Spencer Gulf Shelf Province

It extends from Point Brown in the west to Cape Jaffa in the east, and out to the edge of the continental shelf.

Stretches of coast facing the open ocean, particularly along the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula and at the 'Kangaroo Island Pool' south of Kangaroo Island, experience cold-water upwelling during the summer months, known as the Great South Australian Coastal Upwelling System.

[3][2] The biota of the province is characterised by warm temperate species, many of which range westwards across the Bight into Southwest Australia.

Some cool-temperate species characteristic of the Bass Strait and Tasmania reach the western extent of their range here.

The seasonal upwelling of nutrient-rich water along the western Eyre Peninsula and at the Kangaroo Island Pool nurtures plankton, krill, and fish, which provide food for dolphins, Australian little penguins (Eudyptula novaehollandiae), and blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus).