Review of Ten Key Ecological Features (KEFs) in the Northwest Marine Region

Created 07/03/2026

Updated 07/03/2026

The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) has identified as key ecological features (KEFs) numerous geomorphic features or regionally important species or habitats in the northwest marine region. This process supports the department's establishment of the development of Marine Bioregional Plans and a National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas (NRSMPA). A total of ten KEFs are included in this study of which seven lie in the deep-sea where information on biodiversity and ecosystems is scarce. The ten KEFs are: Wallaby Saddle, Cuvier Abyssal Plain, Cape Range Canyons, Exmouth Plateau, Argo Abyssal Plain, Bowers and Oates Canyons, Scott Plateau, Scott Reef, the Holocene Coastline, and Glomar Shoals. Geoscience Australia was engaged to investigate habitat heterogeneity of these KEFs utilising its existing expertise in habitat mapping and surrogacy.

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Additional Info

Field Value
Title Review of Ten Key Ecological Features (KEFs) in the Northwest Marine Region
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/en/dataset/90e79c4e-9d40-4ddf-b88c-76a69ccc2b58
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 12/10/2025
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
{
  "coordinates": [
    [
      [
        105.0,
        -30.0
      ],
      [
        130.0,
        -30.0
      ],
      [
        130.0,
        -10.0
      ],
      [
        105.0,
        -10.0
      ],
      [
        105.0,
        -30.0
      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "Review of Ten Key Ecological Features (KEFs) in the Northwest Marine Region". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/review-of-ten-key-ecological-features-kefs-in-the-northwest-marine-region8