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Ningaloo Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters)

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Overview

Summary

Proclamation date	7 May 1987
Size (current)	243 600 Ha (2435 km2)
IUCN category	II - National park
Biogeographic context	IMCRA 4.0 provincial bioregions: Northwest Province, Central Western Transition, Central Western Shelf and Northwest Shelf Province
Management plan status	Interim management arrangements
Word heritage	Ningaloo Coast

^*A new management plan for the reserve will be developed at the completion of the bioregional planning process for the north-west marine region. Developing a management plan for the reserve at this time will provide greater efficiency and effectiveness in the management planning process, particularly in regard to stakeholder consultation. Following the declaration of any new Commonwealth reserves, stakeholders will be invited to comment on the development of the management plan for the region.

Ningaloo Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters) stretches approximately 300km along the west coast of the Cape Range Peninsula near Exmouth, Western Australia approximately 1200km north of Perth. The total area of the reserve is 2435 km2. Ningaloo Reef, the longest fringing barrier reef in Australia, and the only example in the world of extensive fringing coral reef on the west coast of a continent, is adjacent to the reserve and is protected by the Ningaloo Marine Park (State Waters) which lies between the reserve and the WA coast. The combined State and Commonwealth waters of the Ningaloo Marine Park  cover a total area of 5070km².

The reserve is located in a transition zone between tropical and temperate waters and sustains tropical and temperate plants and animals, with many species at the limit of their distribution. The reserve's water depths range from a relatively shallow 30m to oceanic waters over 500m deep. One of the key features of the reserve is its annual visitors, the whale sharks, who visit the reserve each year between March and June.

History

Aboriginal people

There has been a long association between Aboriginal people and the Ningaloo region. Materials found in rock shelters, shell middens and caves on the Cape Range Peninsula indicate that Aboriginal people have lived on the Ningaloo coast for over 30,000 years. These sites provide the oldest dated evidence for exploitation of marine resources and the earliest evidence for human decorative ornaments in Australia.

Two groups of Aboriginal people lived in the area. The Junigudira occupied North West Cape and the Cape Range peninsula to a line between the bottom of Exmouth Gulf and Whaleback Hills. Baiyungu Traditional Lands began at Point Quobba and extended up Whaleback Hills and the Point Cloates area. These people had sophisticated, coastally focused subsistence strategies and maintained an extensive trading network.

Aboriginal people are reported to have left the Cape Range peninsula either before or shortly after European settlement, possibly due to the introduction of diseases by whalers and pearlers operating out of Exmouth Gulf. More recently some of the traditional people have returned to the area. The Baiyungu Aboriginal Corporation has purchased and is managing Cardabia Station, near Coral Bay. The Ningaloo area is now spoken for by the Yamatji Land and Sea Council.

The word 'Ningaloo' is an Aboriginal word that means a 'promontory' of high land jutting into the sea.

European exploration

The first recorded European contact with North West Cape was a sighting by the crew of the Dutch ship Zeewolf in 1618. Later in the same year, the first known landing by a European was made by Captain Jacobz of the ship Mauritius.

The whaling industry

American whalers operated in the area as early as the 1790s, some 90 years before the land was used by Europeans for grazing. They appear to have initially targeted sperm whales. As their understanding of whale migrations improved, they began targeting humpback whales. While it is likely that these whalers went ashore to find fresh water and meat, they did not establish any infrastructure. Shore-based whaling occurred for brief periods between 1913 and 1955 at several points along the coast.

The pearling industry

Divers searching for wild pearl shells worked mainly in Exmouth Gulf and the Rowley Shelf to the east and north of the reserve. Many of the pearling vessels, or "luggers", were wrecked as they travelled between Exmouth Gulf and Fremantle. There are no known shipwrecks in the Commonwealth waters of Ningaloo Marine Park.

The tourism industry

In recent years, tourist facilities have developed around the popular towns of Exmouth and Coral Bay. The beauty of Ningaloo Marine Park and the many activities available in the area attract people from all over the world.

Special features

Ningaloo Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters) has a diverse range of marine species and unique geomorphic features. The reserve provides essential biological and ecological links that sustain Ningaloo Reef, which occurs in the state waters of the Ningaloo Marine Park, including the supply of nutrients to reef communities from deeper waters further offshore.

The reserve incorporates a diversity of habitats including open ocean, the continental slope and the continental shelf. One of the major features of the reserve is the rapid drop-off in bottom depth in the northern part of the reserve, resulting in a narrow continental shelf that brings the shelf break unusually close to shore. In some areas depths of 100m occur within 6km of the shore and depths of 500m occur within 15km. In contrast, the continental shelf in the southern end of the reserve extends more than 30km from the coastline.

Coral reef and intertidal systems such as rocky shores, sandy beaches and mangroves are found in the state component of the Ningaloo Marine Park.

Four marine turtle species have been recorded in the reserve including the hawksbill, flatback, green and loggerhead turtles. Large predators including the oceanic whitetip shark, tiger shark, blue shark and grey reef shark also occur in deeper waters. The open ocean supports large numbers of fish, including trevally, tuna, mackerel, marlin and sailfish, many of which are found much closer to shore at the reserve than in other parts of the world due to the narrow continental shelf.

Recent research has revealed a wide variety of bottom dwelling species in the reserve, including many previously unrecorded in Australia. The deeper water communities are dominated by sponges with soft corals and algae living among them. The high numbers of species and unusual forms found in the diverse sponge garden habitats add to the reserve's importance.

Whales are a major feature of the reserve, with humpback whales migrating through twice a year on their annual migration between calving grounds off the Kimberley and feeding grounds in Antarctica. Blue and sperm whales have been observed in the offshore regions of the reserve as have minke, Bryde's, southern right and killer whales. Dolphins are also relatively common in the reserve.

Whale sharks

The reserve is recognised internationally for its annual aggregations of whale sharks. It is thought that between 300 and 500 whale sharks visit each year. Aggregations generally occur between March and June, coinciding with mass coral spawning events and seasonal localised increases in productivity.

• More about the whale shark

Manta rays are also known to aggregate in the area during autumn and winter.

Ningaloo Reef

Ningaloo Reef is one of the longest fringing barrier reefs in the world and is the only extensive fringing barrier reef that occurs on the western side of a continent. The reef contains a high diversity of corals (over 200 species), reef fish (over 460 species), molluscs, crustaceans and other reef plants and animals. Marine turtles, dugong and dolphins frequently visit the lagoon and aggregations of whale sharks and manta rays are found on the outer reef. The olive sea snake is commonly observed on the outer reef.

Further information about Ningaloo Reef and the state component of Ningaloo Marine Park can be found in the management plan for the Ningaloo Marine Park and Murion Islands Marine Management Area 2005-2015.