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Western Eyre Commonwealth Marine Reserve
Overview
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR MARINE USERS
Transitional arrangements for new areas added to the Commonwealth marine reserve estate
From the declaration of Commonwealth marine reserves in November 2012 until management plans come into effect in July 2014, transitional arrangements apply.
- Under the transitional arrangements, there are NO CHANGES ON THE WATER for users of new areas added to the Commonwealth marine reserves estate.
- NOTE: There are no changes to management arrangements in the marine reserves that existed prior to the establishment of the new reserves, that is, the same restrictions on activities will continue to apply even where those reserves have been incorporated into new reserves.
| Name | Western Eyre Commonwealth Marine Reserve |
|---|---|
| Area | 57 946 km2 |
| Depth range | 15–6000 m (approx.) |
| Types of zoning |
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Major conservation values
- Important foraging areas for the:
- threatened Australian sea lion
- threatened white shark
- threatened blue whale
- migratory sperm whale
- migratory short-tailed shearwater and Caspian tern
- Important seasonal calving habitat for the threatened southern right whale
- Examples of the westernmost ecosystems of the Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (including the Eyre meso-scale bioregion) and the easternmost ecosystems of the Great Australian Bight Shelf Transition (including the Murat meso-scale bioregion)
- Examples of the easternmost ecosystems of the Southern Province
- Five key ecological features:
- ancient coastline 90-120m (high productivity)
- Kangaroo Island Pool, canyons and adjacent shelf break, and Eyre Peninsula upwelling (high productivity, breeding and feeding aggregations)
- meso-scale eddies (high productivity and feeding aggregations)
- benthic invertebrate communities of the eastern Great Australian Bight (communities with high species diversity)
- areas important for small pelagic fish (species group with an important ecological role)