This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "A photo-identification study of southern right whales to update aggregation area classification in the southwest of Australia". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- The population of Southern Right Whales (SRW) in the Southern Hemisphere has been recovering slowly from near extinction due to its decimation from whaling before its ban in the mid-1970’s. The population that visits the Australian coast each year to breed is estimated to have increased by about 4–5% per year in the past two decades, bringing the total population to approximately 3,500 whales. As the population increases, the whales extend their breeding areas into previously occupied suitable habitat. As the species recovers, there is increasing evidence of expansion of aggregation areas. Consequently, there is a need to update known established aggregation areas and Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) and update relevant Marine Parks management plans based on new evidence. Flinders Bay and Geographe Bay off south-western Western Australia were likely to have been important calving areas before commercial whaling began. Much of this habitat is popular for recreational boating and other marine activities. This project collated and completed photo-ID matching of southern right whale images collected between 2010 to 2020 in the southwest of Australia, and uploaded these to the Australasian Right Whale Photo-Identification Catalogue (ARWPIC). The photo-ID matching outcomes provide evidence that Flinders Bay and Geographe Bay now fit the criteria to be recognised nationally as Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) for Southern Right Whales. Outputs • Photo-identifications of individual whales in southwestern Australia for 1991-2021 (photo-matches contributed to ARWPIC) • Final Project Report, including evidence and recommendations for updating aggregation area classification in the southwest of Australia according to the Commonwealth criteria [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Research Plan 2024 project "Enhancing monitoring approaches to evaluate the abundance, life history and critical habitats of the endangered Australian sea lion". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- The Australian sea lion (ASL; Neophoca cinerea) is Australia’s only endemic pinniped. Populations have declined by more than 60% over the last 40 years to extremely low levels, leading to its endangered status. Known threats to the species include fisheries bycatch, disease, pollution, entanglement in marine debris, and climate change. Improving our understanding of the species’ abundance, life history and critical habitats is essential for evaluating these threats and guiding recovery actions but is challenging due to the species’ unique life-history and breeding biology, longevity, demersal foraging behaviour and occupancy of remote breeding habitat. This project aims to improve the monitoring and inform the management of Australian sea lions by developing cost-effective methods for acquiring abundance data from under-surveyed regions impacted by anthropogenic pressures. To do so, it will: • Apply drones to enhance monitoring at suitable breeding and haul-out sites • Develop efficient techniques to process and analyse demographic data so that survival and reproductive success estimates from a microchipped population at Seal Bay can be routinely updated; and • Continue to deploy underwater cameras on sea lions to identify and understand critical habitats and risks. Findings from these activities will underpin the National Recovery Team conservation efforts, in line with the Australian Government's Threatened Species Action Plan and Healthy Country plans. Outputs • Qualitative and qualitative spatial assessments of breeding sites from helicopter surveys in Recherche Archipelago [dataset] • Drone-collected photogrammetry, FLIR, thermal imaging and LiDAR data [dataset] • Demographic results from analysis of Seal Bay microchipping program [dataset] • Tracking data from sea lion-deployed tags: location, depth, time, temperature, light, acceleration [dataset] • Timestamped video footage from sea lion-deployed cameras [dataset] • Short non-technical summaries to distil the key findings and take-home messages [written] • Final project report [written]