The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands is an Australian external territory in the southern Indian Ocean. Discovered in the mid-19th century, the territory is a group of sub-Antarctic volcanic islands that lie on the Kerguelen Plateau. It is about south-west of the Australian mainland and north of Antarctica. The territory contains Australia's only active volcanoes and is home to its highest point outside the Australian Antarctic Territory, Mawson Peak. The islands are uninhabited and have been described as one of the most remote places on Earth.

The first confirmed sightings of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands took place in 1853 and 1854, respectively. Heard Island was occupied by sealers between 1855 and 1882 and saw occasional scientific visits in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. The territory was claimed by the United Kingdom in 1908 and was transferred to Australia in 1947. Between 1947 and 1955, the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) occupied a research station on the island. Since the closure of the ANARE research station, the islands have been visited by occasional scientific and private expeditions. Today, the islands are a nature reserve and World Heritage Site managed by the Australian Antarctic Division.

Heard Island is dominated by Big Ben, a stratovolcano that is topped by the volcanic cone Mawson Peak. About 70 percent of the island is permanently covered by glaciers, while just 5 percent is covered by vegetation. The island is volcanically active, with Mawson Peak regularly emitting steam and vapour and occasionally releasing flows of lava. The McDonald Islands, located about to the west of Heard Island, are a group of smaller volcanic islands that have seen just two recorded human landings. Heard Island and the McDonald Islands are known for their harsh climate, characterised by cold temperatures, strong winds, and heavy rain and snow.

Heard Island and the McDonald Islands are home to a large number of eastern rockhopper, gentoo, macaroni, and king penguins. With more than one million breeding pairs, Heard Island contains about 20 percent of the world's macaroni penguins. The islands also contain substantial populations of elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals. They are a breeding site for at least 15 flying seabird species, including the Heard Island cormorant, a species unique to Heard Island. Commercial fishing of Patagonian toothfish and mackerel icefish takes place in the surrounding waters. Due to climate change, Heard Island has seen rapid melting of its glaciers and other environmental changes in recent decades.

History

thumb|1887 drawing of Heard Island|alt=Sketched illustration of a large group of penguins on a beach with people working among them, a mountain in the background, and boats offshore

The first confirmed sighting of Heard Island took place in 1853 when the island was spotted by the American captain John Heard aboard Oriental. Other sailors had reported observing land south of the Kerguelen Islands during the 1830s and 1840s, but whether they in fact sighted Heard Island is unclear. In 1854 the British captain William McDonald sighted the McDonald Islands aboard Samarang; he likewise named the islands after himself. A party of sealers led by the American captain Erasmus Darwin Rogers of the ship Corinthian made the first recorded landing on Heard Island in 1855.

Human activity

Governance and administration

Satellite image of Heard Island|thumb|alt=Satellite view of a snow-covered volcanic island partly surrounded by clouds

The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands is one of seven Australian external territories. The islands and the surrounding waters form an uninhabited strict nature reserve managed by the Australian Antarctic Division, part of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

Maritime boundaries

The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands includes a territorial sea extending to a radius of 12 nautical miles from the islands. This is surrounded by an Australian EEZ with a radius of 200 nautical miles, which borders the French EEZ generated by the Kerguelen Islands to the north-west. In 2012 Australia proclaimed an extended continental shelf covering an area of surrounding Heard Island and McDonald Islands, thereby claiming exclusive rights to harvest its seabed resources.

Fishery

While fishing is prohibited within the territorial waters of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, commercial fishing takes place elsewhere within the surrounding EEZ. The Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery is managed by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), which sets quotas on fishing catches and monitors compliance with the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. The species targeted are the Patagonian toothfish and the mackerel icefish.

Sources

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  • Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Australian Antarctic Program
  • Heard Island and McDonald Islands mapping, Australian Antarctic Program