The Flinders Commonwealth Marine Reserve (CMR) survey was a pilot study undertaken in August 2012 as part of the National Marine Biodiversity Hub's National monitoring evaluation and reporting theme. The aim of this theme is to develop a blueprint for the sustained monitoring of the South-east CMR Network. The particular aims of the survey were twofold; 1) to contribute to an inventory of demersal and epibenthic conservation values in the reserve and 2) to test methodologies and deployment strategies in order to inform future survey design efforts. Several gear types were deployed; including multibeam sonar, shallow-water (less than 150m) Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (BRUVS), deep- water BRUVS (to 600 m), towed video and digital stereo stills. This resource contains the deep-water BRUVS footage captured on the slope (~500m depth) of two sites: the Flinders CMR and the adjacent Cape Barren fisheries closure. At each site 3 stereo deepBRUVS were deployed over a 3-day period, during which they recorded between 11 and 15 1-hour sampling events each.

This product represents the predicted spatial patterns of selected temperate shark and ray species abundance. Species selection was based on ecological risk assessments, threatened species listings and data availability. The maps are based on existing CSIRO National Fish Collection maps, supplemented with fishery catch data, independent survey data and the expert knowledge of 20 shark and ray experts from the region. Structure equates to total species distribution, core distribution – an estimate of where 90% of the population will occur and where possible, nursery areas. The product can be used to identify movement corridors, breeding and feeding areas that overlap between species. This allows managers to identify areas of overlap that are of key conservation value to the species of interest.

The Flinders Commonwealth Marine Reserve (CMR) survey was a pilot study undertaken in August 2012 as part of the National Marine Biodiversity Hub's National monitoring evaluation and reporting theme. The aim of this theme is to develop a bluepint for the sustained monitoring of the South-east CMR Network. The particular aims of the survey were twofold; 1) to contribute to an inventory of demersal and epibenthic conservation values in the reserve and 2) to test methodologies and deployment strategies in order to inform future survey design efforts. Several gear types were deployed; including multibeam sonar, shallow-water (less than 150m) Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (BRUVS), deep- water BRUVS (to 600 m), towed video and digital stereo stills. This resource contains the video and stereo still image data collected using a towed system (towed stereo camera system - TSCS). The TSCS was deployed using a probabalistic and spatially balanced survey design called Generalized Random Tessellation Stratified (GRTS). Habitats on the shelf were identified in a previous multibeam survey and consisted of 'mixed reef' (containing patchy reef) and sand. Mixed reef habitat was targeted in this survey (9 GRTS mixed reef sites versus 3 sand sites). Two roughly perpendicular TSCS tows were performed in each of those shelf GRTS sites. On the slope, down-slope (150-500 m depth) transect sites were classified by proportion of hard, soft and mixed bottom types based on multi-beam sonar (MBS) backscatter data. Transects with higher proportion of hard substrates were chosen using a GRTS approach. 7 transects were completed in the Flinders CMR, 5 transects in the adjacent Cape Barren Fisheries closure and two targeted transects were completed in a canyon to the north, where large coral bycatch had been reported from fisheries.