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Hunter 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.
The new Hunter Commonwealth Marine Reserve covers an area of more than 6 200km2. A management plan will be prepared for the Temperate East Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network and will cover all eight new reserves.
Transitional management arrangements apply until a management plan for the Temperate East Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network is in place.
| Name | Hunter Commonwealth Marine Reserve |
|---|---|
Area |
6257 km2 |
Depth range |
15-6000 m (approx.) |
| Types of zoning |
|
Major conservation values
- Important habitat for the critically endangered east coast population of grey nurse sharks
- Biologically important areas for the protected humpback whale, vulnerable white sharks and a number of migratory seabirds
- Examples of the ecosystems of the Central Eastern Province and the Central Eastern Shelf Province provincial bioregions and the Manning Shelf meso-scale bioregion
- A range of seafloor features including: abyssal-plain/deep ocean floor, canyons, shelf, slope, and terrace geomorphic features
- Includes one key ecological feature:
- Shelf rocky reefs (unique sea-floor feature with ecological properties of regional significance)
Download reserve fact sheet
- Fact sheet - Hunter Commonwealth Marine Reserve (PDF - 55KB) | (Word - 356KB)