Oceana | Protecting the World's Oceans

This tropical sea earns its name from the presence of coral reefs along most of its coasts. The Great Barrier Reef grows out to the edge of the Australian continental shelf, on the western side of the sea. Warm water enters from the Pacific, circulating weakly before leaving through the Torres Strait to the west, or to the south as the East Australia Current. The eastern and northern sides of the Coral Sea are marked by deep trenches, where the oceanic part of the Australian Plate is subducting. Volcanism has resulted in the Solomon Islands and the Vanuatu chain.

A beautiful reef that begins to the north with a series of deep, steeply sloping channels followed by a gently sloping area covered in plateform corals. The reef top is fairly rugose and offers plenty of hiding places for rare fish species such as hamlets and soapfish.

Points of Special Interest

1. Spiny lobster cave - Caribbean spiny lobsters are most active at night. Check beneath the numerous plateform corals on this site to discover their shared daytime shelters