Biologically important areas

  • Australian Sea Lion Neophoca cinerea
  • Dugong Dugong dugon
  • Australian Snubfin Dolphin Orcaella heinsohni
  • Indo Pacific Humpback Dolphin Sousa chinensis
  • Indo Pacific Spotted Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops aduncus
  • Flatback Turtle Natator depressus
  • Green Turtle Chelonia mydas
  • Hawksbill Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata
  • Leatherback Turtle Dermochelys coriacea
  • Loggerhead Turtle Caretta caretta
  • Olive Ridley Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea
  • Dwarf Sawfish Pristis clavata
  • Freshwater Sawfish Pristis pristis
  • Green Sawfish Pristis zijsron
  • Antipodean Albatross Diomedea exulans antipodensis
  • Australasian Gannet Morus serrator
  • Australian Lesser Noddy Anous tenuirorstris melanops
  • Black browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris
  • Black faced Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscescens
  • Black naped Tern Sterna sumatrana
  • Black Noddy Anous minutus
  • Black Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni
  • Black winged Petrel Pterodroma nigripennis
  • Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus
  • Brown Booby Sula leucogaster
  • Bullers Albatross Thalassarche bulleri
  • Campbell Albatross Thalassarche melanophris impavida
  • Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
  • Common Diving petrel Pelecanoides urinatrix
  • Common Noddy Anous stolidus
  • Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii
  • Fairy Tern Sternula nereis
  • Flesh footed Shearwater Ardenna carneipes
  • Greater Frigatebird Fregata minor
  • Great winged Petrel Pterodroma macroptera
  • Great winged Petrel macroptera Pterodroma macroptera macroptera
  • Grey Ternlet Procelsterna cerulea
  • Indian Yellow nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos bassi
  • Kermadec Petrel Pterodroma neglecta neglecta
  • Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis
  • Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel
  • Little Penguin Eudyptula minor
  • Little Shearwater Puffinus assimilis
  • Little Shearwater tunneyi Puffinus assimilis tunneyi
  • Little Tern Sternula albifrons sinensis
  • Masked Booby Sula dactylatra
  • Northern Giant Petrel Macronectes halli
  • Pacific Gull Larus pacificus
  • Providence Petrel Pterodroma solandri
  • Red footed Booby Sula sula
  • Red tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda
  • Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii
  • Short tailed Shearwater Ardenna tenuirostris
  • Shy Albatross Thalassarche cauta cauta
  • Soft plumaged Petrel Pterodroma mollis
  • Sooty Shearwater Ardenna grisea
  • Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscata
  • Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus
  • Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans (sensu lato)
  • Wedge tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica
  • White bellied Storm Petrel Fregetta grallaria grallaria
  • White capped Albatross Thalassarche cauta steadi
  • White faced Storm petrel Pelagodroma marina
  • White fronted Tern Sterna striata
  • White necked Petrel Pterodroma cervicalis
  • White tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus
  • White Tern Gygis alba
  • Wilsons Storm Petrel Oceanites oceanites
  • Grey Nurse Shark Carcharias taurus
  • Whale Shark Rhincodon typus
  • White Shark Carcharodon carcharias
  • Blue and Pygmy Blue Whale Balaenoptera musculus
  • Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae
  • Pygmy Blue Whale Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda
  • Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis
  • Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus

The Australian Government is undertaking a review of the Biologically Important Areas for protected marine species (BIAs). The BIA review includes update of the Protocol for the Designation of Biologically Important Areas for Protected Marine Species (the BIA Protocol) and the geospatial data for priority protected marine species including marine mammals (whales, dolphins, Australian sea lions, dugongs), marine turtles and seabirds. Updated BIA maps can be viewed on the Conservation Values Atlas. The southern right whale BIAs have been updated and shapefiles are available for download from Find Environmental Data. For further information on the BIA review contact the BIA review team at BIAReview@dcceew.gov.au.

Biologically important areas are regions where aggregations of individuals of a particular species are known or likely to display important behaviours such as breeding, foraging, nesting or migration. They have been identified from the literature and using expert scientific knowledge about species' distribution, abundance and behavior. Biologically important areas were created to inform decision making under the Environmental Protection and Biovidersity Conservation Act 1999, and have been defined for a selection of protected species only. These selected species were chosen based on their conservation status and the availability of reliable spatial and scientific information.

Biologically important areas are not representative of the total known biodiversity within a marine park. For more information about biodiversity and the biodiversity we know to exist in our marine parks see biodiversity.

How to use the map

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