Nearshore subtidal marine reef systems and soft sediment mapping, New South Wales

Near-shore reef boundaries mapped from available aerial photography over a range of years and scales. The mapped reef boundaries represent the greatest extent of reef observed over multiple years ie. mapped reef area includes reefs prone to intermittent sand inundation. Unrectified photos were used. Mapping has been conducted in several stages with the current version 5 being extended to include the coast between Port Jackson and Newcastle. Clarence River and Tweed Heads. Mapping is effectively complete with about 0.2% of the NSW coast remaining unmapped due to a number of reasons - unavailability of suitable aerial photos; poor visibility through the water column in deep nearshore zones (eg Sydney Heads south). This mapping was conducted by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, and is owed jointly by NPWS, NSW Fisheries, NSW Marine Parks Authority, NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation and Environment Australia. Aerial photos used in this process were provided by NSW Dept of Land and Water Conservation's Specialist Coastal and Floods Unit.