Huon Commonwealth Marine Reserve is a 9,991 km2 marine protected area within Australian waters. The former Tasmanian Seamounts Marine Reserve created in 1999[2] was incorporated into the Huon reserve in 2007,[3][4] and is part of the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network.

Huon reserve contains a cluster of approximately 70[citation needed] seamounts peaking 750 m (2,460 ft) to 1,700 m (5,600 ft) above the sea floor. They appear as cone-shaped submerged mountains, which provide a range of depths for a diversity of plants and animals. The reserve is a foraging area for great white sharks and seabirds and a spawning or nursery area for important commercial fish, including ocean perch and blue warehou.[4]

Protection

A majority of the Huon marine reserve area is IUCN protected area category VI and zoned as 'Multiple Use'. A smaller section of 'Habitat Protection Zone' in the west of the reserve protects the unique and vulnerable benthic communities of the reserve's seamounts.[4]

Zone IUCN Activities permitted Area
(km2)
Recreational fishing Commercial fishing Mining
Habitat Protection IV Yes with approval No 389
Multiple Use VI Yes with approval with approval 9,602
[Note 1]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Summary of permitted activities only, see source for details[5]

References

  1. ^ "Huon Commonwealth Marine Reserve on OpenStreetMap". openstreetmap.org. © OpenStreetMap contributors. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 - Proclamation - Tasmanian Seamounts". legislation.gov.au. Government of Tasmania. 12 May 1999. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2014 - Marine". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Huon Commonwealth Marine Reserve". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  5. ^ "South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network - Zoning and activities". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2017.

External links