Temperate East Marine Region
Conservation values of the Temperate East
What are conservation values?
The conservation values of a marine region include all marine species and places that are protected under national environmental law as well as a region's key ecological features. Conservation values are therefore those species, features and places of the marine environment that are important in the context of the government's environmental responsibilities.
- Key ecological features are parts of the marine ecosystem that are considered to be of importance for a region's biodiversity or ecosystem function and integrity. Key ecological features may be habitats or areas of a region, specific benthic or pelagic features, species groups or ecological communities. The description of key ecological features helps to define Commonwealth waters.
The Temperate East Marine Region has many unique features and is home to a large number of protected species and species that occur nowhere else in the world. The region is characterised by a narrow continental shelf, significant variation in seafloor features, dynamic oceanography and deep water.
Collectively the diverse habitats of the region support a rich and diverse array of marine species including critically endangered grey nurse sharks, endangered loggerhead turtles, and vulnerable populations of humpback whales.
Key ecological features of the region include seamount chains (Lord Howe, Tasmantid, Norfolk Ridge), oceanographic features (Tasman Front, upwelling off Fraser Island), the Elizabeth and Middleton reefs, shelf rocky reefs and undersea canyons.
There are four existing Commonwealth marine reserves in the Temperate East Marine Region, two wetlands of international importance and several historic shipwrecks.
Find out more
- The Draft Temperate East Marine Bioregional Plan describes the conservation values and key ecological features of the Temperate East Marine Region.
- Conservation Values Atlas
About marine bioregional planning
Marine bioregional planning is being implemented in five large marine regions.