Covering 744,070 square kilometres of remote tropical ocean, reef and lagoon habitat, the Indian Ocean Territories (IOT) network is the newest addition to the Australian Marine Parks. Established in March 2022, these new parks will help protect the unique marine environments of Australia’s IOT and support positive social and economic outcomes for local communities and other marine users. They build on the work of Christmas Island National Park and Pulu Keeling National Park.

The marine environment of the IOT is known for iconic species such as whale sharks, turtles, manta rays, spinner dolphins and a vast array of seabirds. There are also lesser known but equally fascinating species, including locally evolved hybrid fish which result from the mixing of waters from the Indian and Pacific Oceans in the IOT. – Parks Australia

The Indian Ocean Territories Network spans the shallow (<30 metres) to hadal (>6,000 metres) depth zones, with the majority of the Network (91%) falling within the abyssal zone (4,000-6,000 metres). [View on map]