Marine Protected Areas
The Macquarie Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve Management Plan expired on the 25th of September 2008.
Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, approval from the Director of National Parks is required to allow existing commercial and recreational activities to legally continue.
Interim Management Arrangements will apply until a new management plan has been put in place.
The Macquarie Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve is situated in the Southern Ocean about 1500 km south east of Tasmania. The Park lies adjacent to the Macquarie Island Nature Reserve which is managed by the Tasmanian Government. This reserve includes Macquarie Island and associated Judge and Clerk Islets and Bishop and Clerk Islets.
Judge and Clerk Islets are located approximately 11 kilometres to the north of Macquarie Island, and Bishop and Clerk Islets are located approximately 37 kilometres to the south. Macquarie Island itself is approximately 34 kilometres long and up to five kilometres wide. These are the only terrestrial environments in the Macquarie Island Region.
The Region of Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Macquarie Island covers about 47.6 million hectares. It extends 200 nautical miles out from Macquarie Island and associated islets in most directions. The north-eastern portion of the Region extends to meet New Zealand waters around Campbell and Auckland Islands and the south-eastern portion of the Region is adjacent to an area of Australia's claimable continental shelf. It includes a large portion of the submerged Macquarie Ridge, which stretches north-south through the centre of the Region and interacts with the strong oceanic fronts to create several distinct oceanographic sections within the Region.
Macquarie Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve covers about 16.2 million hectares.
See also
