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Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park Victoria
IUCN category II (national park)
Pope's Eye fort located within the marine park.
Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park
Nearest town or city	Melbourne
Coordinates	38°16′45″S 144°42′55″E / 38.27917°S 144.71528°E / -38.27917; 144.71528
Established	16 November 2002 (2002-11-16)
Area	35.8 km (13.8 sq mi)
Managing authorities	Parks Victoria
Website	Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park
See also	Protected areas of Victoria

The Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park is a marine protected area located in the vicinity of the bay of Port Phillip, between the Bellarine and Mornington Peninsulas, in Victoria, Australia. The 3,580-hectare (8,800-acre) marine national park comprises six separate sites located approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) south-west of Melbourne and stretches along 40 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline of Victoria.

Location and features

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The marine national park was created on 16 November 2002 and represents an expansion of, as well as giving stronger protection to, areas previously collectively termed the Harold Holt Marine Reserve system. The park is assigned the IUCN's Category II of the United Nations’ List of National Parks and Protected Areas, showing that the park is managed by Parks Victoria primarily for ecosystem protection and recreation.

The six sites in the marine national park are Mud Islands, Point Lonsdale, Point Nepean, Pope's Eye, Portsea Hole, and Swan Bay.

The closest towns to the areas include St Leonards, Queenscliff, Portsea and Point Lonsdale.

Habitats protected by the marine national park include seagrass meadows, kelp forests, intertidal and subtidal rocky reefs, sandy beaches and deeper marine environments. Animals protected include many species of waders, waterbirds and seabirds, as well as Australian fur seals, Burrunan dolphins, fish and a wide range of marine invertebrates. It also protects areas and items of historic, archaeological and cultural significance.

Additional and overlapping protection is given to some areas of the marine national park through the Ramsar Convention, which lists Swan Bay and Mud Islands as parts of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site as wetlands of international importance.

Threats

A proposal to dredge mechanically the entrance to Port Phillip and sections of the main shipping channel to the Port of Melbourne, in order to facilitate access by larger ships, has the potential to cause extensive turbidity, the release of toxic sediments and mechanical damage to reefs, threatening benthic communities as well as affecting economic activities in the bay such as diving businesses and fishing.

See also

• Protected areas of Victoria

References

1. ^ Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park Management Plan (PDF) (PDF). Melbourne: Government of Victoria. July 2006. pp. 1, 5. ISBN 0-7311-8349-5. Retrieved 27 August 2014. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
2. "Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park" (PDF). Parks Victoria (PDF). Government of Victoria. December 2003. Retrieved 13 March 2011.

External links

• "Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park". Parks Victoria. Government of Victoria.

v t e Marine and coastal parks of Victoria, Australia
Marine and coastal parks	Bay of Islands Bunurong Cape Conran Cape Liptrap Corner Inlet Discovery Bay Gippsland Lakes Nooramunga Shallow Inlet Wilsons Promontory Former Cape Schanck Point Cook
Marine national parks	Bunurong Cape Howe Churchill Island Corner Inlet Discovery Bay French Island Ninety Mile Beach Point Addis Point Hicks Port Phillip Heads Twelve Apostles Wilsons Promontory Yaringa
Marine sanctuaries	Barwon Bluff Beware Reef Eagle Rock Jawbone Marengo Reefs Merri Mushroom Reef Point Cooke Point Danger Ricketts Point The Arches
Protected areas of Victoria

v t e Protected areas of Victoria, Australia
Marine national parks Bunurong Cape Howe Churchill Island Corner Inlet Discovery Bay French Island Ninety Mile Beach Point Addis Point Hicks Port Phillip Heads Twelve Apostles Wilsons Promontory Yaringa
National parks Alfred Alpine Barmah Baw Baw Brisbane Ranges Budj Bim Burrowa-Pine Mountain Chiltern-Mt Pilot Churchill Cobboboonee Coopracambra Croajingolong Dandenong Ranges Errinundra French Island Grampians Great Otway Greater Bendigo Gunbower Hattah-Kulkyne Heathcote-Graytown Kara Kara Kinglake Lake Eildon Lind Little Desert Lower Glenelg Lower Goulburn Mitchell River Mornington Peninsula Morwell Mount Buffalo Mount Richmond Murray-Sunset Organ Pipes Point Nepean Port Campbell Snowy River Tarra-Bulga Terrick Terrick The Lakes Warby-Ovens Wilsons Promontory Wyperfeld Yarra Ranges Former Bogong Bulga Captain James Cook Chiltern Box–Ironbark Cobberas–Tingaringy Dandenong Ferntree Gully Fraser Glenaladale Hattah Lakes Mallacoota Inlet Mount Eccles Otway Point Nepean (1988-1995) St Arnaud Range Tarra Valley Tingaringy Wingan Inlet Wonnangatta–Moroka
State parks Arthurs Seat Black Range Broken-Boosey Bunyip Cape Nelson Cathedral Range Dergholm Enfield Holey Plains Kooyoora Lake Tyers Langi Ghiran Leaghur Lerderderg Moondarra Mount Arapiles-Tooan Mount Buangor Mount Granya Mount Lawson Mount Napier Mount Samaria Mount Worth Paddys Ranges Reef Hills Warrandyte Werribee Gorge Former Angahook–Lorne Barmah Carlisle Chiltern Coopracambra Eildon French Island Kamarooka Kara Kara Melba Gully (Great Otway NP) Nepean Pink Lakes Terrick Terrick Wabonga Plateau Warby Range (Warby-Ovens NP) Whipstick
Marine and coastal parks Bay of Islands Bunurong Cape Conran Cape Liptrap Corner Inlet Discovery Bay Gippsland Lakes Nooramunga Shallow Inlet Wilsons Promontory Former Cape Schanck Point Cook
Marine sanctuaries Barwon Bluff Beware Reef Eagle Rock Jawbone Marengo Reefs Merri Mushroom Reef Point Cooke Point Danger Ricketts Point The Arches
Other parks Wilderness parks Avon Big Desert Wilderness Park Wabba Wilderness Park Heritage / Historic parks Beechworth Historic Park Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park Point Gellibrand Heritage Park Steiglitz Historic Park Wimmera River Heritage Area Park Woodlands Historic Park

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• v
• t
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• IUCN Category II
• Parks in unincorporated areas of Victoria (state)
• Parks of Barwon South West (region)
• Parks of Greater Melbourne (region)
• Marine parks in Victoria (state)
• Port Phillip
• Bellarine Peninsula
• Mornington Peninsula
• Coastline of Victoria (state)
• Protected areas of Bass Strait
• Melbourne geography stubs