Protecting the Crystals

The Crystals is a popular swimming and snorkelling spot along the rock wall west of Williamstown Beach. This area has high conservation value but was left out of the original Jawbone Marine Sanctuary, largely for ease of enforcement reasons.

The Jawbone Marine Sanctuary Care Group, together with the Snorkel Sisters, Melbourne Open Water Swimmers, the Jellyfish and thousands of locals, are campaigning to protect the Crystals by extending the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary.

Extending the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary to include the Crystals will require a variation to an Act of Parliament to change the sanctuary boundaries. For this to happen, we need to show it’s supported by the community - that's you!

Why it’s important to protect the Crystals

Located just a few hundred metres beyond the existing sanctuary boundary, but part of the same rocky reef system, the Crystals is home to seahorses, stingrays, seagrass beds and other marine life. Extending protection will help safeguard this special reef from pressures including overfishing and other damaging activities.

'Marine sanctuaries give wildlife safe places to live and breed. They're a refuge from fishing and damaging activities, helping marine habitats cope with climate change. They're places for people to connect with and enjoy nature,' says Shannon Hurley, Nature Conservation Campaigner at VNPA.

The current situation

The Victorian Labour Government has announced that it supports the extension of Jawbone Marine Sanctuary to protect the Crystals. The Environment Minister, Jaclyn Symes, has started the process with DEECA to get it through Parliament. However, final approval in Parliament will depend on whether the Labour party gets re-elected in November.

The local Liberal candidate Paul Lindemann has also expressed support for a proposal to Parliament to extend the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary.

The Greens have stated that they will support any bill to extend Jawbone Marine Sanctuary in the Victorian parliament.

How you can help

While we have made significant progress and the support from the political parties is encouraging, you can still help make it happen!

Sign the petition to protect the Crystals (by extending the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary). Don’t give money to change.org, but please sign the petition and share the link widely.

Complete the survey about how you use the Crystals and what you value. This information is crucial when Parliament considers whether this issue is important. The survey will only take five minutes to complete.

We will keep you updated about the campaign’s progress through our newsletter.