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Eastern Recherche 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 | Eastern Recherche Commonwealth Marine Reserve |
|---|---|
| Area | 20 574 km2 |
| Depth range | <15-6000 m (approx.) |
| Types of zoning |
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Major conservation values
- Important seasonal calving habitat for the threatened southern right whale
- Important foraging areas for the:
- threatened white shark
- threatened Australian sea lion
- migratory flesh-footed shearwater
- Examples of the sea-floor habitats and communities of the eastern end of the Southwest Shelf province and the Southern province (including the Western Australian South Coast and Eucla meso-scale bioregions)
- Examples of the westernmost ecosystems of the Great Australian Bight Shelf Transition
- Two key ecological feature:
- meso-scale eddies (high productivity, feeding aggregations)
- Commonwealth waters surrounding the Recherche Archipelago (high biodiversity, breeding and resting aggregations, including the most extensive areas of reef on the shelf within the South-west Marine Region)