Marine Protected Areas
The marine environments of the North-west Shelf and specifically the West Sahul region, are high in biological diversity and support some of the most complex biological systems on earth.
Recent surveys have identified 547 species of fish. This represents approximately 16% of Australia's fish species, eleven of which had not been previously recorded in Australia.
Results of a large-scale survey and analysis of the biological and cultural values of Cartier Island and Hibernia Reef indicate that the areas provide significant habitat for an extraordinarily rich diversity and density of sea-snakes, some of which are found only in the West Sahul region.
Coral formations near Cartier Island, Suzanne Ferguson
The survey of the region also revealed
Cartier Island support significantly large populations of feeding, breeding and nesting sea-turtles and are considered critical habitat for all the species.
The reefs banks and shoals of the Sahul Shelf support a large population of dugongs (Dugong dugon). Studies indicate significant numbers exist at Ashmore Reef and their range possibly extends to Cartier Island and other submerged shoals in the region.
The location, seasonal oceanic conditions, naturally-occurring hydrocarbon inputs and diverse sea-floor habitat support distinct groups of sea-floor and free-swimming species and communities in the region.