Marine protected species identification guide 2025

Authors

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia

Files

Description

The Western Australian aquatic environment is home to a number of species that are protected under international agreements and national or state legislation. Many of these species occur in areas where fishing takes place, sometimes resulting in interactions between fishers and protected species. An interaction is considered to be any physical contact between a person, fishing vessel or fishing gear and a protected species, including captures, entanglements and collisions.

This guide has been developed to help you identify some common marine protected species in Western Australia that you may encounter while fishing.

It has been divided into 5 sections:

• marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, dugongs, seals and sea lions

• reptiles (both freshwater and marine), including turtles, crocodiles and sea snakes

• bony fish and elasmobranchs, including sea horses, pipefish, sharks and rays

• seabirds

• shore birds

Please note that this guide is not an exhaustive list of marine protected species in WA.

ISBN

978-1-877098-23-9

ISSN

2206 - 0928

Publication Date

2-2025

Series Number

Fisheries Occasional Publication No. 129

Publisher

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Perth, Western Australia

City

Perth

Number of Pages

48

Disciplines

Aquaculture and Fisheries | Biodiversity | Biology | Population Biology | Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Comments

This replaces the 2021 version of the same publication.

Recommended Citation

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia. 2025. Marine protected species identification guide 2025. Fisheries Occasional Publication No. 129. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Perth, Western Australia. Perth. , 48 pp.
https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/fr_fop/19