Bathurst Narrows
(Photo copyright Matthew Newton)
The Port Davey Marine Reserve lies within the
Southwest National Park and the
Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Encompassing Port Davey, Bathurst Channel and Bathurst Harbour, the reserve (17 753 hectares / 178
km2) extends inland for more
than 20 km to the north and
east, up to the high water mark
of all rivers, bays and estuaries.
Within its boundaries, the
reserve protects all marine life
and all habitats, including open
ocean, exposed reefs, steep
gorges, bays and inlets, kelp
forests, seagrass meadows, and
muddy and gravelly sediments.
Declared in 2005, it is presently
the only protected area within
the Davey Bioregion – one of
Tasmania’s eight continental
shelf marine bioregions.
Why so special?
This region must surely be
one of the most magnificent
landscapes on the planet.
Gold-green ranges, with bony
quartzite ridges, rise sharply
from the southern ocean and
the broad interior waterways of
Port Davey.
Four major rivers and numerous
creeks cut through gorges
and snake across open plains,
draining their rust-coloured
waters into the marine reserve.
Small islands dot the surface of
the dark waters. White quartzite
sands fringe the shoreline. Mt
Rugby – the highest and most
prominent peak bordering the
reserve – rises grandly from
the western shore of Bathurst
Harbour. On a fine, calm day
the marine reserve’s waters
reflect the landscape to endless
perfection.
The underwater landscape
is even more surprising. In
Bathurst Harbour and Bathurst
Channel a very unusual marine
environment has been created
by a deep layer of dark redbrown,
tannin-rich freshwater,
which overlies tidal saltwater.
The tannins restrict sunlight
penetration to the top few
metres, limiting the growth of
marine plants. In their place live
colourful and delicate marine
invertebrates. In the clearer
marine waters of Port Davey –
away from the influence of the
freshwater tannins – a more
typical Tasmanian underwater
world exists. Diverse kelp
forests and abundant fish thrive
beneath the surging Southern
Ocean waves.
The marine reserve was created to protect this extraordinary underwater world.