Marine parks

South Australia’s marine parks help pro­tect and con­serve marine bio­log­i­cal diver­si­ty and habi­tats, nat­ur­al and cul­tur­al fea­tures and allow for eco­log­i­cal­ly sus­tain­able development.

Some of our marine life is found nowhere else on earth. South Aus­tralia boasts icon­ic species such as the south­ern right whale, bot­tlenose dol­phin, leafy sea drag­on, blue dev­il fish, great white shark, Aus­tralian pel­i­can, lit­tle pen­guin, Aus­tralian sea lion and giant cuttlefish.

Marine park sanc­tu­ary zones are the core con­ser­va­tion areas, just like nation­al parks on land, pro­tect­ing vital feed­ing, breed­ing, nurs­ery and rest­ing areas for our marine plants and ani­mals. South Aus­tralia is for­tu­nate to have a state-wide net­work of 19 marine parks with 83 sanc­tu­ary zones. Vis­it the marine parks web­site for more information.

Where can I vis­it a marine park?

Just a short dri­ve from Ade­laide is Encounter Marine Park — South Australia’s most vis­it­ed marine park. Here you can go whale watch­ing, div­ing on ship­wrecks, kayak­ing with dol­phins, snor­kel­ing from a reef, boat­ing, fish­ing, or you can take a tour.

Many nation­al parks are along­side marine parks, where the beach meets the ocean. Find coastal nation­al parks with water activ­i­ties by using our Find a Park tool. Refine your search by ​‘Div­ing’, ​‘Fish­ing’, ​‘Kayaking/​canoeing’, ​‘Snor­kel­ing’, ​‘Surf­ing’, ​‘Swim­ming’ or ​‘Whale watch­ing’ then choose the parks you want to explore.