Lord Howe Marine Park facts for kids

The Lord Howe Marine Park is a huge underwater park in Australia. It's located about 550 kilometers (about 340 miles) off the coast of New South Wales. This special park is near Lord Howe Island and covers a massive area of 110,126 square kilometers (that's bigger than some countries!). It's like a giant protected area for amazing ocean creatures and their homes. The park is managed by Parks Australia to keep its marine life safe. It's one of eight parks in the Temperate East Marine Parks Network.

Why This Park Is Super Important

This marine park is a very special place for many reasons. It helps protect unique ocean environments and the animals that live there.

Home to Amazing Animals

The Lord Howe Marine Park is a vital spot for many sea creatures.

• It's a key area for protected humpback whales. These giant whales use the park as an important place to live.
• Many types of seabirds also call this park home. About 14 different kinds of seabirds breed here! These include masked boobys, grey ternlets, red-tailed tropicbirds, black-winged petrels, and Kermadec petrels.
• It's also a key location for fish like the black cod.
• Because warm tropical waters and cooler southern waters meet here, you can find many species that are at the edge of their usual range. This makes the park very diverse!

Unique Ocean Environments

The park protects different types of underwater landscapes.

• It includes examples of ecosystems from the Lord Howe Province and the Tasman Basin Province.
• You can find cool seafloor features here like basins, plateaus, saddles, seamounts (underwater mountains), and deep ocean valleys.
• Important areas like the Lord Howe Seamount Chain, Elizabeth Reef, Middleton Reef, and the Tasman Front are all part of the park. These spots are full of marine life and have many different species.

History of the Park

The Lord Howe Marine Park was officially created on 14 December 2013. It was first called the Lord Howe Commonwealth Marine Reserve. On 9 October 2017, its name was changed to Lord Howe Marine Park. The rules for how the park is managed and protected started on 1 July 2018.

Older Protected Areas

The Lord Howe Marine Park includes areas that were protected even before it was created. These include parts of the former Lord Howe Island Marine Park (Commonwealth waters) (started in 2000) and the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve (started in 1987).

How the Park Is Protected (Protection Zones)

The Lord Howe Marine Park is given an IUCN protected area category IV. This means it's a special area managed to protect its habitats and wildlife. But inside the park, there are five different protection zones. Each zone has its own rules about what activities are allowed. This helps make sure marine habitats and species are kept safe.

The table below shows a quick look at the rules for each zone within the Lord Howe Marine Park: