Nearly 2,000 species of marine life remain unprotected by Australian marine parks, research from the University of Queensland (UQ) has revealed.

The study, published yesterday in the journal Nature, concluded 97 per cent of the 17,000 marine species analysed globally fell short of protection guidelines for designated marine park areas (MPAs).

Lead researcher Dr Carissa Klein from UQ said although South America, Brazil and Canada had the highest number of unprotected sites, Australia's marine regulation also needed vast improvement to adequately protect species.

"Over 25 per cent of Australian marine species are very poorly represented in designated marine protected areas," she said.

"This gives Australia a great opportunity to make a big difference globally in terms of protecting species by systematically designing protected areas in the future."

The research was conducted in collaboration with the Australian-based Centre for Excellence in Environmental Decisions and provides a benchmark for conserving biodiversity.

Moreton Bay marine park rangers revealed this year an alarming number of turtles in the area consumed plastic. ( Source: plastinography.org )

Baseline conservation research was completed for global terrestrial environments more than a decade ago, but new data enabled scientists to conduct the same analysis for marine environments.

The UQ research team hopes the findings will be used to guide the management of conservation processes.

"Now the data has become available, we have created a baseline for measuring conservation progress and planning for future marine park areas," Dr Klein said.

Australia is party to the Convention on Biological Diversity, under which member nations have committed to placing 10 per cent of coastal and marine environments by 2020.

Dr Klein's research identified a number major changes needed for Australia to reach that target.

"The Great Barrier Reef is a very well-designed network of MPAs that comprehensively represented the marine biodiversity that we know about.

"Where Australia has fallen short is around the rest of the country.

"They've put in a great deal of MPAs, but they haven't strategically placed them in areas that have the best biodiversity."

Dr Klein said she hoped their research would help state and federal governments work together to direct the most effective positioning of MPAs to protect biodiversity.