OCEAN INFORMATION

VICTORIA

Victoria is an undersea paradise, full of unique plants and animals. While these cooler waters might be considered dangerous and uninviting to some, marine life abounds in the world just beyond the breakers, this northern boundary of Bass Strait. The sea abutting Victoria is, for the most part relatively shallow. Bass Strait at its deepest point is approximately 90m

The shallow nature of the marine environment and the predominant south westerly winds create a high-energy coastal environment on Victoria's open coast. Waves constantly pound the exposed southern shores, carving out deep ledges and gullies in rocky areas, while moving and sculpting coarse sand elsewhere.

Where the sea funnels into embayments (e.g. Western Port and Port Phillip Bay), marine conditions are more "settled", with finer sediments and different marine communities.

What's it like?

The Tasman Sea and the warm eastern Australian current from the east and the more fertile, colder subantarctic waters from the south-west influence the shallow basin of Bass Strait.

Seasonal upwelling of nutrients from the deep sea are infrequent events off the Victoria coast. The coastal waters are characterised by low nutrient concentrations as a result. Water temperatures on the open coast range from approximately 12 to 18 degrees celcius although this variation is more marked in shallow bays and inlets.

Relatively little freshwater is received by the sea from land in Victoria. Only around 14 percent of the rainfall ends up in the ocean, with no major rivers draining to the Victorian coast.

What lives there ?

An enormous array of plant and animal forms has evolved to take advantage of the relatively low nutrient levels in these coastal waters. While the abundance of plants and animals are limited in our coastal waters, many groups are extraordinarily diverse compared to other parts of the ocean.

Groups such as red and brown seaweeds, crustaceans and ascidians have far higher species richness than in comparable cool water habitats elsewhere.

The oceanographic "isolation" of southern Australia's marine life from other marine communities has led to a high level of endemism i.e. species being restricted to a specific locality. One of the most striking elements about the sea life in our waters is that most plant and animals (more than 85 percent in most groups) only occur in southern Australia.

Victoria's coastal waters are also turning up new surprises. An area near Lakes Entrance in eastern Victoria has recently been found to be one of the most species-rich marine areas on the planet. In an area about the size of a tennis court, more than 800 different types of marine animals have been found. One are of 1.2 square metres has turned up 353 species of animals alone.

What are the problems?

The discharge of oil, chemical contaminants and debris

Effects of associated fisheries

The discharge or release of nutrients

Loss or disturbance of marine habitats

Introduction of introduced species

What are the solutions?

The major issue that Victoria's marine environment will face over the coming years is the issue of protecting and restoring the marine environment in the face of a growing population.