The Coral Sea, known for its plethora of sharks, should be protected as a conservation area campaigners have said this week.
A number of environmental groups have highlighted the Coral Sea as one of the few remaining tropical marine wildernesses, which should be protected from oil and gas development companies and illegal shark fishers.
Gilly Llewellyn, WWF spokeswoman, told the BBC: "It could potentially be targeted by illegal fishermen.
"Sharks are increasingly rare in our oceans today. These are the sort of lions and tigers of the sea and unfortunately they are prized for their shark fin, which commands a high price in the Asian marketplace.
"So illegal fishers looking for sharks for their fin are becoming increasingly bold. Without formal protection for the Coral Sea we are afraid it might be vulnerable to that in the future."
The Coral Sea is on the outskirts of the Great Barrier Reef on Australia's east coast and covers an area of some 780,000 square kilometres.
