Identifying priority datasets for the Gippsland declaration area and pathways for their use in decision-making

Government agencies responsible for licensing and regulating infrastructure projects need access to quality, relevant, environmental data to support decision-making about regulatory processes. This includes the assessment of environmental management plans in the context of commonwealth and state legislation.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) and the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Authority (NOPSEMA) identified the need for a rapid assessment of information available for the Gippsland declared area. A focus is a subset of species listed as Critically Endangered or Endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. These species are potentially at greatest risk to offshore renewable energy activities through interactions during construction, operations and decommissioning.

Data and information were needed to support the identification and development of baseline conditions and long-term reference datasets, and methods for monitoring, mitigation and management of interactions and impacts. Much of the information required, however, was either embedded in journal articles or reports, or in datasets yet to be fully analysed. Further, some public datasets were not in widely accessible formats.

This project identified datasets and information sources relevant to 15 priority species identified by DCCEEW and NOPSEMA for the Gippsland declaration area. These relate to:

• presence/absence of priority species, including frequency of occurrence on seasonal and multi-yeartime scales;
• distribution, including movement dynamics and habitat use (for feeding, breeding, resting etc.) on seasonal and multi-year time scales;
• population dynamics, including abundance and trends and reproduction metrics; and
• behavioural understanding of forage (dietary), species dynamics (distribution, abundance), and connections to migratory timing and movement dynamics.

The project also provided advice on improving the accessibility and utility of these datasets and information for assessment and regulatory processes.

Approach and findings

Data and information for the whole Bass Strait region were considered, given the widespread distribution and mobility of many priority species. This was sourced through:

• a workshop at CSIRO Hobart and online at which data holders and research users discussed assessment and regulatory processes, existing data and information, and ongoing research/compilation initiatives;
• a data holder and user survey focused on datasets, data products, and data use and data use requirements; and
• a literature and repository search.

The workshop, survey and literature review identified a diversity of datasets, either existing or being compiled. Many of these datasets existed in isolated databases unlinked to data repositories or metadata aggregators. They were held by industry, consultants and research agencies. About half of the survey respondents suggested this lack of discoverability could be partially resolved through agreements with data holders.

Accessible metadata records were sourced from 30 data holders (about 250 records in all). The data holders included individual researchers, research consultancies, universities and research agencies, museums, non-profit organisations, energy generation companies and state and commonwealth government departments.

Each metadata record generated by the project includes links to original metadata records identified through the repository search, associated information, and location of available datasets or data products. The project metadata records are available via these three data discovery services.

• IMAS Metadata Catalogue
• Australian Ocean Data Network
• Research Data Australia.

Species included in the project metadata records

• Australia Gould’s petrel, Diomedea amsterdamensis (15 records)
• curlew sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea (16 records)
• far eastern curlew Numenius madagascariensis (14 records)
• grey-headed albatross, Thalassarche chrysostoma (25 records)
• Mongolian lesser sand plover, Charadrius mongolus mongolus(9 records)
• north-eastern Siberian red knot, Calidris canutus rogersi (15 records)
• northern royal albatross, Diomedea sanfordi (11 records)
• orange bellied parrot, Neophema chrysogaster (15 records)
• swift parrot, Lathamus discolor (22 records)
• shy albatross, Thalassarche cauta (34 records)
• southern giant petrel, Macronectes giganteus (22 records)
• wedge-tailed eagle, Aquila audax fleayi (12 records)
• blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus sp. (7 records)
• southern right whale, Eubalaena australis (15 records)
• humpback whale, Limosa lapponica menzbieri (16 records)

Information included in the project metadata records

• parent/metadata/data repository
• metadata/data subset
• dataset type (tracking, banding, diet, presence, population genetics, mark-recapture, species distribution maps, preserved specimens
• number of observations
• location
• year
• dataset owner (and affiliation)
• data access url
• associated publications

Addressing data and information needs

The project also made recommendations for improving the discoverability, accessibility and utility of existing data and information for planning, assessment and regulation. 

Collaboration

Improved data discoverability requires better connections between data generators and data users and establishing collaborative agreements with data holders. Mechanisms for achieving this include communities of practice, forums and workshops) that bring government, proponents, researchers, and infrastructure providers together to improve communication, awareness and exchange of information between data holders and data users.

Priority species

A structured information mapping exercise is needed to determine the priority focus species for the Gippsland declaration area. Part of this process has been facilitated by this project and hub Project 3.3, through literature review and identification of discoverable datasets for a wide range of species, providing the foundation for a rapid evaluation of species relevance.

Priority impacts

A specific list of potential impacts and the data requirements to quantify these impacts at a population level is required for priority species. Hub Project 4.7 is examining potential impact pathways and cumulative effects, and associated data requirements, for key threatened and migratory species.

Data management

There is a need for improved understanding of and adherence to FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) data principles among data holders.

Information relevant to wind farm environmental assessment held in various accessible online repositories should be aggregated, catalogued and linked on an online portal. The Ocean Data Information System is one example of a data aggregator.

Outcomes

Data and information identified by this project supports decision-making relating to offshore wind farm development in the Gippsland declared area. It offers guidance on progressing towards addressing the information needs for assessment and regulatory processes. This guidance contributed to an inventory on potential impacts of offshore wind farms developed by hub Project 3.3. It also contributes to a shared understanding among government agencies, wind farm proponents and the research community of information availability and needs.

Project location

Gippsland ORE area, northeastern Bass Strait