Wedge Island (Tasmania)

The Wedge Island, part of the Tasman Island Group, is an island with an area of 43 hectares (110 acres) lying close to the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is located in Storm Bay, situated off the Tasman Peninsula.[1]

Wedge Island
Shores of Wedge Island
Wedge Island is located in Tasmania
Wedge Island
Wedge Island
Location in Tasmania
Geography
LocationStorm Bay
Coordinates43°07′48″S 147°40′12″E / 43.13000°S 147.67000°E / -43.13000; 147.67000
ArchipelagoTasman Island Group
Area43 ha (110 acres)
Administration
Australia
StateTasmania
Additional information
Time zone
 • Summer (DST)

The island is formed of Jurassic dolerite.[1]

Fauna

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Recorded breeding seabird species are little penguin and short-tailed shearwater. The island was previously used for sheep grazing, and was regularly burnt. The sheep were removed in 1986. There were also large numbers of European rabbits, now exterminated. Cats were introduced in the 1970s to control the rabbits, and a population of feral cats remains on the island.[1][2]

It is close to a proposed marine farming zone.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; Halley, Vanessa (2001). Tasmania's Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Hobart: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. ISBN 0-7246-4816-X.
  2. ^ Beh, Jay Chin Liang (1995), The winter ecology of the feral cat, Felis catus (Linnaeus 1758), at Wedge Island, Tasmania, retrieved 4 March 2014
  3. ^ Lucieer, V; Pender, A (2014), An environmental assessment of a proposed marine farming zone west of Wedge Island, South Eastern Tasmania, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, retrieved 3 April 2015