| Goose Island Aquatic Reserve South Australia | |
|---|---|
IUCN category II (national park) | |
  Goose Island Aquatic Reserve | |
| Nearest town or city | Port Victoria |
| Coordinates | 34°27′17″S137°21′43″E / 34.4548°S 137.3619°E Coordinates: 34°27′17″S137°21′43″E / 34.4548°S 137.3619°E |
| Established | 1 December 1971 [1] |
| Area | 51 hectares (130 acres) [2] |
| Managing authorities | Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (PIRSA) |
| Footnotes | Coordinates [2] Nearest town [3] |
| See also | Protected areas of South Australia |
Goose Island Aquatic Reserve is a marine protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in waters adjoining the following island located in Spencer Gulf immediately north of Wardang Island and west of the town of Port Victoria - Goose Island, Little Goose Island and White Rock Island. [3]
Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great 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 on 30 November 1971 to provide “a conservation area where teaching institutions may conduct classes and scientific research on marine biology and ecology and to protect the habitat of the seal colony situated on White Rocks.” Activities such as fishing and the collection or removal of any marine organism is prohibited, while the following activities are permitted - use of boats, swimming, snorkelling and scuba diving. The aquatic reserve covered all of the waters within a 100 metres (330 feet) of Goose Island, Little Goose Island and White Rock Island. [1] [4]
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping. “Fishing” may include catching aquatic animals other than fish, such as molluscs, cephalopods, crustaceans, and echinoderms. The term is not normally applied to catching farmed fish, or to aquatic mammals, such as whales where the term whaling is more appropriate. In addition to being caught to be eaten, fish are caught as recreational pastimes. Fishing tournaments are held, and caught fish are sometimes kept as preserved or living trophies. When bioblitzes occur, fish are typically caught, identified, and then released.
Since 2012, it has been located within the boundaries of a “sanctuary zone” within the Eastern Spencer Gulf Marine Park. [5]
The aquatic reserve is classified as an IUCN Category II 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".
