| Blanche Harbour-Douglas Bank Aquatic Reserve South Australia | |
|---|---|
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources) | |
  Blanche Harbour-Douglas Bank Aquatic Reserve | |
| Nearest town or city | Port Augusta. |
| Coordinates | 32°42′14″S137°46′05″E / 32.7039°S 137.7680°E Coordinates: 32°42′14″S137°46′05″E / 32.7039°S 137.7680°E |
| Established | 1 January 1980 [1] |
| Area | 33.46 km2 (12.9 sq mi) [2] |
| Managing authorities | Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (PIRSA) |
| Footnotes | Coordinates [2] Nearest town [3] |
| See also | Protected areas of South Australia |
Blanche Harbour-Douglas Bank Aquatic Reserve is a marine protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the waters of Spencer Gulf adjoining the localities of Blanche Harbor and Cultana on the east coast of Eyre Peninsula. [4]
Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or large lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources. Such marine resources are protected by local, state, territorial, native, regional, national, or international authorities and differ substantially among and between nations. This variation includes different limitations on development, fishing practices, fishing seasons and catch limits, moorings and bans on removing or disrupting marine life. In some situations, MPAs also provide revenue for countries, potentially equal to the income that they would have if they were to grant companies permissions to fish.
South Australia is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of 983,482 square kilometres (379,725 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, and fifth largest by population. It has a total of 1.7 million people, and its population is the second most highly centralised in Australia, after Western Australia, with more than 77 percent of South Australians living in the capital, Adelaide, or its environs. Other population centres in the state are relatively small; Mount Gambier, the second largest centre, has a population of 28,684.
The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost of two large inlets on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe and Eyre Peninsula in the west to Cape Spencer and Yorke Peninsula in the east.
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It was declared in 1980 to protect “the mangrove-seagrass communities and the associated fish nursery areas for fisheries management.” [5]
Since 2012, it has been located within the boundaries of a ‘sanctuary zone’ in the Upper Spencer Gulf Marine Park. [6]
The aquatic reserve is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area. [2]
The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable".
