Parks Victoria: The Arches Marine Sanctuary page

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The Arches Marine Sanctuary

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To the south of Port Campbell, offshore in 20 metres of water, the limestone seafloor breaks up into a series of amazing canyons, arches and tunnels that are locally known as 'The Arches'. This area is typical of the southwest Victorian coast and exposed to high-energy waves and cool water that flows from the Southern Ocean.

This 45 hectare marine sanctuary contains some of Victoria's most spectacular limestone formations and is home to a diverse array of marine plants and animals. Due to the shaded underside of the Arches, habitat is provided for invertebrate life that is characteristic of deeper Bass Strait waters and includes a diverse range of sponges, bryozoans, gorgonians, hydroids and an abundance of colourful seastars. Giant kelp forests also occur within the Marine Sanctuary.

Things to Do
The area is a popular destination for dive charters due to the spectacular underwater scenery.

Facilities
This site is offshore and accessible only by boat. Boat launching facilities are available at Port Campbell and also at Peterborough.

Heritage

Aboriginal Traditional Owners

Parks Victoria acknowledges the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Victoria - including its parks and reserves. Through their cultural traditions, Aboriginal people maintain their connection to their ancestral lands and waters.
Further information is available from Aboriginal Affairs Victoria AAV and Native Title Services Victoria

Fauna
The walls of the arches are covered with a spectacular diversity of plants and animals. Large red and orange sea fans emerge vertically from the rock and stinging hydroids form feather like colonies. Delicate sea-mosses and lace corals of a variety of shapes and colours cover many surfaces. These are actually colonies of minute zooids, most with feeding tentacles and a stomach, but others that specialise in reproduction, support or defence. Various sponges and gelatinous tunicates complete the scene.

Many of these creatures are brightly coloured, advertising their toxins to predatory animals that might be tempted to feast from this smorgasbord. However, many animals have evolved to deal with these toxins and consequently thrive in this environment. These include a variety of red, orange and purple seastars and a range of sculptured seasnails.

Fur seals can sometimes be seen enjoying this playground, torpedoing through the tunnels and in and out of the arches.

Creature Features

Stalked Hydroids (Ralpharia magnifica)
Resembling bunches of flowers, Stalked Hydroids are always found in groups of between two and 100 separate animals in the more sheltered sections of reefs. Adorned with pink tentacles, the large, cup-shaped feeding 'heads' grow on stalks up to 10 centimetres long. Their bases are tangled in the sponges and soft corals by a mass of filaments. By growing off the seafloor, Stalked Hydroids rise above their competitors and the stinging tentacles trap small floating animals before they reach creatures beneath. Stalked hydroids are found in waters to 20 metres and is just one of the many hydroid species found at The Arches Marine Sanctuary.

Geological, Hydrological and Landform Features

The flat amazing canyons, arches and tunnels of The Arches Marine Sanctuary are in stark contrast to the surrounding flat limestone seafloor. The canyons are cut deeply into the seafloor and they wind and branch in various directions. Some of the branches are short, being no more than caves and others are topped by elevated arches.

The base of the sea floor is made of limestone similar to that found on the coast itself. This limestone originated beneath the sea more than 5 million years ago and consists of sand grains cemented together with the remains of marine shells.

Looking After the Park
For the protection of the marine environment, a number of activities are prohibited within the boundaries of Victoria's marine national parks and marine sanctuaries. No fishing, netting, spearing, taking or killing of marine life. All methods of fishing, from the shore or the sea, are prohibited. As users of the marine environment, you can help minimise your impact on these areas by being mindful of the following points:

enjoy the marine environment without removing the plants and animals
minimise your impact while diving and snorkelling by:
- being careful to avoid damage to marine life caused by fins
- developing good skills in buoyancy control
- securing all gauges and pressure hoses to avoid snagging them on objects
take any rubbish home with you - do not dump rubbish into the sea
avoid stressing marine life by not chasing or grabbing free-swimming animals
exercise great care if approached by large marine animals (including birds) & avoid blocking their paths if moving
take care where you anchor your boat (anchor in sand, rubble or mud, avoiding sensitive areas, and use mooring buoys where provided)
do not pollute the water with sewage - ensure that if your vessel has an onboard toilet that it has an approved sewage holding facility and that sewage is disposed of appropriately on land
take the time to learn more about Victoria's marine animals and plants and the habitats they depend upon

Remember, Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries are NO TAKE ENVIRONMENTS. All objects (artefacts), animals eg. fish and crustaceans, plants, and the seabed are totally protected.

Precautions
For your own safety, only undertake activities appropriate to your skills and abilities. Take all necessary precautions, be aware of changing conditions, and watch for potential hazards, such as rips. A number of Victorian marine animals are potentially harmful if not treated with respect and care, so ensure that you familiarise yourself with these species. Sunburn and hypothermia are also potentially harmful but easily avoided.

SCUBA diving is a potentially high-risk activity and should only be undertaken by appropriately qualified people that have completed recognised training and certification. Victoria's cool water environments can be extremely challenging to those used to diving in warmer waters so ensure that local knowledge is sought before undertaking a dive in a new location. Dive charter operators can provide some of the best advice on diving in Victoria.

How to Get There
The Marine Sanctuary is situated offshore from the town of Port Campbell, roughly aligned with the centre of the Port Campbell National Park. The township is a crayfishing port and a popular tourist destination

Education
Research
The Arches Marine Sanctuary protects a range of unique habitats and species in an extremely dynamic environment. Increased research in the area will improve the understanding of the high-energy environments of the bioregion and contribute to the identification of threats to the habitats of the region. The exposure of the coastline of the Otway bioregion to high wave action and onshore winds makes research more difficult than in Victoria's bays and estuaries. Divers cannot safely survey areas at a depth greater than 30m and diver bottom time is severely limited at depths greater than about 15m. Research needs include gaining a greater understanding of biodiversity, ecology, threatening processes and physical processes over time.

Marine National Park and Marine Sanctuaries Resource Kit – This education resources kit contains a comprehensive collection of many materials produced by Parks Victoria in relation to the Marine National Park system including lesson ideas for teachers and links to other resources.