Arafura Marine Park | |
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  Arafura Marine Park | |
| Coordinates: 10°0′0″S 132°30′35″E / 10.00000°S 132.50972°E | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Northern Territory |
| Established | 2018 |
| Area | |
• Total | 22,924.1 km2 (8,851.0 sq mi) |
| Website | Arafura Marine Park |
The Arafura Marine Park, about 250 km north-east of Darwin, is Australia's most northern marine park,[3] and is part of the North Network of Australian Marine Parks.[2] The aboriginal clans of Mandilarri-Ildugij, the Mangalara, the Murran, the Gadura-Minaga and the Ngaynjaharr whose sea country this is, share some of the responsibilities fort he park.[3]
The marine park covers 22,924 square kilometres,[3] and has depths from 5 metres to over 500 metres.[2]
The park is managed as an IUCN category VI park[1] with three zones (see figure 1): a multiple use zone, a special purpose zone and a special purpose (trawl) zone.[3] Important sections of the park (see figure 2) include the Money Shoal, which is an area of raised sea-bed, thought to have been produced by periods of coral reef growth during the Quaternary and differing sea levels.[2]
| Geomorphic feature | Area (km2) | Proportion of park (%) |
| Apron | 2591 | 11.3 |
| Bank/Shoal | 31 | 0.1 |
| Canyon | 6856 | 30.0 |
| Ridge | 681 | 2.9 |
| Shelf (plain) | 22390 | 50.0 |
| Terrace | 1146 | 5.0 |
Geomorphic features within the park.[2]
Fauna
editTaken from Galaiduk, et al (2021)[2]
- Chelonia mydas (Green turtle)
- Lepidochelys olivacea (Olive Ridley Turtle)
- Carcharhinus sorrah (spot-tail shark)
- Lutjanus malabaricus, Lutjanus erythropterus (red snappers)
- Lutjanus sebae (red emperor)
- Pristipomoides multidens (goldband snapper)
References
edit- 1 2 "Protected Planet | Arafura Marine Park". Protected Planet. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ronen Galaiduk, Scott Nichol, Marcus Stowar, Jamie Colquhoun, Mark Case, Marji Puotinen, Conrad Speed, Zhi Huang, Karen Miller (2021), An eco-narrative for banks and shoals within Arafura Marine park
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - 1 2 3 4 "Arafura Marine Park". parksaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2021.