Cook Island Aquatic Reserve
Encyclopedia
Cook Island Aquatic Reserve is a protected area
located in the South Pacific Ocean
, located 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) from the Fingal Head mainland of New South Wales
. The island was discovered by English
explorers in 1770, and since been visited sporadically. It is noted as a breeding site for seabirds and, the surrounding marine, for hosting diverse fauna.
The first recorded European sighting of Cook Island was made by the English navigator James Cook
, who sighted the coast of Fingal Head in 1770. Cook charted the coastline of the island, but made no attempt at settlement. Cook then continued sailing north along the eastern coast
of Australia
and named two nearby landmarks, Mount Warning
and Point Danger, after he was nearly shipwrecked there.
In 1823, English explorer John Oxley
anchored at the island to take refuge from southerly winds. Two crew members then visited the island and named it Turtle Island, after finding sea turtles and an unidentified shipwreck. Five years later, British admiral Henry John Rous
surveyed the Tweed River
and named the island, Cook's Isle, the name that has persisted.
Australian spearfisher Ben Cropp
reported the sighting of a European vessel, wrecked on the island in the 16th century. In 2008, two fishermen were rescued from nearby the island, and later hospitalised, after they were thrown overboard as a result of their boat overturning.
Since 1998, the island has been managed by the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change and since 2004, by the Department of Primary Industries
, as well. It is under the jurisdiction of the Tweed Shire Council, who hold annual clean-up events.
s and shearwater
s. The surrounding marine area hosts diverse fauna and has been noted by Tweed Shire Council's Coast and Waterways Officer, Tom Alletson as an important habitat of sharks.
The marine surrounding Cook Island contains a wide variety of fish species, anemonefish
, bullseyes, grouper
s, leatherjackers
, parrotfish
, pufferfish, surgeonfish
, sweetlips
and trevally
. The island's marine also has a mass of additional species, including brittle star
s, flatworm
s, shrimp
s and nudibranch
s. The marine is frequented by migratory shark species, blind shark
s (Brachaelurus waddi), leopard shark
s (Triakis semifasciata) and wobbegong
s. Other native animals include crustacean
s, green turtles, jellyfish
, molluscs
and stingray
s.
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
located in the South Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, located 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) from the Fingal Head mainland of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. The island was discovered by English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
explorers in 1770, and since been visited sporadically. It is noted as a breeding site for seabirds and, the surrounding marine, for hosting diverse fauna.
History
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
, who sighted the coast of Fingal Head in 1770. Cook charted the coastline of the island, but made no attempt at settlement. Cook then continued sailing north along the eastern coast
Eastern states of Australia
In Australia, the term eastern states refers to the states adjoining the east coast of Australia. These are the mainland states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. The Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory, while not states, are also included. The term usually includes the...
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and named two nearby landmarks, Mount Warning
Mount Warning
Mount Warning is a mountain west-south-west of Murwillumbah, near the border with Queensland in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia...
and Point Danger, after he was nearly shipwrecked there.
In 1823, English explorer John Oxley
John Oxley
John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of English colonisation.October 1802 he was engaged in coastal survey work including an expedition to Western Port in 1804-05...
anchored at the island to take refuge from southerly winds. Two crew members then visited the island and named it Turtle Island, after finding sea turtles and an unidentified shipwreck. Five years later, British admiral Henry John Rous
Henry John Rous
Admiral Henry John Rous was a Royal Navy officer and sportsman.-Career:Born the second son of John Rous, 1st Earl of Stradbroke, Rous was educated at Westminster School, and entered the Royal Navy in 1808, serving as a midshipman in the Walcheren Campaign the following year...
surveyed the Tweed River
Tweed River (New South Wales)
The Tweed River is a short river in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. Its drainage basin consists mostly of the erosion caldera of the Tweed Volcano, a huge extinct volcano of which Mount Warning is the volcanic plug...
and named the island, Cook's Isle, the name that has persisted.
