Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00100:front:0:p77
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00100
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 240823–243790

Tasmania

       * west Tasmanian canyons.

Social and economic benefits

At the time of making this plan, the main commercial fisheries operating in the park include:

       * South-east Scalefish and Shark Fishery  gillnet, hook and trap sector (Commonwealth managed)

       * Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery (Commonwealth managed)

       * Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishery

       * Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery

       * Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery.

Figure S1.7 Tasman Fracture Marine Park
Zeehan Marine Park
Proclaimed   28 June 2007 and came into effect on 1 September 2007

Assigned zones in park National Park Zone (II) 18,663 km²

    Special Purpose Zone (VI) 301 km²
    Multiple Use Zone (VI) 933 km²
Depth range   91 m–5,174 m

Total area   19,897 km²

Overview and summary of values

Zeehan Marine Park (Figure S1.8), off north-west Tasmania, lies in a high wave energy area. The park protects shelf unvegetated sediments; rariphotic (rare-light) reefs; canyons; upper, mid and lower slope reefs and sediments; and abyssal plain ecosystems.

On the continental shelf, the eastern third of the park is dominated by bare rippled sand. The middle third has flat pavement rariphotic rocky reef with step features several kilometres long and is characterised by a distinct community of fan worms and hard bryozoans. In the western third the reef is fractured into distinctly elevated blocks up to 5 m high and covered in bryozoan turf and thicket interspersed with large sponges, sea whips and large hard bryozoans.

The shelf-edge communities are characterised by a low relief turf and thicket (up to 200 mm high) of bryozoans, sponges and ascidians (sea squirts) that provide habitat for a variety of other fauna, including corals, hydroids, crustaceans, sea stars, brittle stars, molluscs and fish.

Elongate rocky terraces on the upper slope (200 m–700 m) provide rare rocky habitat on the mud-draped slope landscape of western Tasmania. They provide habitat for diverse sessile fauna and associated mobile fauna, including giant crabs. It is one of the few upper-slope areas in the western part of the south-east marine region that has not been trawled.

The park contains 5 canyons that extend from the shelf edge to the abyssal plain – part of the West Tasmanian canyons key ecological feature. They are predominantly mud-filled, but the rocky outcrops that occur support a highly diverse sponge community and associated fauna.

The biodiversity and productivity in the park are influenced by the southward-flowing Zeehan Current (an extension of the Leeuwin Current from Western Australia) interacting with the canyons.

Zeehan Marine Park provides core foraging areas for early incubating endangered Tasmanian endemic shy albatross from Albatross Island. The park also includes biologically important foraging areas for 6 other species of albatross (including the antipodean, black browed, Bullers, Campbell, Indian yellow nosed, and wandering