Exmouth Gulf
Exmouth Gulfis agulfin thenorth-westofWestern Australia.It lies betweenNorth West Capeand the main coastline of Western Australia. It is considered to be part of thePilbara CoastandNorthwest Shelf,and theCarnarvon Basingeologic formation. It was named afterEdward Pellew, 1st Viscount ExmouthbyPhillip Parker Kingin 1818.
Environment[edit]
Exmouth Gulf is a rich marine environment. It is a nursery forhumpback whales,dugongandturtles.Themangrovesystems on the eastern margins are areas of high primary productivity feeding and restocking both the Gulf and the nearbyNingaloo Reef.[citation needed]
A proposal for a system ofsolar salt evaporation pondsstretching more than 30 kilometres (19 mi) along the gulf's south-western coast has given rise to heated debate on possible environmental impacts on the area.[citation needed]
The Gulf and off-shore waters beyond the Ningaloo fringing reef are home to some of Australia's more significant sport fish including marlin, Spanish mackerel, and several sub-species of tuna.[citation needed]
The Gulf sustains one of Western Australia's largest prawn fisheries, managed by the Kailis Fishing Group, which operates under license from the Western Australian Government.[citation needed]
Birds[edit]
The mangroves along the eastern side of the gulf stretch for nearly 50 kilometres (31 mi). They have been identified byBirdLife Internationalas a 420 square kilometres (160 sq mi)Important Bird Area(IBA) because they support over 1% of the world populations ofpied oystercatchersandgrey-tailed tattlers,as well as being an important site for the restricted-rangedusky gerygone.[1]Another IBA is 11 hectares (27 acres)Sunday Island,lying in the north of the Gulf near the Muiron Islands, which is an important nesting site forroseate terns.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"IBA: Exmouth Gulf Mangroves".Birdata.Birds Australia. Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2011.Retrieved2011-06-20.
- ^BirdLife Ifnternational. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Sunday Island (Exmouth Gulf). Downloaded from"BirdLife International - conserving the world's birds".Archived fromthe originalon 10 July 2007.Retrieved2014-03-29.on 2011-10-26.
Further reading[edit]
- Western Australia. Dept. of Planning and Urban Development. (1992)Exmouth coastal strategyDepartment of Planning and Urban Development. Perth, W.A.: The Dept.ISBN0-7309-3259-1(pbk.)
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