Marine park

For the Brooklyn neighborhood, see Marine Park.

See also Marine protected areas and Marine reserve as many areas called parks are wholly or partly marine conservation reserves.

A marine park is a park consisting of an area of sea (or lake) sometimes protected for recreational use, but more often set aside to preserve a specific habitat and ensure the ecosystem is sustained for the organisms that exist there. Most marine parks are designated by governments, and organized like 'watery' national parks.

The largest marine park is the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia, at 350,000 km².

Although for many uses it is sufficient to designate the boundaries of the marine park and to inform commercial fishing boats and other maritime enterprises, some parks have gone to additional effort to make their wonders accessible to visitors. These can range from glass-bottomed boats and small submarines, to windowed undersea tubes.

In New Zealand a marine reserve is an area which has a higher degree of legal protection than marine parks for conservation purposes.

In New South Wales, there are planned marine parks which will stretch along the coastline of the entire state.

Marine parks around the globe

Africa

• Kisite-Mpunguti Marine National Park, Kenya

Americas

• Allan H. Treman State Marine Park, United States
• Cabo Pulmo National Park, Mexico ^[1]
• Fathom Five National Marine Park, Canada
• Fort Jefferson National Monument, United States
• Half Moon Caye Natural Monument, Belize
• Hol Chan Reserve, Belize
• John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, United States
• Montego Bay Marine Park, Jamaica
• Pedra da Risca do Meio State Marine Park, Brazil
• Saba Marine Park, Saba
• Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, United States

Asia

• Marine National Park, Gulf of Kachchh, India
• Marine parks in Hong Kong:
  • Cape D'Aguilar Marine Reserve
  • Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park
  • Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park
  • Tung Ping Chau Marine Park
  • Yan Chau Tong Marine Park
• Indonesia:
  • Karimunjawa National Park, Java
  • Kepulauan Seribu National Park, Java
  • Komodo National Park, Nusa Tenggara
  • Bunaken National Park, Sulawesi
  • Kepulauan Togean National Park, Sulawesi
  • Kepulauan Wakatobi National Park, Sulawesi
  • Taka Bone Rate National Park, Sulawesi
  • Teluk Cenderawasih National Park, Papua
• Malaysia
  • Tun Sakaran Marine Park
• Thailand
  • Tarutao National Marine Park

Europe

• Karaburun-Sazan National Marine Park, Albania
• Iroise Marine Park, Brittany, France
• Zakynthos Marine Park, Greece
• Kosterhavet National Park, Bohuslän, Sweden
• Ytre Hvaler National Park, Norway

High seas

As of April 2008 there are no high seas marine reserves, but Greenpeace is campaigning for the "doughnut holes" of the western pacific to be declared as marine reserves.^[2] They are also campaigning for 40 percent of the world’s oceans to be protected as marine reserves.^[3]

Oceania

Australia The Australian Government manages an estate of marine protected areas (MPA) that are Commonwealth reserves under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

• Australian Whale Sanctuary
• Ashmore Reef Marine National Nature Reserve
• Cartier Island Marine Reserve
• Cod Grounds Commonwealth Marine Reserve
• Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve
• Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve
• Great Australian Bight Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters)
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve
• Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve (Coral Sea Island Territory)
• Lord Howe Island Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters)
• Macquarie Island Marine Park
• Mermaid Reef Marine National Nature Reserve
• Ningaloo Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters)
• Shark Bay Marine Park
• Solitary Islands Marine Reserve (Commonwealth Waters)
• South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network

New South Wales These are referred aquatic reserves declared under the Fisheries Management Act 1994

• Barrenjoey Head (Hawkesbury River)
• Boat Harbour (Kurnell)
• Bronte-Coogee
• Bushrangers Bay (Shell Harbour)
• Cabbage Tree Bay (Manly)
• Cape Banks (La Perouse)
• Cook Island (Tweed Heads)
• Long Reef
• Narrabeen Head
• North (Sydney) Harbour
• Shiprock (Port Hacking)
• Towra Point (Botany Bay)

Micronesia

• Enipein Pah, near Pohnpei

New Zealand

• Hauraki Gulf Marine Park
• Mimiwhangata Marine Park
• Tawharanui Marine Park

Papua NG

• Papua Barrier Reef

Philippines

• Tubbataha reef

Samoa

• American Samoa National Park

References

1. ^ Jones, Nicola (2011). "Little Mexican reserve boasts big recovery" (HTML). Nature. http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110812/full/news.2011.479.html. Retrieved 2011-08-23. 
2. ^ "The Pacific Commons -- first high seas marine reserve?" (HTML). Greenpeace Australia Pacific. 2007. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/marine-reserves/pacific-tuna-need-marine-reserves. Retrieved 2008-04-27. "The Western and Central Pacific Ocean is the world's largest tuna fishery. Over half of the tuna consumed worldwide is taken from this area. Rampant overfishing is destroying this fishery; relatively healthy just a few years ago. Today, two key Pacific species, Bigeye and Yellowfin could face collapse unless urgent action is taken." 
3. ^ "Marine reserves" (HTML). Greenpeace Australia Pacific. 2007. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/marine-reserves. Retrieved 2008-04-27. "A growing body of scientific evidence that demonstrates what we at Greenpeace have been saying for a long time: that the establishment of large-scale networks of marine reserves, urgently needed to protect marine species and their habitats, could be key to reversing global fisheries decline."