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Following the welcoming remarks from the President (Pat Harbison), Dr Scoresby Shepherd gave a talk on the benthic habitats of the Gulf and the environmental changes that he has seen during the last 40 years, both as a recreational scuba diver and as a marine research scientist.
Jon Emmett and Val Boxall (from the Coast & Marine Branch of the Dept for Environment & Heritage) then gave a presentation on the proposed Gulf St Vincent - Kangaroo Island Marine Plan. This Plan will be based on the Spencer Gulf Marine Plan, which is currently being prepared. The GSVKI Plan will be a ‘guide for development and use’ rather than a management plan, and will require the amendment of a wide range of coastal/marine legislation which is at present poorly coordinated.
There will be extensive community consultation during the development of the Marine Plan, and Pat Harbison hopes that FoGStV can play a useful role in stimulating discussion of the issues and in providing a coordinated community response.
At the conclusion of the meeting, those present were invited to take out membership of FoGStV ($5 for individuals or groups, to satisfy Friends of Parks requirements). Eleven individuals and three groups have now become members of FoGStV, including:
Friends of Patawalonga Creek
Friends of Thompsons Beach
The Malacological Society of SA
Because of the meeting’s location - at Middle Beach, a 40 minute drive north of Adelaide - most attendees were from the region or from Adelaide.
If there is sufficient interest in FoGStV’s role in forming a network among groups around the Gulf, additional meetings will be held in other locations, eg on Yorke Peninsula, as well as south of Adelaide.