Marine Protected Areas
Lying at 31°30'S latitude, some 700 km north-east of Sydney, Lord Howe Island and Ball's Pyramid are part of a chain of seamounts that are the remnants of a once-extensive volcanic system active in the late Miocene.
The island is part of the State of New South Wales (NSW) and is surrounded by State waters (out to 3 Nautical Miles) and Commonwealth waters out to a distance of 200 Nautical Miles. The combined area includes most of the marine areas of the World Heritage Property and forms the largest marine protected area off the NSW coast.
The perimeter of the Lord Howe Island Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters) roughly corresponds to the 1800-metre depth contour that follows the base of the seamounts that underlie the Island and Ball's Pyramid. The sea area of the Park is estimated to be 300,510 hectares and includes the sea-bed to a depth of 100 metres.
Within the Lord Howe Island Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters), the park is divided into 3 zones
One Sanctuary Zone extends to the east of Lord Howe Island southwards from latitude 31°30' 40'' S, in line with Malabar Point at the northern tip of the Island, to a latitude 31° 35''50'S in line with King Point.
The other Sanctuary Zone lies to the south of Ball's Pyramid in line with the latitude 31°46'' 50'S that lies approximately 500m north of South-west Rock, and extends to the outer boundary of the Park.
