Media release – Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for the Environment and Water, 8 October 2024
Australia now protects more ocean than any other country on earth
Australia now protects more ocean than any other country on earth, with the Albanese Labor Government signing off a massive 310,000 km2 expansion of the sub-Antarctic Heard and McDonald Islands Marine Park.
The decision means that for the first time ever more than half (52 per cent) of Australia’s oceans are now under protection, blitzing a 30 per cent target the Government signed up to as part of a UN nature treaty in 2022.
This decision cements Australia’s role as a global leader in marine conservation. It is the biggest contribution to ocean conservation anywhere on the planet this year.
The Heard and McDonald Islands marine reserve will quadruple in size, an increase of almost 310,000 km2 – an area larger than Italy – and will provide greater protections for an environment unlike anywhere else in the world.
Heard and McDonald Islands are home to glaciers, wetlands, Australia’s only active volcanoes, and diverse and significant populations of penguins, seals and albatrosses.
This decision comes after extensive consultation with researchers, conservationists and the fishing industry. The design supports the sustainable, well-established fishery in the region.
Minister Plibersek will now recommend the updated marine park design to the Governor-General for proclamation.
Last year the Albanese Government tripled the size of Macquarie Island Marine Park – another sub-Antarctic wildlife wonderland. This was the largest contribution to ocean conservation anywhere in the world in 2023.
In this year’s Budget the Government funded a research voyage to Heard and McDonald Islands for the 2025-26 Antarctic season, to support Australia’s ongoing management of this globally important region.
Quotes attributable to Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek:
“I’m proud that Australia now protects more ocean than any other country on earth.
“This is not just a huge environmental win for Australia, it’s a huge environmental win for the world.
“We delivered the biggest contribution to ocean conservation in the world in 2023, and we’ve done the same again this year – it’s an enormous achievement for nature.
“From the Great Barrier Reef to sub-Antarctic wildlife wonderlands like Heard and McDonald Islands, there are so few places on earth that can be described as truly pristine wilderness. Heard and McDonald Islands is such a place.
“Nature thrives there without us. It’s free from feral species and has had minimal human intervention. Not only do the islands contain Australia’s only active volcanoes, but huge populations of marine birds and mammals numbering in the millions.
“Quadrupling the size of the Heard and McDonald Islands marine park protects more of our oceans around the island and the seals, albatross and whales that call the waters home.
“This is a unique and extraordinary part of our planet. We are doing everything we can to protect it.”
Media release – Save Our Marine Life, Pew Charitable Trusts and Australian Marine Conservation Society, 8 October 2024
Heard and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve expansion welcomed but misses rare opportunity to safeguard key penguin, seal and albatross feeding grounds
An alliance of 27 environmental groups* today welcomed the expansion of Australia’s Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve near Antarctica, but said the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had missed a rare opportunity to protect globally important feeding grounds for penguins, seals and albatross.
“We welcome the government’s decision to quadruple the size of Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve and to expand fully protected sanctuary zones within the park,” said Fiona Maxwell, the Pew Charitable Trusts’ national oceans manager.
“Today’s announcement by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek ensures that the bulk of Australian waters around these spectacular wildlife havens will be free from mining and the introduction of new, damaging pelagic fisheries. We note the government has increased sanctuary protection for a small part of the Gunnari Ridge, an important aggregation area for mackerel icefish as well as globally significant foraging grounds for king and macaroni penguins, albatross and Antarctic fur seals.”
Mackerel icefish and Patagonian toothfish are the two commercially harvested fish in the waters around Heard Island and McDonald Islands.
“However,” Ms Maxwell continued, “the government’s decision to leave important undersea canyons, highly biodiverse seamounts and the Williams Ridge outside of sanctuaries will disappoint the tens of thousands of Australians — including leading scientists — who made submissions calling for stronger protection of these critical habitats.
“Even the government’s own science report said there was inadequate protection for a range of seafloor habitats, foraging areas for albatross and macaroni penguins, and areas supporting an abundance and variety of fish. The report also highlighted the global significance of these Southern Ocean waters and the threats posed by climate change, pollution, fishing and invasive species.”
Darren Kindleysides, the CEO of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said: “Climate change is affecting life across the Southern Ocean, with everything from krill to whales struggling to adapt. Marine sanctuaries play a crucial role in building resilience in our marine ecosystems.
“These remote islands and their waters, 4,000 km southwest of Perth, support large breeding populations of seabirds and marine mammals, including threatened seals and albatross, four species of penguin, and two species of birds found nowhere else.
“They also feature Australia’s only active volcanoes, including Heard Island’s ice-covered Big Ben, which rises nearly 3 kilometres above the ocean, making it taller than Mt Kosciuszko—the highest mountain on Australia’s mainland.
“The government should have heeded the science and community sentiment and increased the marine sanctuaries around the most important conservation features to help ensure the future of our Antarctic marine life. Last year, the government listened to the science and community opinions and showed global leadership by significantly expanding the marine park and sanctuaries around Macquarie Island, Australia’s other sub-Antarctic territory.
“While today’s announcement is notable, the government has missed an opportunity to do the same for Heard and McDonald, as the next review of the marine park is not due until 2035.”
* The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Australian Marine Conservation Society lead Save Our Marine Life, an alliance of 27 environmental organisations.