East Gippsland Commonwealth Marine Reserve is a 4,137 km
2 marine protected area
Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conse ...
within
Australian waters located in the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...
near the
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
-
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
border. The reserve was established in 2007
and is part of the
South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network
Australian marine parks (formerly Commonwealth marine reserves) are marine protected areas located within Australian waters and are managed by the Australian government. These waters generally extend from three nautical miles off the coast to the ...
.
The reserve includes both warm and temperate waters, with the
East Australian Current bringing subtropical water from the north, forming large eddies around
Cape Howe
Cape Howe is a coastal headland in eastern Australia, forming the south-eastern end of the Black-Allan Line, a portion of the border between New South Wales and Victoria.
History
Cape Howe was named by Captain Cook when he passed it on 20 A ...
. The complex mix of warmer and cooler waters and the seasonality of currents creates conditions for highly productive
phytoplankton growth, which supports an abundance of marine life.
Protection
The entirety of the East Gippsland marine reserve area is
IUCN protected area category
IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The enlisting of such areas is par ...
VI and zoned as 'Multiple Use'.
[
]
See also
*Commonwealth marine reserves
Australian marine parks (formerly Commonwealth marine reserves) are marine protected areas located within Australian waters and are managed by the Australian government. These waters generally extend from three nautical miles off the coast to the ...
*Protected areas of Australia
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
*Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
Notes
References
External links
East Gippsland Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network website
{{Protected areas managed by the Australian Government , state=collapsed
South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network
Protected areas established in 2007
East Gippsland