Australia’s marine parks protect ‘places no one goes’ rather than fragile waters near the mainland, scientists say

A weedy sea dragon in Port Botany off Sydney’s coast. A group of scientists are calling for Australia’s coastal marine ecosystems to be better protected, saying many highly protected zones are concentrated in remote waters. Photograph: DaveBluck/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The Australian government has been accused of leaving waters near the mainland largely unprotected by establishing the bulk of highly protected marine parks in remote areas.

More than 270 leading marine scientists from 84 research institutes have written to the environment minister, Murray Watt, urging stronger protections for marine ecosystems, as a once-in-a-decade review of marine parks gets under way.