Whale Nursery Protection Areas
Whale Nursery Protection Areas are designated areas that provide increased protection for whales that come close to shore to raise their young.
This page will help you understand:
- Identify South Australia’s Whale Nursery Protection Areas
- Understand the increased protections
- Find more information
South Australia's Whale Nursery Protection Areas
There are 3 designated Whale Nursery Protection Areas under the National Parks and Wildlife (Protected Animals) Marine Mammals Regulations 2025:
- Fowlers Bay
- Sleaford Bay
- Encounter Bay*
Within these areas, you must maintain a 300 m approach distance when whale watching to minimise disturbance.
These rules only apply when viewing whales, there are no changes to boats simply passing through an area.
It is already a requirement that a vessel viewing a whale with a calf must remain 300 m away in all state and federal waters.
*A 300 m approach distance already applied in the Encounter Bay Restricted Area and has not changed, however, this area has been re-named ‘Encounter Bay Whale Nursery Protection Area’.
The rationale
Encounter Bay, Fowlers Bay and Sleaford Bay have been identified as important in the recovery of the southern right whale in the Australian Government’s National Recovery Plan for the Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) 2024 and in a scientific review by key experts undertaken for the Department for Environment and Water.
The recovery plan highlights that minimising disturbance in nursery areas is essential to support southern right whale recovery.
The introduction of the Sleaford Bay and Fowlers Bay Whale Nursery Protection Areas ensures consistent protection measures for all the key gathering sites of southern right whales in South Australian waters, aligning with existing protections already established at Encounter Bay.
Re-naming and introducing these nursery areas in South Australia offers a valuable opportunity to highlight their importance in the recovery of the southern right whale.
The introduction of the Whale Nursery Protection Areas is not intended to prevent boat-based whale watching, vessel access to these waters or vessels travelling through these areas.
More information
- A visual guide is available which provides simplified background information about the proposed Whale Nursery Protection Areas.
- Maps of the proposed Whale Nursery Protection Areas are also available.
