Centre for Marine Futures

Fish are wildlife, but they also support coastal communities and connect many of us to the marine environment when we take time off to go diving or to drop a line.

We still know little about the secret lives of fish. But we know some change sex and form harems. They may grow slowly, living to more than 80 years of age in the deserts that are Western Australia’s oceans. More than 80% of Western Australian fish are found only in Australia and they are a unique legacy. 

The Centre and its associates are building a benchmark picture of this legacy. Our pioneering surveys of fish using diver-based and baited stereo video cameras systems provide a baseline from which we can better understand the effects of climate change, coastal and marine infrastructure development, and fishing, as well as the benefits of marine protected areas. Our mass balance models explore the questions of ecosystem productivity and sustainable fishing.