5000 Faces for Marine Parks Now!

Help us protect WA’s amazing marine life

ACT NOW! The Wilderness Society is calling on the State Government to create a network of marine parks, with a large proportion zoned as ‘sanctuary’ zones to protect our marine environment. Do you support real marine parks to protect our marine environment? We are asking West Australians who support marine parks to add their photograph to a giant photo collage – the 5000 Faces Photo Petition. This collage-petition will be made from the faces of real Western Australians who want to protect our amazing marine environment! To join the 5000 Faces Photo Petition... Send a photograph of yourself with a message about our marine environment, with your name and postcode. Email it to: wa.web@wilderness.org.au

Western Australia has an amazing marine environment that is full of creatures found no where else on the planet.

WA’s marine ecosystems include sponge gardens throughout the south coast region, mangroves in the north-west off Exmouth, humpback whale nurseries in the Kimberley, and ancient life forms, like the thrombolites just south of Perth. Underwater spectacular canyons and mountain ranges lie untouched by the damaging wind erosion that occurs on land.

A wide range of plants and animals are found only in WA’s waters, including the western blue groper, the western rock lobster, and the snub fin dolphin which lives off the Kimberley coast and was only discovered in 2005. Vulnerable and endangered species such as humpback whales, leafy sea dragons, freshwater sawfish and dugongs also make their home in WA waters.

You may expect that such an important and valuable environment would be protected from damaging human impacts, but that is not the reality. Our marine environment faces increasing pressures from industrial and urban development, pollution, commercial and recreational fishing, and global warming.

Coastal fisheries have been over-fished in WA, resulting in snapper fishing in Shark Bay being closed down, big reductions being needed in the metropolitan boat fishery, and calls for several other fisheries to be closed or wound back. All along the WA coast and islands major industrial development projects are having, or have the potential to have, major impacts on marine ecosystems, including our highly prized pristine Kimberley coast, which is threatened by LNG gas processing facilities.

As well as being a beautiful natural playground for the people of WA, our marine environment is a valuable asset. Its health is important for resilience to the impacts of global warming.  Also, a healthy marine environment can provide a wealth of information into the future for industries like medical and biotechnological research. Changes are needed to protect our marine environment so it will be there for future generations to use sustainably and enjoy.

We are asking the government to develop a system of real marine parks.  Current marine parks are multi-use and in these marine parks ‘sanctuary’ or ‘no-take’ zones are under-represented. Only sanctuary zones or ‘no-take’ areas offer real protection for our marine environment because mining, fishing and other extractive activities are not allowed. Without sanctuary zones, a marine park is the equivalent of a having a national park where logging is allowed.

Worldwide, scientists recommend that at least 20-30% of marine parks should be sanctuary zones, to protect the marine environment for future generations. In many marine parks in WA, that is not the case. For example, the Jurien Bay Marine Park has a sanctuary zone that is just 3.7% of the total marine park area.