We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the sovereign Traditional Owners of Australia and thank them for their stewardship of this Country, its lands, waters and skies. We respectfully acknowledge their culture and customary practices, and pay respect to their Ancestors, Elders and future leaders.

For the first time, the State of the Environment report includes a strong Indigenous narrative across all 12 thematic chapters, a narrative crafted through recognising the leadership, collaboration and authorship of Indigenous Australians who continue their connection as Traditional Owners to their lands, waters and skies.

Click to view the State of the Environment report

On 28 March 2025 the government assumed a Caretaker role. Information on websites maintained by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water will be published in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions until after the conclusion of the caretaker period.

Due to technical issues, graphs, maps and tables are currently not displaying within the main content, however, are available via the chapter resources navigation bar. We are working on a solution to resolve the issue.

Reference

Henry GW & Lyle JM (eds) (2003). The National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey, FRDC project 99/158, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Canberra.

Stuart-Smith RD, Barrett NS, Crawford CM, Frusher SD, Stevenson DG & Edgar GJ (2008). Spatial patterns in impacts of fishing on temperate rocky reefs: are fish abundance and mean size related to proximity to fisher access points? Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 365(2):116–125.

van Putten IE, Jennings S, Hobday AJ, Bustamante RH, Dutra LXC, Frusher S, Fulton EA, Haward M, Plagányi É, Thomas L & Pecl G (2017). Recreational fishing in a time of rapid ocean change. Marine Policy 76:169–177.

Edgar GJ, Ward TJ & Stuart‐Smith RD (2018a). Rapid declines across Australian fishery stocks indicate global sustainability targets will not be achieved without an expanded network of ‘no-fishing’ reserves. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 28(6):1337–1350.

Little LR, Day J, Haddon M, Klaer N, Punt AE, Smith ADM, Smith DC & Tuck GN (2019). Comments on the evidence for the recent claim on the state of Australian fish stocks. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 29(2):329–330.