Geography | |
---|---|
Location | East coast of Tasmania |
Archipelago | Schouten Island Group |
Adjacent to | Tasman Sea |
Area | 8 ha (20 acres) |
Administration | |
Australia | |
State | Tasmania |
Local government area | Glamorgan Spring Bay Council |
Additional information | |
Time zone | |
• Summer ( DST) |
Ile des Phoques (also called Isle du Phoques) is a rugged granite island, with an area of 8 ha, part of the Schouten Island Group, lying close to the eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia near the Freycinet Peninsula.
Seal hunting took place here from at least 1805. [1] Captain James Kelly is recorded sealing here during his 1816 circumnavigation of Tasmania. [2]
It is a nature reserve. [3]
Recorded breeding seabird species are little penguin, short-tailed shearwater, fairy prion and common diving-petrel. White-bellied sea-eagles have nested on the island. Australian fur seals haul-out there and there is historical evidence that it was once a major breeding colony. [3]
42°24′S 148°09′E / 42.400°S 148.150°E