The Hinchinbrook Estuary Wilderness Research Area is home to a diversity of wildlife, including dugongs, snubfin dolphins, estuarine crocodiles, sea turtles and fish such as barramundi, mangrove jack and threadfin salmon. Its estuaries, freshwater streams and wetlands are nursery grounds for many estuarine, coastal and reef fish and crustaceans, while its wetlands are breeding, feeding and resting habitats for a diversity of waterbirds. This rich biota is supported by the mosaic of interacting habitats present within the HEWRA, and together this rich mix of habitats and biota mean the full spectrum of ecosystem-supporting processes are represented in the HEWRA, true biodiversity.
