Tenth Island

Australian fur seal colony on rocks
The island is important as a breeding site for Australian fur seals

Tenth Island is a small island nature reserve, sometimes called "Barrenjoey", with an area of 900 m2, is part of the Waterhouse Island Group, lying close to the north-eastern coast of Tasmania. It has no vegetation and much of it is wave-washed in winter storms.[1]

Fauna

The island is home to a significant breeding colony of Australian fur seals, with up to 400 pups born each year, though many drown in storms. black-faced cormorants also breed on the island and little penguins roost there.[1][2]

Shark attack

The island was the location of the last human shark attack fatality in Tasmania, on 5 June 1993, when Therese Cartwright ("age 35 and mother of five") was killed by a reportedly 5-metre long great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) while scuba diving at the seal colony.[3][4]

Island group

Other islands in the Waterhouse Group with breeding seabirds include:[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. ISBN 0-7246-4816-X
  2. Small Bass Strait Island Reserves. Draft Management Plan, Department of Primary Industries,Water and Environment. Tasmania, October 2000, retrieved 2012-02-04
  3. World Shark Attack Database: Fatal Shark Attack, Cartwright
  4. The Mercury, Hobart. (12 January 2009). Tassie's history of sharks

Coordinates: 40°56′S 146°59′E / 40.933°S 146.983°E / -40.933; 146.983


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