14 images Created 8 Jul 2021
Bay of Plenty
The rich biodiversity of Moreton Bay, in Queensland, has seen it recognised as a Hope Spot, part of a series of global marine sites considered critical to the health of the world’s oceans. The waters of this subtropical east coast waterway are as close as 14 kilometres to the city’s CBD, and the coastal lands that fringe its westerly edge have been impacted by European settlement since the late 1800s. These days there is ever-growing pressure on the natural ecosystems here, with the bay – which extends about 125 kilometres, from Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in the south, to Caloundra on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in the north – being on the doorstep of Australia’s fastest-growing urban strip.
