The Federal Government has announced tha the giant kelp forests of the south east coast of Australia will be protected under Australian law.

 

Federal Minister for Environment, Tony Burke, said the move to protect the giant kelp marine forests under national environmental law was a first for the country.

 

"After careful consideration of the advice from the Government's independent Threatened Species Scientific Committee, I have decided to list the giant kelp marine forests of south east Australia,” Mr Burke said.

 

"This is the first time that a marine ecological community has been listed for protection in Australia under national environment law."

 

The giant kelp marine forests of south east Australia are mainly found from Eddystone Point in the north east of Tasmania along the eastern coastline and around to the southern coast as far as Port Davey.  They can also occur on the northern and western coast of Tasmania and in the coastal waters off Victoria and south east South Australia when conditions are favourable.

 

"Giant kelp forests are being progressively lost due to a warming of the sea surface temperature caused by climate change, invasive species and changing land use and coastal activities that contribute to increased sedimentation and runoff and biodiversity loss,'' Mr Burke said.

 

"The giant kelp forests provide valuable ecosystem services for the local environment, such as creating habitat for commercially significant marine species like the black lip abalone and southern rock lobster, filtering sediment before it gets into the wider ocean, and protecting our coastline from storm damage.

 

"Giant kelp marine forests are also important carbon sinks. It has been estimated that they may be able to hold over 80,000 tonnes of carbon per square kilometre, more than double that of some terrestrial forests."