Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park
Encyclopedia
The Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park comprises six separate sites, with a combined area of 35.8 km², located in the vicinity of the entrance to Port Phillip
, between the Bellarine
and Mornington Peninsula
s, in Victoria, Australia. The park was created in 2002 and represents an expansion of, as well as giving stronger protection to, areas previously collectively termed the Harold Holt Marine Reserve system. The park is assigned the IUCN’s Category II of the United Nations
’ List of National Parks and Protected Areas, showing that the park is managed primarily for ecosystem
protection and recreation
.
The closest towns to the areas include St Leonards
, Queenscliff
, Portsea
and Point Lonsdale
.
Habitats protected by the park include seagrass
meadows, kelp
forests, intertidal and subtidal rocky reef
s, sandy beach
es and deeper marine environments. Animals protected include many species of wader
s, waterbirds and seabird
s, as well as Australian Fur Seals, Burrunan dolphin
s, fish
and a wide range of marine
invertebrate
s. It also protects areas and items of historic, archaeological and cultural significance.
Additional and overlapping protection is given to some areas of the park through the Ramsar Convention
, which lists Swan Bay and Mud Islands as parts of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site
as wetlands of international importance.
The sites are:
, in order to facilitate access by larger ships, has the potential to cause extensive turbidity, the release of toxic sediments and mechanical damage to reefs, threatening benthic communities as well as affecting economic activities in the bay such as diving businesses and fishing.
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
, between the Bellarine
Bellarine Peninsula
The Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula separates Port Phillip from Bass Strait...
and Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...
s, in Victoria, Australia. The park was created in 2002 and represents an expansion of, as well as giving stronger protection to, areas previously collectively termed the Harold Holt Marine Reserve system. The park is assigned the IUCN’s Category II of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
’ List of National Parks and Protected Areas, showing that the park is managed primarily for ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
protection and recreation
.
The closest towns to the areas include St Leonards
St Leonards, Victoria
St Leonards is a coastal township near Geelong, Victoria, Australia, at the eastern end of the Bellarine Peninsula and the northern end of Swan Bay...
, Queenscliff
Queenscliff, Victoria
Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, Australia, south of Swan Bay at the entrance to Port Phillip. It is the administrative centre for the Borough of Queenscliffe...
, Portsea
Portsea, Victoria
Portsea is a resort town located across Port Phillip from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula....
and Point Lonsdale
Point Lonsdale, Victoria
Point Lonsdale is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia, and included in the Borough of Queenscliffe. Point Lonsdale is also one of the headlands which, with Point Nepean, frame The Rip, the entrance to Port Phillip. The headland is dominated by the...
.
Habitats protected by the park include seagrass
Seagrass
Seagrasses are flowering plants from one of four plant families , all in the order Alismatales , which grow in marine, fully saline environments.-Ecology:...
meadows, kelp
Kelp
Kelps are large seaweeds belonging to the brown algae in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera....
forests, intertidal and subtidal rocky reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
s, sandy beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es and deeper marine environments. Animals protected include many species of wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s, waterbirds and seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s, as well as Australian Fur Seals, Burrunan dolphin
Burrunan dolphin
The Burrunan dolphin is a recently-described species of bottlenose dolphin found in parts of Victoria, Australia. By size, the Burrunan dolphin is between the other two species of bottlenose dolphin and only around 150 individuals have been found in two locations.-Taxonomy:The species was formally...
s, fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate 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...
and a wide range of marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s. It also protects areas and items of historic, archaeological and cultural significance.
Additional and overlapping protection is given to some areas of the park through the Ramsar Convention
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
, which lists Swan Bay and Mud Islands as parts of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site
Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site
The Port Phillip Bay and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site is one of the Australian sites listed under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance. It was designated on 15 December 1982, and is listed as Ramsar Site No.266...
as wetlands of international importance.
The sites are:
- Swan Bay
- Mud IslandsMud IslandsThe Mud Islands reserve is located within Port Phillip, about 90 km south-west of Melbourne, Australia, lying 10 km inside Port Phillip Heads, 7 km north of Portsea and 9 km east of Queenscliff. The land area of about 50 ha is made up of three low-lying islands surrounding a shallow tidal 35 ha...
- Point Lonsdale
- Point Nepean
- Pope's EyePope's EyePope's Eye is the uncompleted foundation for an island fort intended to defend the entrance to Port Phillip in the state of Victoria, Australia. It is less than a kilometre south-west of the former Chinaman's Hat....
- Portsea HolePortsea HolePortsea Hole is a depression in the seafloor of Port Phillip near Portsea, Victoria, Australia. It is one of six separate areas that comprise the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park and is a popular site for divers....
Threats
A proposal to dredge mechanically the entrance to Port Phillip and sections of the main shipping channel to the Port of MelbournePort of Melbourne
The Port of Melbourne is Australia's busiest port for containerised and general cargo. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria and covers an area at the mouth of the Yarra River, downstream of Bolte Bridge, which is at the head of Port Phillip, as well as several piers on the bay itself...
, in order to facilitate access by larger ships, has the potential to cause extensive turbidity, the release of toxic sediments and mechanical damage to reefs, threatening benthic communities as well as affecting economic activities in the bay such as diving businesses and fishing.