__NOTOC__ Barker Inlet – St Kilda Aquatic Reserve is a

marine protected area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conserv ...

in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

located in waters adjoining the east coast of

Gulf St Vincent Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger Sp ...

in Barker Inlet about north of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. The

aquatic reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

covers the extent of the Barker Inlet located to the south of the St Kilda boat channel as well as two natural channels, the Angas Inlet and the east part of the North Arm, and land subject to tidal inundation on the east side of

Torrens Island Torrens Island is an island in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Adelaide metropolitan area in the Port River Estuary about northwest of the Adelaide city centre. Since European settlement of Adelaide in 1836, it has b ...

, all sides of Garden Island and in the suburbs of Gillman, Dry Creek, Bolivar and St Kilda (from west to east). It is bounded to its immediate north by the

St Kilda – Chapman Creek Aquatic Reserve __NOTOC__ St Kilda – Chapman Creek Aquatic Reserve is a marine protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in waters on the east coast of Gulf St Vincent adjoining the suburbs of Buckland Park and St Kilda about north o ...

. It was declared on 23 August 1973 for the purpose of “conservation of mangrove

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the orde ...

communities and for the protection of nursery areas for several important commercial and recreational species, including the

western king prawn ''Melicertus'' is a genus of "king" prawns, comprising eight species which were previously classified as members of the genus '' Penaeus'': *''Melicertus canaliculatus'' (Olivier, 1811) - witch prawn *''Melicertus hathor'' (Burkenroad, 1959) *' ...

, King George whiting,

yellowfin whiting The yellowfin whiting (''Sillago schomburgkii''), also known as the western sand whiting or fine-scaled whiting, is a species of inshore marine fish in the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae. The species is endemic to the eastern Indian Ocean, ...

and blue swimmer crabs for fisheries management.” The following activities are permitted - boating, the removal of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

by rod and line or handline and the collecting of blood worms for bait by use of a hand net. It shares territory with the following protected and proposed protected areas - the

Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary (ADS) is a marine protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the east coast of Gulf St Vincent in and adjoining the north-western part of the Adelaide, covering the estuary of the Port River ar ...

, the

Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demo ...

and the

Torrens Island Conservation Park Torrens Island Conservation Park (formerly Torrens Island National Park Reserve and Torrens Island Wild-life Reserve) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on Torrens Island in the Adelaide metropolitan area ...

. The aquatic reserve is classified as an

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Category VI protected area.

References

External links

Webpage for Barker Inlet-St Kilda Aquatic Reserve on the Protected Planet website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker Inlet - St Kilda Aquatic Reserve Aquatic reserves of South Australia Protected areas in Adelaide Protected areas established in 1973 1973 establishments in Australia Gulf St Vincent

See also

References

External links