en Needle Rocks

Needle Rocks
Nickname: The Needles
	Detailed map of Needle Rocks, with Maatsuyker Island, Walker Island and Western Rocks
	Needle Rocks Location off the southern coast of Tasmania
Geography
Location	South West Tasmania
Coordinates	43°39′45″S 146°15′19″E / 43.66250°S 146.25528°E
Archipelago	Maatsuyker Islands Group
Adjacent to	Southern Ocean
Area	10.5 ha (26 acres)
Administration
	Australia
State	Tasmania
Region	South West
Demographics
Population	Unpopulated

The Needle Rocks, also known as the Needles, are a group of five main rock islets located close to the south-western coast of Tasmania, Australia. With a combined area of approximately 10.5 hectares (0.041 sq mi), the islets are part of the Maatsuyker Islands Group, and comprise part of the Southwest National Park and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site.^[1]^[2]

The Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse is located on Maatsuyker Island and illuminates the Needle Rocks.

Fauna

The vegetation is dominated by the pig face, a succulent plant.

The islets are part of the Maatsuyker Island Group Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance as a breeding site for seabirds.^[3] Recorded breeding seabird and wader species are the little penguin (40 pairs), short-tailed shearwater (860 pairs), fairy prion (10,600 pairs), Pacific gull, silver gull, sooty oystercatcher and black-faced cormorant. The metallic skink is present. Up to 1200 Australian fur seals use the rocks as a regular haul-out site.^[2]

^ ^a ^b "Small Southern Islands Conservation Management Statement 2002" (PDF). Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service. 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
^ ^a ^b Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. ISBN 0-7246-4816-X
^ "Important Bird Area factsheet: Maatsuyker Island Group". Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.