The Norfolk Marine Park (formerly known as the Norfolk Commonwealth Marine Reserve) is an Australian marine park located in the waters immediately offshore of Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia. The marine park extends in a north–south direction and covers an area of . The park is assigned IUCN category IV and is one of 8 parks managed under the Temperate East Marine Parks Network.

Conservation values Species and habitat Biologically important areas for protected humpback whales and a number of migratory seabirds. The Tasman Front is a region of intermediate productivity that separates the warm, nutrient-poor waters of the Coral Sea from the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the Tasman Sea. It supports high productivity; aggregations of marine life; biodiversity and endemism in the region. Includes benthic habitats thought to act as stepping stones for faunal dispersal, connecting deep-water fauna from New Caledonia to New Zealand.

Bioregions and ecology Examples of the ecosystems of the Norfolk Island Province provincial bioregion. Represents bank/shoals, basin, canyon, deep/hole/valley, knoll/abyssal-hills/hills/mountains/peak, pinnacle, plateau, ridge, saddle, seamount/guyot, shelf, slope, trench/trough. Norfolk Ridge (high productivity, aggregations of marine life; biodiversity and endemism).

History The marine park was proclaimed under the EPBC Act on 14 December 2013 and renamed Norfolk Marine Park on 9 October 2017. The management plan and protection measures of the marine park came into effect for the first time on 1 July 2018.

Summary of protection zones The Norfolk Marine Park has been assigned IUCN protected area category IV. However, within the marine park there are three protection zones, each zone has an IUCN category and related rules for managing activities to ensure the protection of marine habitats and species.

The following table is a summary of the zoning rules within the Norfolk Marine Park:

ZoneIUCNActivities permittedTotal area(km2) Vessel transiting Recreational fishing Commercial fishing Commercial aquaculture Commercial tourism Mining National Park II 41,661 Habitat Protection IV 138,796 Special Purpose (Norfolk) VI 7,986External link: Zoning and rules for the Temperate East Marine Parks Network

See also

Protected areas managed by the Australian government

References

External links Temperate East Marine Parks Network - Parks Australia Temperate East Marine Parks Network - environment.gov.au (outdated)