Oceanic Shoals Marine Park | |
Iucn Category: | VI |
Coords: | -11.2228°N 128.6417°W |
Coords Ref: | [1] |
Location: | Australia |
Area Km2: | 71,743 |
Established: | 1 July 2018 |
Operator: | Parks Australia |
Website: | https://parksaustralia.gov.au/marine/parks/north |
The Oceanic Shoals Marine Park (formerly known as the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve) is an Australian marine park offshore of the Northern Territory, near of Darwin. The marine park covers an area of 71743km2 and is assigned IUCN category VI. It is the largest of the 8 parks managed under the North Marine Parks Network.[2]
The marine park was proclaimed under the EPBC Act on 14 December 2013 and renamed Oceanic Shoals Marine Park on 9 October 2017.[2] The management plan and protection measures of the marine park came into effect for the first time on 1 July 2018.
The Oceanic Shoals Marine Park has been assigned IUCN protected area category VI. However, within the marine park there are four protection zones, each zone has an IUCN category and related rules for managing activities to ensure the protection of marine habitats and species.[2]
The following table is a summary of the zoning rules within the Oceanic Shoals Marine Park:[2]
Zone | IUCN | Activities permitted | Total area (km2) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vessel transiting | Recreational fishing | Commercial fishing | Commercial aquaculture | Commercial tourism | Mining | |||
National Park | II | 406 | ||||||
Habitat Protection | IV | 6,929 | ||||||
Multiple Use | VI | 39,964 | ||||||
Special Purpose (Trawl) | VI | 24,444 | ||||||
External link: Zoning and rules for the North Marine Parks Network |