It was declared on 30 November 1971 as the Seal Beach Aquatic Reserve for the purpose of ‘the protection of a major breeding colony of the Australian sea lion’. The following activities are prohibited in the aquatic reserve - access to waters adjoining Seal Bay by members of the public, fishing, and the collection or the removal of any marine organism. The aquatic reserve covered the full extent of the coastal frontage of Seal Bay and extended seaward a distance of about 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) covering an area of 4.04 square kilometres (1.56 square miles). Its extent included the waters around Nobby Islet. It was bounded by the Bales Beach Aquatic Reserve to its immediate east.[1][4][3] On 20 October 2016, it was abolished.[5]
^Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) (9 October 2016), Aquatic Reserve: Seal Bay - Bales Beach(PDF), Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (published 2007), archived from the original(PDF) on 19 September 2015