Abalone Fishing Block 24: High-Resolution Acoustic Seafloor Habitat Maps of Tasmania

Tasmania's east coast seafloor habitats were mapped in 2021 using multibeam acoustic imagery. The data includes 50cm resolution bathymetry, substrate type, derivatives, and water column data for strategic urchin control and abalone management. It was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Map fine-scale substrate distribution based on the Seamap Australia classification of Pavement Reef, Megaclast Reef, Mixed Consolidated Sediment/Reef, and Sand.
• Model kelp coverage and vegetation likelihood using the provided water column data classification.
• Predict and quantify the extent of urchin barrens based on acoustic water column techniques and bathymetry derivatives like slope and rugosity.
• Support strategic decision-making for urchin control by analyzing the 2021 snapshot of habitat and vegetation distribution.

Strengths

• Provides 50cm resolution bathymetry and substrate maps, indicating high spatial detail.
• Includes multiple derived data products such as seabed slope, curvature, rugosity, and 1m/2m contours.
• Offers water column data products including a 1m mean signal, a 9m2 raw block statistic, and a vegetation likelihood classification.
• Focuses on a specific geographic area (Fishing Block 24 on the east coast of Tasmania) with a clear temporal snapshot from 2021.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and total dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to data_gov_au, being limited to specific fishing blocks in Tasmania.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Collected via multibeam acoustic imagery and processed to create habitat maps.

Time Range

2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-29 11:57:19.828338; freshness should be verified.

Geography

East coast of Tasmania, specifically Abalone Fishing Block 24.