Eastern Recherche Marine Park protects waters around islands of the Recherche Archipelago, which were once joined to the mainland. Surrounding a representative sample of the Archipelago’s 150 islands, Eastern Recherche Marine Park protects a mosaic of macroalgae-dominated rocky reef, seagrass, sand and rhodolith habitats. The unusually clear water in the region, attributed to lower levels of primary production, results in deep light penetration and allows these spectacular habitats to thrive at depths of up to 50 metres.

The park is located 135 kilometres east of Esperance. It covers 20,575 square kilometres, and has National Park and Special Purpose zones. – Parks Australia

Eastern Recherche ranges from less than 5 to 5,756 metres depth, with an average depth of 3,406 metres. The majority of the park (60%) falls within the abyssal zone (4,000-6,000 metres). [View on map] The mapped areas of the seafloor are dominated by Plane (56%) and Slope (17%) geomorphology. [View on map]