Impending blight: how Statoil's plans threaten the Great Australian Bight

Supporters say the oil firm has experience drilling in rough seas but conservationists fear damage to wildlife and fisheries

The cold and violent waters of the Great Australian Bight are home to one of the country's most biodiverse and important marine ecosystems, the heart of its fishing industry, a growing tourism hotspot - and potentially its newest oil field.

Of the species in the bight, 85% are found nowhere else on the planet. It is a breeding ground for the endangered southern right whale and a feeding zone for Australian sea lions, great white sharks, migratory sperm whales and short-tailed shearwaters.