Tasmania, Australia Maria Island Marine Reserve

The Maria Island Marine Reserve, on Tasmania’s east coast, is one of the best studied Marine Protected Areas in the world (since 1991) and provides some of the clearest and best evidence of trophic cascades associated with fishing pressure and subsequent protection  

The Maria Island Marine Reserve, on Tasmania’s east coast (Australia), is one of the best studied Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the world with an ongoing reef monitoring program that commenced with the Reserve’s declaration in 1991. The Maria Island Marine Reserve is a key location for reef ecology research by scientists at The Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), and in collaboration with divers from the Reef Life Survey (RLS). The reserve protects a representative range of marine habitats found on Tasmania’s east coast, including seagrass, sand bottoms, and reefs with a range of rock types (dolerite, siltstone, sandstone, and limestone) and wave exposures (from sheltered to fully exposed). The Maria Island Marine Reserve provides extensive conservation and research value as it protects a wide range of species found in these habitats. MarineGEO research at Maria island focuses mainly on rocky reef and seagrass habitats.  

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