The Moreton Bay Marine Park was established in 1992 to protect ecologically significant habitats in Moreton Bay. The marine park extends from Caloundra south to the southern tip of South Stradbroke Island. The marine park's border extends up to the highest tidal mark and covers a total of 3,400 km2. The marine park provides protection to sensitive reef sites near Tangalooma and Flinders Reef. It includes waterways such as Coombabah Lake, mangrove forests, swamps, marshes, tidal mudflats, sandflats and seagrass beds. It is a temporary home to migrating shorebirds that inhabit wetlands. Dugongs, whales and turtles swim in the waters of the bay. The marine park is managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. In 1971, a total of 18 countries signed a Convention on Wetlands of International Significance. It was signed in Ramsar, a city in Iran, and came to be known as the Ramsar Convention, which aimed at stopping global loss of wetlands, and conservation and sustainable management of the remaining wetlands. Moreton Bay is among Australia's largest sites which is listed under the Ramsar Convention.
