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NESP MaC Project 1.33 - Application of environmental DNA to survey Bathurst Harbour Tasmania for the endangered Maugean skate (IMAS)

Created 23/06/2025

Updated 23/06/2025

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This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub emerging priorities study - "Application of environmental DNA to survey Bathurst Harbour Tasmania for the endangered Maugean skate". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. The Maugean skate (Zearaja maugeana) is listed as Endangered under Tasmania’s Threatened Species Protection Act and the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Its known population is small (~3,000 individuals, Macquarie Harbour, 2016) and highly restricted, having only been recorded in two isolated estuaries: Bathurst Harbour and Macquarie Harbour in south-western/western Tasmania. This constitutes one of the most limited distributions of any known extant elasmobranch. Although the skate was first discovered in Bathurst Harbour, most knowledge of the species stems from the Macquarie Harbour population. Only four individuals have been reported in Bathurst Harbour, with the last reported sighting in 1992. Environmental conditions in Macquarie Harbour have changed markedly since then due to anthropogenic activities in and around the estuary including historical mining, hydro-electric generation and alteration of natural river flows, and marine fish farming. Previous research has shown clear signs of population stress and evidence of detrimental impacts of degraded environmental conditions on the Maugean Skate in Macquarie Harbour. Understanding the potential population status of the Maugean Skate in Bathurst Harbour will assist in determining conservation actions. This study used Environmental (e) DNA to determine the presence/absence of the endangered Maugean skate (Zearaja maugeana) in Bathurst Harbour, strengthening the evidence base for effective conservation plans and specific recovery actions. Outputs • Maugean skate eDNA sampling data and inferred species distribution (presence/absence) [dataset] • Final Project Report, including a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

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Field Value
Title NESP MaC Project 1.33 - Application of environmental DNA to survey Bathurst Harbour Tasmania for the endangered Maugean skate (IMAS)
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/fe50307a-f01a-45e5-8ec3-58bfd54c4a03
Contact Point
Australian Ocean Data Network
Jayson.semmens@utas.edu.au
Reference Period 01/09/2021 - 30/05/2022
Geospatial Coverage Australia
Data Portal Australian Oceans Data Network

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Australian Oceans Data Network "NESP MaC Project 1.33 - Application of environmental DNA to survey Bathurst Harbour Tasmania for the endangered Maugean skate (IMAS)". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/nesp-mac-project-1-33-application-of-environmental-dna-to-survey-bathurst-harbour-tasmania-for-