When making decisions about what can occur in marine parks and what action we will take to protect marine parks, we take values into account.

Natural values 

For example:

• habitats
• species and communities within marine parks
• ecological  processes.

Cultural values

For example:

• living and cultural heritage
• Indigenous beliefs
• practices and obligations for country
• places of cultural significance
• cultural heritage sites.

Heritage values

For example, non-Indigenous heritage that has significance, such as:

• aesthetic
• historic
• scientific
• social significance.

Socio-economic values

For example, the benefit of marine parks for:

• people
• businesses
• the economy.

Discover more about the values of each marine park:

• Values of the Coral Sea Marine Park
• Values of the North Network
• Values of the North-west Network
• Values of the South-west Network
• Values of the Temperate East Network
• Values of the Indian Ocean Network

Other sources of information on marine park values can be found on the Department’s website, in particular:

• Species Profile and Threats Database
• Australian Wetlands Directory
• Australian Heritage Database
• Australian National Shipwrecks Database

As our understanding of marine park values improves over the life of this plan, we will make new information about values available on this site.