In today's world, Macquarie Island Marine Park is still a topic of great importance and relevance. Whether due to its impact on society, its relevance in history or its influence on popular culture, Macquarie Island Marine Park continues to generate interest and debate in different areas. From its origins to its evolution over time, Macquarie Island Marine Park has been the object of study, analysis and reflection by experts from various disciplines. In this article, we will explore different aspects and facets of Macquarie Island Marine Park, with the aim of better understanding its importance and impact in today's world.
Macquarie Island Marine Park | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Location | Australia |
Coordinates | 56°11′13″S 161°38′24″E / 56.187°S 161.640°E |
Area | 475,465 km2 (183,578 sq mi) |
Established | 20 October 1999 |
Operator | Parks Australia |
Website | https://parksaustralia.gov.au/marine/parks/south-east |
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 475,465 km2 (183,578 sq mi) and is assigned IUCN category IV. It is the largest of the 14 parks managed under the South-east Marine Parks Network.
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 385,000 km2 (149,000 sq mi) of protected water to the existing 162,000 km2 (63,000 sq mi) of marine park. This expansion came into effect on 1 July 2023.
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:
Zone | IUCN | Activities permitted | Total area (km2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Vessel transiting | Recreational fishing | Commercial fishing | Commercial tourism | Mining | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sanctuary Zone | Ia | No | No | No | aviation only (>3000m) | No | 57,056 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National Park Zone | II | Yes | No | No | authorisation required | No | 385,127 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Habitat Protection | IV | Yes | No | authorisation required | authorisation required | No | 33,282 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
External links: Activity prescriptions for Macquarie Island Marine Park;Proposal to expand Macquarie Marine Park |