Freycinet Marine Park lies offshore from the Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania, extending directly eastwards to the edge of the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone. Freycinet Marine Park is important because it includes large offshore seamounts, which are believed to be too deep to have been fished. These seamounts are part of a larger chain, each one rising from the abyssal plain, continental rise or plateau situated 200 kilometres from the east coast of Tasmania. Providing hard substrate and supporting a wide variety of sessile invertebrates, these seafloor features are hotspots for productivity, biodiversity and aggregations of marine life.
Video
In May 2011 a deep reef was discovered during a multibeam survey off the coast of Bicheno in the Freycinet Marine Park. Sitting 20 metres above the surrounding seafloor, and 60 metres below the surface, this reef is too deep for conventional SCUBA, so technical divers James Parkinson and Andreas Klocker volunteered to explore the pristine ecosystem, collecting high resolution video footage and documenting for the first record of black corals in Australian coastal shelf waters.
Research
These short articles highlight the findings from ongoing scientific research within the Freycinet Marine Park, including exciting new discoveries and ideas for future projects.
Small and/or camouflaged fish species hidden on or near the reef surface are commonly referred to as ‘cryptic’ or ‘cryptobenthic’ fishes. These species are characteristically difficult to see but are diverse and abundant throughout Australian Marine Parks and may play an important role in supporting the larger predatory fish species protected within park boundaries.
Over the last decade scientists at the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) have been using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to conduct photographic surveys of seafloor (benthic) communities in Australian Marine Parks (AMPs) across the South-east Marine Parks Network (the SE Network). This project used this imagery to provide the first description of the biological communities across these marine parks and how they have changed over time.
Parks Australia manage 60 Australian Marine Parks, many of which include shallow reefs. These reef habitats are hugely diverse, and include tropical reefs dominated by hard corals; current-swept offshore bommies covered in sea whips, sea fans and soft corals; temperate rocky reefs with sea urchin barrens or low lying colourful seaweeds; and deeper rocky reefs with sessile invertebrates and large black coral trees.
In Autumn 2019, the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Science (IMAS) completed a two-week continuous multibeam mapping program in shelf waters of the Freycinet, Huon and Tasman Fracture Marine Parks to extend current knowledge of habitat distribution in these parks. In addition, several areas outside the park were mapped to provide external reference areas for the Tasman Fracture Marine Park. This mapping will underpin future biological inventory and monitoring programs.
Natural values
Our marine parks have a number of different values, including natural, cultural, heritage and socio-economic values. The natural values of our marine parks refer to the habitats, species and ecological communities within them, and the processes that support their connectivity, productivity and function. Below are the key datasets that help inform park managers about the natural values that exist within our network of Australian Marine Parks. For more information on other park values refer to the relevant park Management Plans on the Parks Australia website.
See which wetlands of international significance are protected by Australian Marine Parks.
Maps
The information provided by these datasets was integral in the planning and development of our national network of marine parks. Learn in detail about how scientists and marine park planners used these important marine features together to design Australia's network of marine parks, or explore the datasets for the Freycinet Marine Park individually through the links below.
See which areas of Australia's marine environments have been World Heritage listed.
Latest maps
Since the initial planning of the Australian Marine Parks Network in 2012, new mapping data has emerged that allows us to see in finer detail the features that exist within our parks. These datasets help marine managers to understand more about what's under the surface, where there are overlaying management or protection regimes, and/or where pressures on the marine environment may be increasing.
Find out where the seafloor has been mapped with sonar across the Marine Parks.
Scientific papers
The following publications contain information relevant to the Freycinet marine park and adjacent waters. Click on the links to access to the publications.
McLean, D. L, Green, M, Harvey, E. S, Williams, A, Daley, R and Graham, K. J. (2015).
Comparison of baited longlines and baited underwater cameras for assessing the composition of continental slope deepwater fish assemblages off southeast Australia.
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