The Macquarie Island Marine Park (previously known as the Macquarie Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve) is an Australian marine park surrounding Macquarie Island in the southwest Pacific. The marine park covers an area of and is assigned IUCN category IV. It is the largest of the 14 parks managed under the South-east Marine Parks Network.
Conservation values Examples of ecosystems, habitats and communities associated with the Macquarie Province and associated with the sea-floor features: abyssal plain/deep ocean floor, canyon, escarpment, knoll/abyssal hill, ridge, slope and trench/trough Important foraging area for: killer whale, southern elephant seal, Antarctic, Subantarctic and New Zealand fur seals, royal, king, rockhopper and gentoo penguin and wandering albatross.
History The Marine Park was originally proclaimed on 20 October 1999 as the Macquarie Island Marine Park. The name of the reserve was later changed on 28 June 2007 to the Macquarie Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve. The name was changed again in 2017 back to Macquarie Island Marine Park.
In early 2023, the federal government announced that the park would triple in size, adding an extra of protected water to the existing of marine park. This expansion came into effect on 1 July 2023.
Summary of protection zones The Macquarie Island 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 Macquarie Island Marine Park:
ZoneIUCNActivities permittedTotal area(km2) Vessel transiting Recreational fishing Commercial fishing Commercial tourism MiningSanctuary ZoneIaNoNoNoaviation only (>3000m)No57,056National Park ZoneIIYesNoNoauthorisation requiredNo385,127Habitat ProtectionIVYesNoauthorisation requiredauthorisation requiredNo33,282External links: Activity prescriptions for Macquarie Island Marine Park;Proposal to expand Macquarie Marine Park
See also
Protected areas managed by the Australian government
References
External links South-east Marine Parks Network - Parks Australia South-east Marine Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network - environment.gov.au (outdated)