Australia's primary environmental legislation was not tough enough to keep threatened whales, dolphins and turtles safe in Australian waters, conservationists said on Thursday.

A new report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Humane Society International (HSI) has found the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act needs more "teeth."

Under the laws wielded by Environment Minister Peter Garrett, only a fraction of critical marine habitats for threatened whales, dolphins and turtles were protected.

This was despite the fact Australia is home to six of the world 's seven species of marine turtles, 45 of the world's 86 whale, dolphin and porpoise species, and more than a quarter of the world 's sharks, skates and rays.

WWF-Australia's conservation manager Dr. Gilly Llewellyn said a network of sanctuaries should be developed in Australian waters.

The government was already committed to establishing a national network of Marine Protected Areas, but they needed to be backed with tougher national environmental laws.

"It's not about making radical changes, it's simply about giving the existing environmental framework some real legislative teeth," Llewllyn told the Australian Associated Press (AAP).

HSI's Alexia Wellbelove said while Australians took great pride in their marine environment, Australia's protected areas on land were double the size of those at sea.

"Our government has been internationally vocal about the protection of whales," Wellbelove told the AAP.

"This is the perfect opportunity to strengthen current legislation and deliver whale and dolphin conservation in our own backyard."

With a federal election due soon, the groups were calling on the next federal government to make marine protection and strengthening environmental laws a priority.