The Gulf of Carpentaria Marine Park (formerly known as the Gulf of Carpentaria Commonwealth Marine Reserve) is an

Australian marine park Australian marine parks (formerly Commonwealth marine reserves) are marine protected areas located within Australian waters and are managed by the Australian government. These waters generally extend from three nautical miles off the coast to the ...

in the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

, offshore of Queensland and north of Mornington Island. The marine park covers an area of and is assigned IUCN category VI. It is one of 8 parks managed under the

North Marine Parks Network Australian marine parks (formerly Commonwealth marine reserves) are marine protected areas located within Australian waters and are managed by the Australian government. These waters generally extend from three nautical miles off the coast to the ...

Conservation values

Species and habitat

*Important resting area for turtles between egg laying (internesting area), for the threatened:

flatback turtle The Australian flatback sea turtle (''Natator depressus'') is a species of sea turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is endemic to the sandy beaches and shallow coastal waters of the Australian continental shelf. This turtle gets its ...

and green turtle. *Important foraging habitat for breeding aggregations of the: migratory

brown booby The brown booby (''Sula leucogaster'') is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. The gregarious brow ...

, migratory lesser frigatebird, migratory

roseate tern The roseate tern (''Sterna dougallii'') is a species of tern in the family Laridae. The genus name ''Sterna'' is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and the specific ''dougallii'' refers to Scottish physician and collector Dr Peter McDoug ...

, listed marine

crested tern The greater crested tern Retrieved 28 February 2012 (''Thalasseus bergii''), also called crested tern or swift tern, is a tern in the family Laridae that nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World ...

Bioregions and ecology

*Examples of the ecosystems of the Northern Shelf Province provincial bioregion (including the Carpentaria, Karumba-Nassau and Wellesley meso-scale bioregions). *Gulf of Carpentaria coastal zone (high productivity; biodiversity and endemism; aggregations of marine life). *Gulf of Carpentaria basin (biodiversity; aggregations of marine life). *Plateau and saddle north-west of the Wellesley Islands (biodiversity and endemism; high aggregations of marine life). *Submerged coral reefs of the Gulf of Carpentaria (biodiversity and endemism; high aggregations of marine life).

History

The marine park was proclaimed under the EPBC Act on 14 December 2013 and renamed Gulf of Carpentaria Marine Park on 9 October 2017. The management plan and protection measures of the marine park came into effect for the first time on 1 July 2018.

Summary of protection zones

The Gulf of Carpentaria Marine Park has been assigned

IUCN protected area category IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is part ...

VI. However, within the marine park there are two protection zones, each zone has an IUCN category and related rules for managing activities to ensure the protection of marine habitats and species. The following table is a summary of the zoning rules within the Gulf of Carpentaria Marine Park:

References

External links

North Marine Parks Network - Parks Australia

North Marine Parks Network - environment.gov.au (outdated)
{{Protected areas managed by the Australian Government , state=collapsed Australian marine parks