What are we protecting?

Southern Australia's diversity of marine life is remarkable by global standards. It's home to a great variety of invertebrates, fish and some of our best known marine animals, including whales dolphins and seals. Southern Australia is notable for the large numbers of endemic organisms - species found nowhere else in the world.

Around 85 per cent of the known fish fauna (600 species), and 62 per cent of the known seafloor flora are believed to be endemic. This places a particular responsibility on Australia to ensure that conservation measures are sufficient to maintain viable populations of these species and allow for evolutionary processes to continue.

The network of Reserves will protect places which are home to unique and diverse marine life, some of which is new to science and largely unexplored. By conserving area within this region we are protecting precious ocean life and habitats.

From three nautical miles out the marine realm includes shallow shelf, slope and deep water ecosystems that provide important habitats for a variety of bird and sea life. The network covers all these depth ranges because the plants and animals that inhabit our seas vary markedly according to the depth of the ocean.

Migratory whales make their way through these waters on their journey to and from Antarctica along Australia's east coast twice a year. Beneath the waves, iconic species such as great white sharks, southern bluefin tuna and blue whales roam.

In the deep sea there is a diverse range of fishes and other creatures, such as crabs, coral, sea urchins and sponges that have bizarre and fascinating adaptations to survive in their deep, dark homes.

See also