Western Australia’s marine environment ranges from the warm, tropical waters off the Kimberley coast to the cool, temperate waters of the Great Australian Bight. The WA coastline is more than 13,500 kilometres long and makes up about 40 per cent of Australia’s continental coastline.

WA’s marine environment is among the most pristine – and biologically diverse – in the world. Ningaloo Reef, for example, is the largest fringing coral reef in Australia and Shark Bay is one of only 17 areas in the world that meets all four natural criteria for World Heritage listing.

Marine environments are managed for their biodiversity and recreational values, as well as commercial activities, including fishing and the production of energy resources.

The Department of Environment and Conservation has a lead role in conservation and is responsible for conserving the State’s rich diversity of native marine flora and fauna. A key element of this role is the establishment and management of a Statewide system of marine conservation reserves, which are vested in the Marine Parks and Reserves Authority. We manage these on behalf of the community. We also develop recovery plans to protect threatened marine species and communities, and wildlife management programs to protect exploited marine wildlife.

A number of other complementary mechanisms are used to help conserve and manage the marine environment. These include pollution control, environmental impact assessment of development proposals, fisheries management, oil spill response capability and maritime safety regulations.

In this part of our website, we explain the mechanisms for marine conservation and management in Western Australia and provide information on how you can get involved in helping to protect the marine environment.