Why Protect the Coral Sea?

Australia’s Coral Sea is one of the last places on Earth where large ocean fish still dominate a near natural array of marine wildlife.

If left unprotected, the Coral Sea remains under threat from fishing and mining. we must not allow this natural wonderland to remain at risk when the world's oceans being altered, damaged and are collapsing under the pressure of unsustainable fishing.

Approximately 3 million km2 of the world's 361 million km2 are protected, only 0.8%, with less than 0.1% fully protected from fishing and other extractive uses. By contrast, around 12% of the world's land area is protected.

Benefits for Far North Queensland

Queensland has reaped the benefits of past large scale conservation measures and today stands to benrfit further.

Protection of the Coral Sea's near pristine, remote and highly vulnerable environments as part of the world's largest protected area network would secure lasting benefits for the communities of the eastern tropical coast and the environment in which we live and work. The stability, health and quality of marine wildlife communities in the Great Barrier Reef system would be improved through the protection of large marine wildlife, pelagic fish and sharks that are hunted throughout their Pacific Ocean range.

In a world where large marine animals and pristine ocean habitats are fast disappearing, Australia's marine tourism can only be enhanced through the protection of the ocean giants and their Coral Sea habitat.