Australia's marine environment is one of the most important on Earth. As a nation, we are responsible for almost 16 million square kilometres of the world's oceans; twice the area of our land. Australia has the largest area of coral reefs in the world as well as the largest single coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef.
Our 4000 fish species represent 20 per cent of the Earth's total. Six of the world's seven marine turtles are found here, along with 45 of the 78 known species of whales, dolphins and porpoises. No other nation has 30 of the globe's 58 species of seagrass.
Despite its global, national and regional values of significance, and our international commitment to sound marine management, less than four percent of Australia's marine environment is highly protected from extractive uses including fishing and mining. Moreover, the no-take protection is mostly in one place; on the Great Barrier Reef. This is well below today's international standards that have been set by the recent establishment of large no-take areas in the Hawaiian Islands, Mariana Trench and Kiribati.