Beagle Commonwealth Marine Reserve is a 2,928 km2 marine protected area within Australian waters located in Bass Strait off the coast of Victoria and near Tasmania's Flinders Island. The reserve was established in 2007[2] and is part of the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network.

The reserve boundaries enclose Kent Group National Park and the Hogan and Curtis Island groups. Nearby to the north-east is Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park. The reserve represents an area of shallow continental shelf ecosystems in depths of about 50–70 m (160–230 ft), the sea floor that it covers formed part of a land bridge between Tasmania and Victoria during the last ice age 10 000 years ago.[3]

Protection

The entirety of the Beagle marine reserve is IUCN protected area category VI and zoned as 'Multiple Use'.[3]

Zone IUCN Activities permitted Area
(km2)
Recreational fishing Commercial fishing Mining
Multiple Use VI Yes with approval with approval 2,928
[Note 1]

Shipwrecks

Located within the Beagle marine reserve are the wrecks of the SS Cambridge (sunk by German WWII mine) and Eliza Davis, both are east of Wilson's Promontory.[3]

Gallery

  • The Bassian Plain was a land bridge that connected Tasmania to mainland Australia
    The Bassian Plain was a land bridge that connected Tasmania to mainland Australia

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Summary of permitted activities only, see source for details[4]

References

  1. ^ "Beagle Commonwealth Marine Reserve on OpenStreetMap". openstreetmap.org. OpenStreetMap contributors. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2014 - Marine". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "Beagle Commonwealth Marine Reserve". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  4. ^ "South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network - Zoning and activities". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2017.

External links