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Flinders Commonwealth Marine Reserve is a 27,043km marine protected area within Australian waters located off the coast of north-east Tasmania. It extends to the outer limits of the Australian exclusive economic zone in the Tasman Sea. The reserve was established in 2007 and is part of the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network.

The reserve area contains habitat for lace corals, sea sponges and giant crabs. A prominent feature is a large offshore seamount believed to be too deep to have been fished. Seamounts generally host a wide variety of habitats that support deep ocean biodiversity, the large seamounts to the east of Tasmania are individually important, as they are expected to include endemic species.

Protection

Most of the Flinders marine reserve area is IUCN protected area category II and zoned as 'Marine National Park'. A small portion near the coast is zoned as 'Multiple Use' (IUCN VI).

See also

• Commonwealth marine reserves
• Protected areas of Australia
• Flinders Island
• Pacific Ocean

Notes

1. Summary of permitted activities only, see source for details

References

1. "Flinders Commonwealth Marine Reserve on OpenStreetMap". openstreetmap.org. © OpenStreetMap contributors. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
2. "Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2014 - Marine". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
3. ^ "Flinders Commonwealth Marine Reserve". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
4. "South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network - Zoning and activities". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2017.

External links

• Flinders Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network website

• IUCN Category II
• South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network
• Protected areas established in 2007