Mermaid Reef Marine Park Explained

Mermaid Reef Marine Park
Iucn Category:	II
Coords:	-17.0917°N 119.625°W
Coords Ref:	^[1]
Location:	Australia
Area Km2:	540
Established:	10 April 1991
Operator:	Parks Australia

The Mermaid Reef Marine Park (previously known as the Mermaid Reef Marine National Nature Reserve) is an Australian marine park in the Rowley Shoals, located approximately north-west of Broome, Western Australia. The marine park covers an area of 540km2 and is assigned IUCN category II. It is one of 13 parks managed under the North-west Marine Parks Network, and lies adjacent to the Argo-Rowley Terrace Marine Park^[2]

Conservation values

Species and habitat

• Important areas for sharks including the grey reef shark, the whitetip reef shark and the silvertip whaler.
• Important foraging area for marine turtles.
• Important area for toothed whales, dolphins, tuna and billfish.
• Important resting and feeding sites for migratory seabirds
• The reserve, along with the adjacent Rowley Shoals Marine Park, provides the best geological example of shelf atolls in Australia^[3]

Ecology and bioregion

• Mermaid Reef has national and international significance due to its pristine character, coral formations, geomorphic features and diverse marine life. It is a key area for over 200 species of hard corals and 12 classes of soft corals with coral formations in pristine condition.
• Examples of the seafloor habitats and communities of the Northwest Transition provincial bioregion.^[3]

History

The Marine Park was originally proclaimed on 10 April 1991 as the Mermaid Reef Marine National Nature Reserve. It was proclaimed as a Commonwealth Marine Reserve in 2013 and later renamed Mermaid Reef Marine Park on 9 October 2017.^[2]

Summary of protection zones

The Mermaid Reef Marine park has been assigned IUCN protected area category II and is wholly zoned as a National Park.^[2]

The following table is a summary of the zoning rules within the Mermaid Reef Marine Park:^[2]

Zone	IUCN	Activities permitted						Total area (km^2)
		Vessel transiting	Recreational fishing	Commercial fishing	Commercial aquaculture	Commercial tourism	Mining
National Park	II							540
External link: Zoning and rules for the North-west Marine Parks Network

See also

• Protected areas managed by the Australian government

External links

• North-west Marine Parks Network - Parks Australia
• North-west Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network - environment.gov.au (outdated)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Relation: Mermaid Reef Marine Park (8390145). OpenStreetMap. August 15, 2018.
2. Web site: North-west Marine Parks Network Management Plan 2018 . August 15, 2018 . Parks Australia.
3. Web site: Mermaid Reef Commonwealth Marine Reserve - Overview . environment.gov.au . 15 August 2018 . © Commonwealth of Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU) .