We know more about the types of fishes living around Antarctica and Heard Island, than about the fish species found around much of continental Australia. The practice of preserving fish for scientific study dates back to 17th century Europe. In more recent times, the development of collections has provided marine biologists with information on the lifecycles, behaviour, distribution and biology of represented species, contributing to the growing bank of scientific knowledge. Established 60 years ago, the Australian National Fish Collection is one of the most comprehensive and important reference collections in Australia. Judged by the diversity of species it holds, the Collection is among the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
All specialist collections strive for quality and diversity.
About one quarter of the species are only found in the region. The biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef includes some 1,500 species of fish. In the 1980s, commercial fishers went in pursuit of the 'ancient' orange roughy on the deep-ocean plateaus and mountains in the Southern Ocean. However it was not until 1994 that a team from the Australian Geological Survey Organisation completed the first detailed survey of their fishing grounds, which showed a number of extinct volcanoes with cones up to 400 metres high, located some 100 kilometres south of Tasmania at depths between 660 and 1940 metres beneath the sea's surface. In 1995, Environment Australia, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and the fishing industry agreed to provide interim protection to these seamounts with deep-water reserve status.