The Nuyts Archipelago and the Investigator Group of Islands to become Wilderness Protection Areas.

Background

South Australia’s West Coast is a truly remarkable place. Rugged and windswept, it contains many spectacular offshore island groups.

The giant granite inselbergs (island mountains) of the Investigator Group rise over 200 metres out of the water on Pearson Island, home to Australian Sea Lions, Dolphins, Seadragons, and beautiful sponge and soft coral gardens. Granite boulder reefs form large caverns, harbouring prolific fish and invertebrate species.

Pearson Island - one of the 21 islands on South Australia's Far West Coast to become a Wilderness Protection Area, Photo: Eric Bills

To the east of Pearson Island is Topgallant Island, recognised for having hundreds of caves and a vast array of fish species, including the Western Blue Groper, Western Blue Devil and Harlequin Fish – all of which are under serious threat.

The Investigator Group (Pearson, Ward, Topgallant, Flinders and the Waldegrave Islands) is also home to many migratory and coastal marine bird species of conservation concern, including the White Bellied Sea Eagle and Osprey.

Further west, the Nuyts and St Francis Isles are heavily influenced by seasonal warm water from the Great Australian Bight. This creates an extremely diverse marine environment, of which many species are of Western Australian origin. The presence of migratory turtles is truly special!

History in the making

In the late 1990s, a coalition of South Australian conservation groups nominated the Nuyts Archipelago and the Investigator Group of Islands to be declared Wilderness Protection Areas.

The nomination remained dormant for nearly a decade until two days before the state election in 2006.  Amidst significant media discussion about the impact of aquaculture developments being approved next to Australian Sea Lion breeding colonies in the Investigator Islands, the Government made a commitment to the Wilderness Society SA to fast track the nomination and carry out an urgent wilderness assessment

First Marine Wilderness assessment

Being the first marine wilderness assessment in the State's history, considerable work was undertaken by the Wilderness Assessment Committee to develop a methodology throughout 2007. The Committee later advised that the Islands and surrounding waters were of high wilderness value.

With the Marine Parks legislation having recently passed through the SA Parliament and the Marine Park outer boundaries having just been declared (which include all the Island areas) it is proposed that the islands be protected under the Wilderness Protection Act and the surrounding waters under the Marine Parks Act - creating better links between land and sea.  As the 3 month public consultation period is now closed, it is only a matter of time before the Islands are proclaimed Wilderness Protection Areas.