Priorities Action Statement - Draft actions for Lord Howe Abalone (Haliotis rubiginosa)

Advice to consent and determining authorities

Negotiate with relevant authorities to encourage the identification, assessment and modification of natural resource management plans and policies to minimise impacts on Lord Howe Abalone (Medium priority).

Collate and synthesise data collected to quantify the significance of high and moderate risk threat interactions with Lord Howe Abalone and identify knowledge gaps for the purpose of targeting future research activities (Medium priority).

Implement education initiatives to improve identification and awareness of the status of Lord Howe Abalone and ways to minimise impacts on the species by preparing and distributing appropriate advisory material (Medium priority).
Encourage the reporting of sightings of Lord Howe Abalone through the threatened species reporting form at https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/threatened-species/report-it (High priority).

Reduce impacts from anthropogenic threats that result in changes to hydrology/ water/sediment flows in nearshore environments that may result in unfavourable conditions for Lord Howe Abalone (High priority).
Disturbances that may result in Abalone mortality, such as habitat disturbance or modification, localised water pollution from diffuse source runoff or maritime source pollution, eutrophication resulting from groundwater contamination which can exacerbate the impacts of climate change should be identified and addressed through local management actions (High priority).
Continued emergency response implementation to reduce the threat of oil and chemical spill impacts on Lord Howe Abalone (Medium Priority).

Ensure compliance with the ban on collecting Lord Howe Abalone from the wild by communicating with the Lord Howe Island community using a number of communication mediums (e.g. newsletters, online media) (medium priority).

Continued implementation of comprehensive and adequate no-take areas incorporating Lord Howe Abalone habitat to ensure effective ecosystem function and resilience against climate change (High priority).
Using regulatory powers of the Lord Howe Island Marine Park, implement measures to conserve and enhance remaining Lord Howe Abalone habitat. (High priority).
Implement emergency response procedures to reduce the threat of oil and chemical spill impacts on Lord Howe Abalone populations (Medium priority).

Implementation of management actions on Lord Howe Island to address the threats that damage habitat, such as anchoring impacts on remaining habitat (High priority).

Implement targeted surveys to assess and map the current distribution of Lord Howe Abalone around Lord Howe Island (High priority).
Undertake quantitative density assessments in habitats occupied by Lord Howe Abalone to establish critical monitoring baselines (High priority).
Undertake qualitative assessments of habitat occupied by Lord Howe Abalone to help inform microhabitat and diet requirements (High priority).
Development of a detailed translocation plan and undertake translocations to establish additional, viable populations to spread extinction risk (reintroduction or assisted colonisation) or to bolster populations (reinforcement) (Medium Priority).
Development of standard monitoring protocols for subtidal and intertidal populations to assess temporal trends (High priority).
Implement further research regarding the biology of the species to assess reproduction, generation time, diet, survival and longevity using museum specimens where possible (High priority).
Investigate the use museum wet specimens to investigate biology to minimise disturbance of live individuals (Medium priority).
Investigate potential for a captive breeding program to help restock the population and to safeguard this species from extinction (Medium priority).
Assess adaptability and resilience of Lord Howe Abalone to increasing water temperatures and acidity using aquaria experiments on closely related species (Medium priority).

Implement mapping surveys of all intertidal and shallow subtidal reef types throughout the distribution of Lord Howe Abalone for marine spatial planning (High priority).