Australia’s South‑east Marine Parks Network protects more than 700,000 km² of ocean in one of the world’s fastest‑warming marine regions, where the East Australian Current is driving ecological change at four times the global average. The 2025 South‑east Network Management Plan identifies climate change, cumulative pressures and critical knowledge gaps as key challenges, and calls for evidence‑based, adaptive management over the coming decade.
The South‑East Australian Marine Ecosystem Survey (SEA‑MES), a multi‑year research program conducted on RV Investigator, directly addresses these priorities. By revisiting surveys conducted 30 years ago—before the marine parks were established—SEA‑MES quantifies the magnitude and spatial patterns of ecosystem change across the region. Contemporary sampling inside and outside park boundaries provides the first network‑scale opportunity to test whether marine park effects on fish communities, benthic habitats and oceanographic conditions are detectable against strong background climate change.
Because historical baselines pre‑date park establishment, disentangling park effects from regional change relies on inferring whether observed conditions inside parks differ from expected trajectories. Regardless of outcome, SEA‑MES delivers national benefit and critical evidence to Parks Australia and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to evaluate management effectiveness and support adaptive decision‑making.