Port Stephens - Great Lakes Marine Park

Port Stephens–Great Lakes Marine Park is a large coastal reserve stretching from Cape Hawke near Forster south to Birubi Beach at the northern end of Stockton Beach. The park covers about 980 square kilometres, including offshore waters to the three-nautical-mile limit, Port Stephens, the Karuah and Myall rivers, Myall and Smiths lakes, and connected creeks and tributaries up to the tidal limit. For visitors based in Nelson Bay, it provides access to a broad network of marine and estuarine environments rather than a single lookout or attraction.

Its appeal is the variety of landscapes and habitats within the park. Beaches, seagrass beds, mangroves, saltmarsh and open water support different communities of plants and animals. The area includes Port Stephens’ drowned river valley, the state’s largest, as well as the brackish barrier lake system of Myall Lakes and the intermittently open and closed Smiths Lake. This mix of waterways and shorelines creates plenty of scope for exploring by boat, along the coast or in the water.

Activities listed for the marine park include boating, recreational fishing, scuba diving and snorkelling, as well as dolphin and whale watching. Educational activities are also available, making the park suitable for families, school groups and visitors who want to learn more about the marine environment. The waters and estuaries support dolphins, turtles, fish, invertebrates, seabirds and seaweed, while the park also provides habitat for threatened species including Gould’s petrel, little tern, grey nurse shark, black rockcod and green turtle. Broughton Island is noted as important habitat for grey nurse sharks and black rockcod, while Cabbage Tree Island is the primary breeding site for Gould’s petrel.

The marine park was established in December 2005, with zoning and management rules commencing in 2007. Those rules apply across different parts of the park, so visitors should check the current zoning map, user guide or FishSmart NSW app before fishing or undertaking other activities. The area also has significant Aboriginal cultural and spiritual connections, including middens, burial sites and traditional campsites. Aboriginal people have maintained associations with the sea and land here for thousands of years, and local people continue to gather food in traditional ways. With its combination of wildlife, waterways, recreation and cultural history, the park suits active days out, wildlife-focused visits, group excursions and quieter solo exploration.