Australian spearfisher Ben Cropp
Ben Cropp
Ben Cropp is an Australian former shark hunter and six-time Australian spearfishing champion, having retired from that trade in 1962 to pursue oceanic documentary filmmaking and conservation efforts...
reported the sighting of a European vessel, wrecked on the island in the 16th century. In 2008, two fishermen were rescued from nearby the island, and later hospitalised, after they were thrown overboard as a result of their boat overturning.
Since 1998, the island has been managed by the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change and since 2004, by the Department of Primary Industries
New South Wales Department of Primary Industries
The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, a division of the New South Wales Government, is responsibile for the administration and development for agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, state forests, biosecurity, and crown lands in New South Wales...
, as well. It is under the jurisdiction of the Tweed Shire Council, who hold annual clean-up events.
Flora and fauna
Cook Island is a breeding site for a number of species of seabirds, most notably ternTern
Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...
s and shearwater
Shearwater
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds. There are more than 30 species of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris and many smaller species in the genus Puffinus...
s. The surrounding marine area hosts diverse fauna and has been noted by Tweed Shire Council's Coast and Waterways Officer, Tom Alletson as an important habitat of sharks.
The marine surrounding Cook Island contains a wide variety of fish species, anemonefish
Clownfish
Clownfish or anemonefish are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. Twenty-eight species are recognized, one in the genus Premnas, while the remaining are in the genus Amphiprion. In the wild they all form symbiotic mutualisms with sea anemones...
, bullseyes, grouper
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
s, leatherjackers
Leatherjacket fish
The leatherjacket fish, skipjack or leather jack, Oligoplites saurus, is a jack and member of the Carangidae family. Leather jack may also refer to other members of the Carangidea family, such as the pilot fish....
, parrotfish
Parrotfish
Parrotfishes are a group of fishes that traditionally had been considered a family , but now often are considered a subfamily of the wrasses. They are found in relatively shallow tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, but with the largest species richness in the Indo-Pacific...
, pufferfish, surgeonfish
Acanthuridae
Acanthuridae is the family of surgeonfishes, tangs, and unicornfishes. The family includes about 80 species in six genera, all of which are marine fish living in tropical seas, usually around coral reefs...
, sweetlips
Plectorhinchus
The sweetlips, Plectorhinchus, are a genus in the family Haemulidae, with 35 species found in fresh, brackish and salt waters. These fish have big fleshy lips and tend to live on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific in small groups or pairs...
and trevally
Carangidae
Carangidae is a family of fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, and scads.They are marine fish found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. The island's marine also has a mass of additional species, including brittle star
Brittle star
Brittle stars or ophiuroids are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea closely related to starfish. They crawl across the seafloor using their flexible arms for locomotion. The ophiuroids generally have five long slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to in length on the largest specimens...
s, flatworm
Flatworm
The flatworms, known in scientific literature as Platyhelminthes or Plathelminthes are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrate animals...
s, shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
s and nudibranch
Nudibranch
A nudibranch is a member of what is now a taxonomic clade, and what was previously a suborder, of soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusks which shed their shell after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms...
s. The marine is frequented by migratory shark species, blind shark
Blind shark
The blind shark is one of two species of carpet sharks in the family Brachaeluridae, along with the bluegrey carpetshark , and the only extant member of its genus. Found along the coast of eastern Australia, this nocturnal, bottom-dwelling species is common in rocky areas and seagrass beds from...
s (Brachaelurus waddi), leopard shark
Leopard shark
The leopard shark is a species of houndshark, family Triakidae, found along the Pacific coast of North America from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico...
s (Triakis semifasciata) and wobbegong
Wobbegong
Wobbegong is the common name given to the 12 species of carpet sharks in the family Orectolobidae. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean, chiefly around Australia and Indonesia, although one species occurs as far north as Japan...
s. Other native animals include crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, green turtles, jellyfish
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
, molluscs
Mollusca
The Mollusca , common name molluscs or mollusksSpelled mollusks in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling mollusc see the reasons given by , is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. Mollusca is the largest...
and stingray
Stingray
The stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes, and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae , Plesiobatidae , Urolophidae , Urotrygonidae , Dasyatidae , Potamotrygonidae The...
s.