Tasman Fracture Marine Park protects waters near to Mewstone, a rocky island which shy albatross call home. These seabirds are a threatened species, and breed only in Tasmania. Mewstone is their largest colony.

The shy albatross feed in the park, along with:

• white-chinned petrels
• short-tailed shearwaters
• white sharks
• fur seals
• other marine predators.

Beyond Mewstone, the marine park extends so far out into the Southern Ocean that it’s home to some subantarctic fishes and invertebrates.

Undersea features along the way include:

• steep canyons and escarpments
• undersea mountains that are home to deep-water hard corals.

Life in the marine park is influenced by the Zeehan Current (an extension of the Leeuwin Current) as it travels along the west coast of Tasmania.

The marine park is south-west of Tasmania and covers 42,501 square kilometres.

It has National Park, Special Purpose and Multiple Use zones.

Explore

Tasman Fracture Marine Park complements the Tasmanian state-managed Port Davey Marine Reserve.

Discover

Shy albatross are a threatened species and, like other albatross, are at risk of accidental capture on fishing lines.

To help protect the birds, fishing trawlers must use bycatch mitigation methods to prevent the birds from being hooked. For example, they can run bird scaring ribbons behind the boat to scare birds away when lines are being set.

Parks Australia helps ensure the rules are being followed by conducting surveillance flights over the marine parks.

This includes places like Tasman Fracture Marine Park to help protect the shy albatross on Mewstone.