Victorian Shipwreck Protected Zones
Protected zones are declared for nine fragile and highly significant historic Victorian shipwrecks.
It is an offence to enter, anchor, fish, trawl or dive in a protected zone without a permit. People found within a protected zone without a permit can be issued with on-the-spot fines of over $295 and multiple fines can be issued if more than one offence is detected. If prosecuted, people may be issued with fines of more than $7000.
The protected zones are (WGS 84):
| HMVS Cerberus 0.5 h rectangle | Latitude: 37° 58.043′ S (37.967382° S) Longitude: 145° 0.473′ E (145.007876° E) |
| SS City of Launceston 500 m radius | Latitude: 38° 4.610′ S (38.076829° S) Longitude: 144° 49.579′ E (144.826321° E) |
| Clarence 100 m radius | Latitude: 38° 12.154′ S (38.20257° S) Longitude: 144° 43.395′ E (144.723253° E) |
| Joanna 100 m radius | Latitude: 38° 12.478′ S (38.20796° S) Longitude: 144° 43.806′ E (144.730102° E) |
| Will O' The Wisp 50 m radius | Latitude: 38° 14.490′ S (38.241498° S) Longitude: 144° 42.070′ E (144.701159° E) |
| William Salthouse 250 m radius | Latitude: 38° 16.377′ S (38.272943° S) Longitude: 144° 42.330′ E (144.705493° E) |
| SS Alert 500 m radius | Latitude: 38° 29.217′ S (38.486944° S) Longitude: 144° 45.033′ E (144.750556° E) |
| PS Clonmel 50 m radius | Latitude: 38° 44.640′ S (38.744° S) Longitude: 146° 40.668′ E (146.6778° E) |
| SS Glenelg 500 m radius | Latitude: 38° 33.144′ S (38.5524° S) Longitude: 147° 12.444′ E (147.2074° E) | SS Federal 800 m radius | Latitude: 38° 7.333′ S (38.122222° S) Longitude: 148° 43.850′ E (148.730833° E) |
See the Victorian government web page Shipwreck protected zones for more details. Heritage Victoria has developed a brochure Historic Shipwreck Protected Zones (Adobe PDF | 396.41 KB) to assist in avoiding the protected zones located within Port Phillip.
Other Shipwrecks
All shipwrecks 75 years and older are declared historic under State and Commonwealth legislation. Historic shipwrecks are fragile structures that often have weakened and vulnerable hull remains due to their long submersion underwater.
Anglers are allowed to fish near historic shipwreck sites that aren't in protected zones. However, anglers should be careful about placement of their anchors (and also weighted shot lines) because it is illegal to interfere with, damage or destroy historic shipwrecks and their relics and severe penalties apply.
