Marine areas are facing pressures that compromise their values and threaten people’s reliance on and use. Marine protected areas are one mechanism that is used to build ecosystem resilience to withstand current and future shocks. However, public understanding of and sympathy towards MPAs is often discordant and noisy in its fear of being ‘locked’ out of marine regions. Communicating the value of marine ecosystems is thus vital but remains challenging given it is hard to feel attached to that which cannot be seen. In this presentation, we outline the results of a project that sought to engage communities in South Australia about the value of State and Commonwealth MPAs. Building on the idea of the African “Big 5”, we chose five charismatic marine species - the ‘Fab Five’ to be tour guides for the public to illuminate the beauty, wonder and value of MPAs. The use of the Fab Five – Giant Cuttlefish, Sharks, Sea Lions, Sea Eagle and Southern Right Whale, enabled us to trial the efficacy of visual and digital forms of engagement to educate the public - not just about the species per se, but also the sea country they inhabit and the MPAs they live, swim through or breed within. We conclude with reflections on ways that communication programs like these can help build co-produced and co-existent modes of building cross cultural collaborations to protect sea country in Australia.