Understanding the marine ecosystems surrounding Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) and their conservation status

Cross sections of the Kerguelen Plateau (depth, m, with distance, km), showing the main features of the topographic relief of the plateau and the extent to which the current marine reserve covers the different depth zones and features of the HIMI EEZ 14. [...] 16 The aim of this report is to provide the existing knowledge on the natural, physical, and historical setting of the HIMI EEZ, and the existing pressures, threats and management to assess the contribution of The Reserve to Australia’s Nationally Representative System of Marine Protected Areas (NRSMPA). [...] This report provides a detailed background of HIMI’s biogeography and physical setting within the region, details of the biology and ecology of the HIMI EEZ, a review of the pressures HIMI is facing now and into the future, and a description of the existing management arrangements. [...] The information compiled in this report provides the basis for an assessment of the comprehensiveness, adequacy, and representativeness of The Reserve as established by the principles of the NRSMPA, and if The Reserve remains likely to be adequate for maintaining the values it was designed to protect. [...] Understanding the marine ecosystems surrounding Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) and their conservation status 17 2.1 Regional Context, Biogeography, and Change In order to understand the regional context of the HIMI EEZ it is necessary to examine the oceanography and the biogeography of the fauna of the broader region.