| What's
it like? |
| Australian
territorial waters span a huge area: almost 60 degrees in latitude from
Torres Strait in the north to Antarctica in the south, and 100 degrees
in longitude from Norfolk Island in the east to Heard Island and the McDonalds
Islands in the west. Our waters contain all five of the world's ocean
temperature zones: polar, subpolar, temperate, subtropical and tropical.
Our oceans are also affected by severe extremes, ranging from tropical
cyclones in the north to some of the roughest weather in the world south
of Tasmania. |
| Australia
is a very old, dry country so our coastal waters are naturally low in
nutrients, resulting in a relatively low biological productivity. This
means that even though we have the world's third-largest fishing area,
we are 51st in the number of fish caught we have quality not quantity. |
| What
lives here? |
| Australia's
marine plants and animals are extremely rich and are more diverse than
our terrestrial species. We have more than 4500 species of fish and 500
corals. Extreme temperature influences, together with a 40-milion-year
history of geographical and climatic isolation have led to the unique
biological diversity in our southern oceans where 80-90 percent of many
groups are not found anywhere else in the world. |
| We
also have a wide range of marine habitats: the largest coral reefs in
the world in the tropics of Queensland, the largest and most biodiverse
seagrass beds on earth in the cooler south (containing 30 of the 58 species)
and the Antarctic planktonic krill communities of the Southern Ocean. |
| People
and the Sea |
| Coastal
Aboriginal communities have been users and custodians of Australian's
marine environment for 40 to 50,000 years, and the 6000 shipwrecks lying
beneath Australian waters is a testament to Australia's more recent exploration
and settlement. |
| Australians
are renowned internationally as a nation of beach and sea lovers. Our
swimmers, lifesavers, surfers and sailors are world famous. Percentage-wise,
we have one of the highest boat-owning populations in the world and one
in every four Australian's fish recreationally at least once a year. |
