 The many bays, inlets and islands in the Shark Bay region support a profusion of aquatic life. Turtles, whales, prawns, scallops, sea snakes, fish and sharks are common, and coral and sponges - together with a unique mix of tropical and temperate fish species – are also in abundance.
The wide intertidal flats on the shores of Shark Bay support a unique community of burrowing molluscs, hermit crabs and other invertebrates. But the very foundation of Shark Bay's ecosystem is the seagrass - meadows and meadows of it!
Shark Bay has the largest area of seagrass and the largest number of species ever recorded in one place in the world. For example, there is only one species of seagrass off the North American and European coastlines, but in Shark Bay there are 12.
There are many shallow, but highly recommended, diving and snorkelling sites here – with Monkey Rock and the wreck of the Gudrun being the most famous.
Fish species in the area include estuary cod, many species of brightly-coloured wrasse - such as cleaner fish and green moon wrasse - scissortail sergeant, lined butterfly fish, varieties of surgeonfish and brightly-coloured angelfish.
Dugongs and marine turtles are frequently seen in the bay. Also common are green turtles, which tend to congregate from the end of July, although the start of the breeding season is usually later.
The waters of Monkey Mia, where several bottlenose dolphins regularly visit the beach, are also within the marine park. They come so close to people that they actually brush up against you.
One of the best places to see fish and coral is the Broadhurst coral patch, where many species of staghorn, brain and plate corals vie for attention. Meanwhile, the coral and fish communities of Sandy Point lie include numerous species of blue, purple, green and brown staghorn corals.
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