Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00100:front:0:p78
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00100
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 243495–246369

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 albatrosses), wedge-tailed and short‑tailed shearwaters and common diving petrel. There are also biologically important areas in the park for white shark, southern right whale and pygmy blue whale.

The park contains habitats, species, and ecological communities associated with 3 provincial bioregions  the West Tasmania Transition, the Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition, and the Tasmania Province – and the Otway mesoscale bioregion.

The key ecological features represented in the park include:

       * west Tasmanian canyons

       * shelf rocky reefs and hard substrate – includes the rariphotic reefs on the mid and outer shelf.

Social and economic benefits

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

       * Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishery

       * Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery.

Zeehan Marine Park lies in the Otway Basin  a highly prospective natural gas reserve. Six existing petroleum titles (exploration permits at the commencement of this plan) overlap the northern section of the park.

Figure S1.8 Zeehan Marine Park
Franklin Marine Park
Proclaimed   28 June 2007 and came into effect on 1 September 2007

Assigned zones in park National Park Zone (II) 123 km²

    Multiple Use Zone (VI) 548 km²

Depth range   49 m–116 m

Total area   671 km²

Overview and summary of values

Franklin Marine Park (Figure S1.9) is west of the north-western corner of Tasmania. The area is subject to large swells driven by westerly winds.

The north-east corner of the park contains a complex mesophotic (middle-light) reef likely formed by volcanic lava flows. At its shallowest depths of 35 m, Ecklonia radiata kelp forests occur – a habitat only found in 2 parks within the South-east Network. The deeper parts of this reef are covered in red macroalgae, sponges, gorgonians, hard bryozoans and tube worms. Another area of mesophotic reef occurs midway along the eastern boundary of the park, but at the time of making this plan its extent is unknown, as the area is not fully mapped.
Patchy mesophotic and rariphotic (rare-light) reef habitats occur in the northern section of the park, to the west and south of the complex volcanic reef. These are also covered in brown and red macroalgae, gorgonians and sponges but have lower diversity than the complex mesophotic reefs.
The southern end of the park contains low-profile rariphotic reefs in depths of about 80 m to 90 m. These are likely limestone pavement and are often sand inundated except at step features which support a diverse sponge community.
The