Great Australian Bight Marine National Park 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 west 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 ...

. It consists of two sections occupying the ocean immediately adjoining the coastline up to a distance of and extending from the

Western Australia border The land border of the state of Western Australia (WA) bisects mainland Australia, nominally along 129th meridian east longitude (129° East). That land border divides WA from the Northern Territory (NT) and South Australia (SA). However, for v ...

in the west to a place known as the Tchalingaby Sandhills in the east. The gap between the two sections is also a protected area known as the

Great Australian Bight Marine Park Whale Sanctuary __NOTOC__ Great Australian Bight Marine Park Whale Sanctuary was a marine protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located immediately off the coastline of the Great Australian Bight in waters about west-northwest of the state ...

which was proclaimed on 22 June 1995 under the ''Fisheries Act 1982 (SA)''. The national park is also part of the group of marine protected areas which are located together in waters within Australian and South Australian jurisdictions within the

Great Australian Bight The Great Australian Bight is a large oceanic bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia. Extent Two definitions of the extent are in use – one used by the International Hydrog ...

and which is collectively known as the

Great Australian Bight Marine Park Great Australian Bight Marine Park is the name given to a group of marine protected areas which are located together within both Australian and South Australian jurisdictions in the Great Australian Bight and which has been in use as recently as ...

. The national park was proclaimed under the ''

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 Protected areas of South Australia consists of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of March 2018, South Australia contains 359 sepa ...

(SA)'' by the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

on 26 September 1996 principally to protect the calving waters of the

Southern right whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20 ...

and the

Australian sea lion The Australian sea lion (''Neophoca cinerea''), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia. It is currently monotypic in the genus ''Neophoca'', with the e ...

populations. On 5 February 2004, rights under the state's ''Mining Act 1971'' and the ''Petroleum Act 1940'' and under the Commonwealth statute, the ''Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982'', for "entry, prospecting, exploration or mining" existing under the original proclamation were removed. Since late 2012, the national park and the whale sanctuary have also been within the boundaries of the

Far West Coast Marine Park Far West Coast Marine Park is a marine park in South Australia. The park is within state waters, about from the state capital of Adelaide. The land around Far West Coast Marine Park is very much flat, bordered by the Nullarbor Plain to the north ...

. The national park 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 II protected area.

References

External links

Entry for Great Australian Bight Marine National Park on protected planet
{{authority control National parks of South Australia Marine protected areas of South Australia Protected areas established in 1996 1996 establishments in Australia Great Australian Bight

See also

References

External links