Australian Marine Conservation Society chief executive and director of Protect Ningaloo Paul Gamblin said the Exmouth Gulf was “a magnificent natural wonder, one of the greatest in Australia”.
“Seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, sponge gardens – it is of extraordinary biodiversity,” he said.
“It is Ningaloo’s nursery. It’s intricately connected with the Ningaloo Reef, yet, until this marine park announcement, it has been unprotected for far too long.
“The underwater heatwave that has caused so much damage to Ningaloo and the Gulf and all along the coast makes this even more urgent.
“The government’s commitment is the kind of approach that the community expects to protect nature … this is an example of Western Australia showing marine conservation leadership, and we applaud that.”
Gamblin said marine parks had an increasingly important role to play in an ocean that was “being depleted”.
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“Marine parks provide the opportunity for nature to restore itself,” he said.
“This is a legacy. This is about future generations. This is about being respectful of the marine environment.
“It’s also about understanding that conservation is the underpinning of a healthy community and the underpinning of a healthy economy – there is no disparity between those things.”
WA Premier Roger Cook said that a carefully zoned and properly managed marine park would enable strong environmental, social and economic outcomes.
“It’s an outcome which will ensure that we can restore the coral outcrops here at on the Gulf and ensure that it’s here for the future for the people of Exmouth and here for the people of Western Australia,” he said.
The marine park will be jointly managed by the state government and the Nganhurra Thanardi Garrbu Aboriginal Corporation.
Back in 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency released a report concluding the gulf was under increasing pressure and recommended a “very high level of protection”.
WA Greens oceans spokeswoman Sophie McNeill said the marine park was a “massive win” after years of campaigning.
“We’ve seen parts of our coral coast, including our world heritage listed Ningaloo, suffer a 90 per cent death rate of coral,” she said.
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“We urgently need to monitor and track the full impacts of this heatwave and it’s shameful that in a state as wealthy as ours, a lack of funding has prevented that from happening.
“This new funding is nowhere near enough but it’s a good start to build on.”
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