Seagrasses of Australia

Distibution and Diversity

Distribution
Australia has approximately 51,000 km2 of seagrass meadows in shallow subtidal and intertidal environments. They are generally found in estuaries and sheltered bays where ocean currents and wave action are not as great.

State	Major areas of Seagrass	Number of Species
New South Wales	Jervis Bay, Botany Bay and Lake Macquarie	8 species
Queensland	Hervey Bay, Moreton Bay, Torres Strait	15 species It is estimated that there are nearly 6,000km² of seagrass in Queensland waters shallower than 15 metres, and that up to 40,000km2 of the waters deeper than 15 metres of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon are likely to have some seagrass.
South Australia	Spencer Gulf, Gulf of St Vincent and Encounter Bay	22 species covering an area of almost 10,000 kmcovering an area of almost 10,000 km².
Tasmania	Norfolk Bay and Pittwater	5 species Tasmania has about 1.0% of Australia’s seagrasses or about 50 km²
Victoria	Corner Inlet, Port Phillip Bay and Westernport Bay	6 species
Western Australia	Jurien, Marmion Marine Park, Shoalwater Islands Marine Park, Shark Bay, Cockburn Sound, Geographe Bay and Oyster Harbour.	27 species Western Australia has one of the biggest seagrass populations in the world. Seagrasses are estimated to cover some 20,000 km² of shallow seabed, and there are 27 species in this region. The variety of habitats along its western and southern coasts is often soft sands in shallow subtropical waters, ideal for these plants.
Northern Territory	Gulf of Carpentaria, particularly off West Island in the Limmen Bight	10 species