Ningaloo Marine Park

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As Ningaloo Marine Park two are marine protected areas off the west coast of Australia referred to in the Ningaloo Marine Park (Commonwealth Water) and Ningaloo Marine Park (State Waters) are divided. The Commonwealth Waters join the 3 nautical mile strip of State Waters on the 200 mile shoreline.

The Ningaloo Marine Park (State Water), which was founded on May 7, 1987, extends about 260 km along the west coast from Bundegi Beach near Exmouth in Western Australia to Amherst Point south of Coral Bay . with an area of ​​2,435 km² and is under the administration of the state government of Western Australia. The Commonwealth Water is administered by the federal government.

The Ningaloo Reef , protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site , is mainly located close to the coast in the Ningaloo Marine Park (State Water) . Both marine parks together cover an area of ​​5,070 km².

history

On the Ningaloo coast, traces of Aboriginal Junigudira and Baiyungu have been found on rocks, in caves and clusters of clamshells on the Cape Range Peninsula, showing that they had lived there for 30,000 years. They reportedly left their area shortly after the European colonists settled. The first European to penetrate this sea area was the Dutchman Pieter Nuyts on the Gulde Zeepaard in 1618 and the first shore leave was made by Captain Jacobz with the sailing ship Mauritius.

whaling

In the 1790s - 90 years before the Europeans settled - numerous whaling ships came to this area to hunt sperm whales . When their population declined, the whalers hunted humpback whales . The whalers left no infrastructure on the coast, this only happened between 1913 and 1955.

tourism

Natural pearls are found in the Exmouth Gulf and Rowley Shelf to the east and north of the park. There are also numerous shipwrecks in this area, as well as in the Ningaloo Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters). Tourists mainly flock to Exmouth and Coral Bay.

Flora and fauna

Coral reefs, mud flats, rocky coastlines, sandy beaches and mangrove forests alternate along the coastline. The entire reef is part of the "Ningaloo Marine Park" and is home to around 200 species of coral . There are more than 460 species of reef fish, as well as mussels and crustaceans. The olive-colored sea snake swims on the outer limits of the park. Turtles , stingrays , manta rays and dugongs can all be spotted. There are numerous species of sharks in these waters, such as reef sharks , tiger sharks, and hammerhead sharks .

Humpback whales roam the coast between June and November, and 300 to 500 whale sharks visit the waters of Ningaloo Reef from March to June .

  • Whale shark

  • Manta rays with ship owners

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ exmouthwa.com.au ( Memento of the original from April 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Ningaloo Marine Park, accessed August 7, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.exmouthwa.com.au
  2. ↑ environment.gov.au ( Memento of the original from August 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Situation map of the marine parks and geodata, in English, accessed on August 7, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.environment.gov.au
  3. ↑ a b environment.gov.au ( Memento of the original from August 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Ningaloo Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters), accessed August 7, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.environment.gov.au


Coordinates: 21 ° 56 ′ 3 ″  S , 113 ° 56 ′ 1 ″  E