Bremer Commonwealth Marine Reserve
Bremer Commonwealth Marine Reserve Western Australia | |
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IUCN category II (national park) | |
Bremer Commonwealth Marine Reserve | |
Nearest town or city | Bremer Bay |
Coordinates | 34°45′S 119°50′E / 34.750°S 119.833°ECoordinates: 34°45′S 119°50′E / 34.750°S 119.833°E |
Area | 4,472 km2 (1,726.6 sq mi) |
Managing authorities | Department of the Environment (Australia) |
See also |
List of protected areas of Western Australia |
The Bremer Commonwealth Marine Reserve is a 4472 km2 marine reserve, with a depth range of about 15–5000 m, lying in the Southern Ocean off the southern coast of Western Australia about 50 km south-east of the town of Bremer Bay. An area of 284 km2, comprising the northernmost section adjoining Western Australia’s coastal waters, has been zoned as a marine national park (IUCN Category II), with the remainder as multiple use or special purpose zones (IUCN Category VI).[1]
Fauna
The reserve provides important seasonal calving habitat for southern right whales as well as supporting migrating humpback whales. It is a foraging area for Australian sea lions, Indian yellow-nosed albatrosses, flesh-footed shearwaters, soft-plumaged petrels and great white sharks. It also encompasses Bremer Canyon, a submarine canyon known as a biodiversity hotspot supporting seasonal aggregations of sperm and killer whales.[1]
References
- 1 2 "Bremer Commonwealth Marine Reserve". South-west Commonwealth marine Reserves Network. Department of the Environment, Australia. Retrieved 2014-04-21.