The Heard and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve is located in the Indian Ocean. The Reserve is documented to have an area of 71,000 square kilometers. The islands are located approximately 4,100 square kilometers south west of Perth, Australia (Commonwealth of Australia, 2014, p. 4). The Reserve is located 1,700 kilometers north of Antarctica, roughly halfway between Australia and Africa (Constable et al., 2024, p.6).