Australia Plans Mega Marine Reserves
Voice of America
14 May 2021, 19:05 GMT+10
SYDNEY - Australia plans to add an area of the Indian Ocean bigger than France or the U.S. state of Texas to its network of marine parks.
A reserve would be set up around Christmas Island, which is about 1,500 kilometers west of the Australian mainland. The island houses a high-profile Australian offshore immigration center for asylum seekers and is also well known for a spectacular annual migration of millions of red crabs.
The region is the only known spawning ground for the critically endangered southern bluefin tuna.
The other marine sanctuary would encompass the Cocos Keeling Islands. The coral archipelago is another Australian external territory and is home to about 600 residents. The islands lie about halfway between the city of Perth and the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka.
Massive marine parks declared in Australiaâs Indian Ocean Territories
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Massive marine parks have been declared in Australiaâs Indian Ocean Territories but experts warn the devil will be in the detail of how much of the park is zoned for strong conservation protections from fishing, development and petroleum development.
The federal government will establish two new marine parks covering 740,000 square kilometres, double the size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, in the remote tropical waters around Cocos (Keeling) Island 2,800 kilometres west of Broome, as well as around Christmas Island.
The area is more than twice the size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and, once declared, would be the second largest protected area in Australia’s waters behind the 989,000 sq km Coral Sea marine park.
Christmas Island, which emerged 60m years ago from a volcanic seamount, is about 350km south of Indonesia and 1,500km west of Australia. The island is known for its migration of millions of red crabs that move from the forests to the shore and were made famous by Sir David Attenborough.
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands, about 970km west of Christmas Island, are two coral atolls surrounded by deep ocean.
Queensland Curtis LNG
LocationQueensland, Australia
Maximum capacity12mtpa
ContractorsBechtel Corporation
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The Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) project is located on Curtis Island, Gladstone, in Queensland, Australia, and is being developed by QGC, a BG Group business. The project area starts from Surat Basin in Southern Queensland, extends to Gladstone and Curtis Island, and is spread over 500km.
The project involves conversion of coal seam gas (CSG) reserves into LNG, first of its kind in the world. It also includes expansion of exploration and development of CSG reserves in southern and central Queensland.
The CGS is transported via a 340km underground pipeline network to Gladstone. The gas is then transformed into LNG at the LNG plant on Curtis Island. The CSG to be converted into LNG is supplied to QGC by Origin Energy and its partner ConocoPhillips.
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IMAGE: New research on how fisheries and conservation goals are impacted by yellow zones (limited fishing zones) is crucial for future marine park management. view more
Credit: Kynan Hartog-Burnett / ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.
A world first study within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has found limited fishing zones (yellow zones) are still important conservation and fisheries management tools when paired with no-fishing zones.
Lead author Dr April Hall, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University (Coral CoE at JCU), said partially protected yellow zones still contain healthy numbers of reef fish targeted for recreational and commercial fishing. These include coral trout, tropical snappers, emperors and tuskfish.