Protect Adele - Kimberley - Like Nowhere Else

The Environment Minister has listened to the community and committed to include Adele Island within the proposed Buccaneer Archipelago Marine Park!
Read more about this good news here

Urge the Environment Minister to protect Adele Island

The Environment Minister has listened to the community and committed to include Adele Island within the proposed Buccaneer Archipelago Marine Park! Read more about this good news here

Dear Minister Dawson,

We are Western Australians who are passionate supporters of protection for the Kimberley coast. We thank you for your 2017 election commitment to protect the thousand islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago in a new marine park.

We are contacting you to ask that Adele Island and Beagle and Mavis Reefs be included within the boundaries of the proposed Buccaneer Marine Park. These islands off the end of the Buccaneer Archipelago are the jewels of the Kimberley coast; remote, beautiful and among the most pristine coral reefs left in the world. They deserve world-class protection.

Adele Island is a declared Nature Reserve in recognition of its importance as a nesting and rookery site for thousands of seabirds and shorebirds. The outer Buccaneer Archipelago connects to Adele Island, Beagle and Mavis reefs as the boundary of one of the three highest density calving areas for humpback whales in the Kimberley coast. The reefs also support unique coral reef ecology; it is the only place in Australia where mixed assemblages of rhodoliths and coralliths are known to occur.

The oceanic waters around Adele Island, Beagle and Mavis Reefs are already protected within commonwealth marine reserve but the coastal state waters remain unprotected. The final step to secure world-class protection for these pristine reefs is to ensure its coastal waters are protected within the Buccaneer Marine Park.

The protection of the coastal waters around Adele Island, Beagle and Mavis Reefs would ensure this pristine place remains of value to wildlife, to science, and to all West Australians for the future. These reefs are directly offshore from the Buccaneer Archipelago and so it makes sense to protect and manage them in the same marine park. We thank you for the work you do and urge you to ensure that Adele Island and its surrounding reefs are protected. 

Yours sincerely

The McGowan Government has begun work on protecting the thousand of islands in the Buccaneer Archipelago as promised at the last state election. But, alarmingly, there is still no commitment to include Adele Island and nearby reefs in this new and important marine park.

MORE INFO:

  • Adele Island, and Beagle and Mavis Reefs, are the jewels of the Kimberley coast; remote, beautiful and among the most pristine coral reefs left in the world. Isolation has protected them until now, but that won’t last forever. They deserve world-class protection.
  • Adele Island itself is a declared Nature Reserve in recognition of its importance as a nesting and rookery site for thousands of seabirds and shorebirds.
  • The outer Buccaneer Archipelago connects to Adele Island, Beagle and Mavis reefs as the boundary of one of the three highest density calving areas for humpback whales in the Kimberley coast.
  • These reefs support unique corals. It is the only place in Australia where both rhodoliths (unattached red algae corals) and coralliths (hardy mobile corals) are known to occur.
  • The waters further offshore are protected by the Federal Government. However, the heart of this incredible marine oasis – the nearshore waters hugging Adele where the pristine coral reefs occur - are still unprotected. 
  • The final step to secure world-class protection for these reefs is to ensure Adele's coastal waters are protected within the Buccaneer Marine Park.
  • These reefs are just offshore from the Buccaneer Archipelago and so it makes sense to protect and manage them in the same marine park.
  • The protection of Adele Island's waters would ensure this special place remains of value to wildlife, to science, and to all West Australians for the future.

"To spend time at Adele is transformative. This is the Galapagos of the Kimberley, a feeding and breeding ground for Humpback whales, thousands of seabirds and shorebirds, and a myriad of corals and other marine life. The peace and tranquillity of this amazing place is spellbinding. Adele Island and the reefs deserve world-class protection and should be a sanctuary zone."

— Richard Costin, Wildlife Photographer