The South-West NRM region supports a diverse range of erstuarine and marine habitats, flora and fauna and is important because:

 

â–  the diversity supports State-managed fisheries and lies adjacent to Commonwealth fisheries,
â–  it has the second-most extensive beds of seagrass on the WA coast
■ 250 species of fish have been recorded in the Bunbury– Geographe Bay area
■ the proposed Leeuwin–Naturaliste Marine Park Area lies in a transition zone between tropical and temperate seas. Ninety-six species of starfish, sea cucumbers and sea urchins have been noted in this area
â–  many whale species are present including the uncommon sperm, blue, pygmy blue, and minke whales.
â–  there are several protected species, such as the leafy sea dragon and the great white shark, plus other species, as yet unknown, that require further protection.

â–  the area hosts internationally significant estuaries and wetlands (South West Catchments Coucil, 2005)

Photo: Adult Humpback whale breaching (D./F. Harvey)

To explore the assets of the marine environments of the South-West and to learn about the main attributes, current state and main threats, consult the following documents.

South West Regional Strategy for Natural Resource Management - Extract: Marine and coastal assets (SWCC, 2005)
Coastal Environs in the South West NRM Region (SWCC, 2002)