateau
Geological
Yes
Relatively easy
Chesterfield Bank /
seamounts
Very limited geological,
some biological (1001000m)
Yes
Relatively easy
Louisiade Cluster
Very limited
No
Very difficult
South Rennell Trough
Very limited
No
Difficult
Lord Howe
Biological and geological
Yes
Medium
Lord Howe
seamounts
Biological and geological
Yes
Relatively easy
Deep Basins
Very limited
No
Very difficult
Cato Trough
Geological
No
Very difficult
Middleton Basin
Geological
No
Difficult
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ATTACHMENT C
3. What are the priorities for future collaborative work?
• Regional synthesis of existing data (provides gap analysis):
- Common inventory of what is known to both Australia and New Caledonia - need a
common platform to work from. Ensures common understanding of what each
jurisdiction has.
- Gaps in biological understanding - sampling and availability of existing data
• Understanding processes of exploration - anticipating the impacts of exploration on
ecosystems (strengthen management in this area)
• Improved understanding of oceanography/productivity
• Sharing of technical expertise/equipment – science, sampling, spatial planning,
management
• Cost benefit of investing in these management/conservation priorities - social and
economical benefits (resources - potential pressures)
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ATTACHMENT C
Coral Sea Transboundary Collaboration Workshop
25 – 26 March 2013 Brisbane, Australia
Breakout Group Report
Shallow Water Environments
1. What are the key transboundary issues of interest to collaborative management?
• Are there specific connections between the two jurisdictions?
• Does the system function as a single entity requiring joint management (and if so,
how)? This would include consideration of:
- Biodiversity at species and functional level, and habitat distributions
- Ecological and functional connectivity between reef systems in the area
- Is resilience determined locally or regionally?
2. What do we know? What are the key gaps?
• We have reasonably good data on physical environment at large- to medium-scale
• More information is needed on fine-scale biodiversity patterns and ecological
connectivity
• More information is needed on major threats to reef status and resilience
• More information is needed on longer-term trends in status for most reefs
• Work is needed to assemble and synthesise data into biodiversity maps
• Work is needed to develop hypotheses on what drives biodiversity patterns, functional
connectivity and resilience
3. What are the priorities for future collaborative work?
• Develop predictive models of reef biodiversity, connectivity and resilience
- Use models to identify major gaps in knowledge
- Collaborative workshop to prioritise gap filling for more complete biodiversity
mapping and hypothesis testing activities
- Develop oceanographic model scenarios to address specific connectivity
hypotheses for key species, functions and habitats
- Agree on a program of collaborative field data acquisition and identify funding
options
- Potential areas for collaborative work might be Chesterfields/Bellona reefs and
Kenn/Wreck/Cato reefs
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