Make Terrigal Haven a Marine Sanctuary

🌊🦈 Terrigal Haven has no protected marine sanctuary. Critically endangered Grey Nurse Sharks are being harmed here.

Terrigal Haven is home to some of Australia's most vulnerable marine life. Grey Nurse Sharks gather here. Green Turtles feed in these waters. Blue Groper, seadragons, dolphins, and migrating humpback whales all depend on this coastline. Yet nothing is stopping recreational fishing, boating activity, and human disturbance from harming them every single day.

Grey Nurse Sharks are critically endangered. Only approximately 1,420 adults remain on Australia's entire east coast. They breed once every two years. They recover slowly. Every injury, every death, pushes them closer to extinction.

And they are being killed here.

In March 2026, images emerged on social media showing a dead Grey Nurse Shark on the rocks at Terrigal Haven with a hook in its mouth. The shark had been one of more than a dozen frequenting the Haven for months, captivating local swimmers, snorkellers, and divers. The Central Coast community was devastated.

Terry the Green Turtle was rescued from these same waters with fishing line wound so tightly around his flipper that the damage was irreversible. Green Turtles are endangered. Vets described Terry's injuries as one of the worst fishing line injuries they had ever seen. His flipper had to be amputated. Terry spent months recovering before he was well enough to be released.

This is what happens when critical marine habitat is left completely unprotected.

There is currently no declared Grey Nurse Shark aggregation site anywhere between Little Broughton Island and Malabar's Magic Point. Terrigal Haven sits right in that gap.

What we're calling for:

Urgently establish a protected marine sanctuary zone at Terrigal Haven and surrounding waters, with enforceable restrictions on harmful fishing practices that threaten Grey Nurse Sharks and other vulnerable marine species.