Two projects to map the nearshore marine habitats around Norfolk Island under the Commonwealth Government’s Our Marine Parks – Round 2 Community Grants program have been completed:
A project managed by Dr Elizabeth Johnstone from IXBlue PL, now Ocean Infinity. See separate post. (The title is confusing as the ship was too big to move into the shallow water so wasn’t really “nearshore”).
Click here for the 94-page Ocean Infinity report Norfolk Island Nearshore and Coastal Habitat Mapping.
Marine Park Grant ID 4-FIZ391E. Managed by Dr Kellie Pendoley of Pendoley Environmental PL.
The on-Island project team comprised Margaret Christian, Rob Ryan and Mitchell Graham with external support and project management provided by Dr Kellie (Lorking) Pendoley of Pendoley Environmental PL (Perth). The initial phase of the project produced high-level habitat maps from satellite imagery, merged with high quality LIDAR mapping data (completed in 2021). These drafts were ground-truthed using drop and towed cameras and amended in accordance with feedback from the community.
The information obtained in this project belongs to the people of Norfolk Island. It can be referenced by anyone when commenting about proposals in the inshore marine zones. It provides reassurance that we are now aware of where some of the important ecosystems are, and also where less sensitive substrate can allow development to take place. It is a starting point on which to build a greater body of knowledge, with the method now proven. This project used simple citizen science technology to develop the very first nearshore habitat map for Norfolk Island and the first for the Norfolk Marine Park.
Prior to this work, there was no habitat map for the marine environment around Norfolk Island. Various single point source marine surveys have been carried out by visiting experts over the years but none of this data has been captured in a single place; it has not been compiled into a single habitat map, nor has any of that expertise or knowledge been passed onto local community members.
Click on the map below and then the markers for their associated images. We thank Scott Pendoley for IT support.
Click here for a descriptive page including a promotional video, a technical report and a Lidar map of seabed bathymetry with marine mapping survey points.
Click here for a concise summary of this mapping project on the website of Australian Marine Parks.