Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, Lord Howe Marine Park, Post Survey Report

The Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs marine survey was designed to build upon and establish baseline information for benthic habitats and associated demersal fish assemblages at Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, located at the northern extent of the Lord Howe Marine Park. The specific aim of the survey was to fill knowledge gaps on the distribution, extent and structure of seabed habitats and associated sessile and mobile fauna in shallow and mesophotic shelf areas of Elizabeth (Recreational Use Zone) and Middleton (National Park Zone) Reefs, using a suite of national standard survey tools and best practise sampling procedures (Przeslawski et al. 2019). The new data acquired on this survey will provide an important baseline for mesophotic habitats at these reefs, and support ongoing biodiversity monitoring of shallow marine communities (e.g. Oxley et al. 2004, Choat et al. 2006, Pratchett et al. 2011, Hoey et al. 2014, Edgar et al. 2018, Hoey et al. 2018) as part of the 10-year management plan for the Temperate East Marine Park Network (2018–2028).