Zeehan Commonwealth Marine Reserve is a 19,897 km
2 marine protected area within
Australian waters located
west
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
of
Tasmania
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, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and extending to near
King Island. The reserve was established in 2007
and is part of the
South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network.
The reserve includes a variety of seabed habitats, including exposed
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, that provides important habitat for a variety of commercial fish species as well as
giant crab. There is a broad depth range, from the shallow
continental shelf of about to the
abyssal plain
An abyssal plain is an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually found at depths between and . Lying generally between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge, abyssal plains cover more than 50% of the Earth's surface. ...
with depths of over .
Protection
The entire Murray marine reserve area is
IUCN protected area category VI and has two zones; 'Special Purpose' and 'Multiple Use'.
[
]
See also
* Commonwealth marine reserves
* Protected areas of Australia
* Zeehan, Tasmania
Notes
References
External links
Zeehan 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