| Beagle Commonwealth Marine Reserve | |
| Iucn Category: | VI |
| Location: | Bass Strait, Australia |
| Coordinates: | -39.34°N 147.12°W |
| Coords Ref: | [1] |
| Nearest Town: | Tidal River, Victoria |
| Area Km2: | 2928 |
| Governing Body: | Parks Australia (Commonwealth of Australia) |
| Url: | http://environment.gov.au/topics/marine/marine-reserves/south-east/beagle |
Beagle Commonwealth Marine Reserve is a 2,928 km2 marine protected area within Australian waters located in Bass Strait off the coast of Victoria and near Tasmania's Flinders Island. The reserve was established in 2007[2] and is part of the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network.
The reserve boundaries enclose Kent Group National Park and the Hogan and Curtis Island groups. Nearby to the north-east is Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park. The reserve represents an area of shallow continental shelf ecosystems in depths of about NaNm (-2,147,483,648feet), the sea floor that it covers formed part of a land bridge between Tasmania and Victoria during the last ice age 10 000 years ago.[3]
The entirety of the Beagle marine reserve is IUCN protected area category VI and zoned as 'Multiple Use'.[3]
Located within the Beagle marine reserve are the wrecks of the SS Cambridge (sunk by German WWII mine) and Eliza Davis, both are east of Wilson's Promontory.[3]