Abrolhos Marine Park sits at the edge of transition: a tropical–temperate divide where we watch the impacts of climate change, a key region for Australia’s most valuable lobster fishery, but also a region undergoing large-scale fisheries reform where all commercial fisheries for demersal fish have been closed and recreational fishing is suspended until 2028.
Established in 2018 on Yamatiji Sea Country, north of the Abrolhos Islands, the park protects a mosaic of seabed habitats and recently submerged palaeo‑shoreline features that structure fish and lobster assemblages. Biodiversity surveys led by Yamatji Sea Rangers in collaboration with Parks Australia, WA Fisheries, the Batavia Coast Maritime Institute and the University of Western Australia researchers reveal a community poised between temperate and tropical assemblages, where warming seas and marine heatwaves are reshaping ecological boundaries. At the same time, fisheries management reforms in and around the park are expected to rebuild populations of large fishes, with consequences for food webs, cultural values, and ecosystem resilience. Yamatji Sea Rangers and partners are now using these data to explore how “edge of transition” dynamics can guide Sea Country management.