Why is Shark Bay a World Heritage Area?
Shark Bay is one of the world’s most significant and secure strongholds for the protection of Dugong, with a population of around 11,000. Increasing numbers of Humpback Whales and Southern Right Whales use Shark Bay as a migratory staging post, and a famous population of Bottlenose Dolphin lives in the Bay.
Why is Shark Bay important to Aboriginal heritage?
The Shark Bay area is significant to Aboriginal people because of their long history of use and occupation, and because of their cultural obligations to understand and care for the area. Caring for country is about protecting important sites and the connections between sites, people and environment.
What is the cultural significance of Shark Bay?
Where is Shark Bay Heritage?
Western Australia
Shark Bay (Malgana: Gutharraguda, “two waters”) is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The 23,000-square-kilometre (8,900 sq mi) area is located approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent.
Is Shark Bay in danger?
Under threat Shark Bay is especially vulnerable to future climate change, given that the temperate seagrass that underpins the entire ecosystem is already living at the upper edge of its tolerable temperature range. The region is also threatened by increasingly frequent and intense storms, and warming air temperatures.
Who are the traditional owners of Shark Bay?
The Indigenous people of Shark Bay are descendants of the Malgana tribe. They are the traditional owners of the Shark Bay area and are one of twelve language groups to be found in the Yamatji region which extends from Exmouth in the north, to Dongara in the south and across to Sandstone in the east.
What is the history of Shark Bay?
Shark Bay was first settled by Europeans in the 1850s and was important for industries such as guano mining, pearling and pastoralism. Guano mining was the first land-based industry in Shark Bay and initiated European settlement of the area in 1850.
What things could affect Shark Bay?
Many of Shark Bay’s islands are nature reserves and protect native species that have declined on the mainland. Competition with and predation by introduced plants and animals are the main reasons for mainland declines.
When did Shark Bay become a World Heritage Site?
Shark Bay was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 1991. It satisfies all four of the criteria for natural heritage values. What is World Heritage? How do World Heritage Properties get listed? What is the Selection Process?
Why is Shark Bay important to Western Australia?
Shark Bay is a refuge for many globally threatened species of plants and animals. The property is located at the transition zone between two of Western Australia’s main botanical provinces, the arid Eremaean, dominated by species, and thus contains a mixture of two biotas, many at the limit of their southern or northern range.
Is the Great Barrier Reef a World Heritage Site?
As of May 2007, Shark Bay was one of just 20 places on Earth to satisfy all four natural criteria for World Heritage listing. Others are the Great Barrier Reef, the Galápagos Islands and the Grand Canyon.
What kind of animals live in Shark Bay?
Shark Bay is renowned for its marine fauna. The population of about 10,000 dugong, for example, is one of the largest in the world, and dolphins abound, particularly at Monkey Mia. Humpback whales use the Bay as a staging post in their migration along the coast.
When was Shark Bay inscribed as a World Heritage Area?
The Shark Bay area fulfills all FOUR of the natural criteria. Shark Bay was inscribed as a World Heritage area on 13th December 1991. The four criteria were: Outstanding examples representing the major stage of Earth’s evolutionary history – Stromatolites
Shark Bay is a refuge for many globally threatened species of plants and animals. The property is located at the transition zone between two of Western Australia’s main botanical provinces, the arid Eremaean, dominated by species, and thus contains a mixture of two biotas, many at the limit of their southern or northern range.
How many people visit Shark Bay each year?
Around 100,000 tourists visit Shark Bay each year to interact with turtles, dugongs and dolphins, or to visit the world’s most extensive population of stromatolites – stump-shaped colonies of microbes that date back billions of years, almost to the dawn of life on Earth.
How many World Heritage Sites are there in Australia?
Shark Bay is now one of 19 Australian World Heritage sites and one of the four in Australia (and the only one in WA) which meets all four natural criteria. Download a map of the Shark Bay World Heritage Area below.
What are the values of Shark Bay?
Shark Bay World Heritage Values
- Criterion vii. Superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.
- Criterion viii.
- Criterion ix.
- Criterion x.
Why is Shark Bay in danger?
Shark Bay is especially vulnerable to future climate change, given that the temperate seagrass that underpins the entire ecosystem is already living at the upper edge of its tolerable temperature range. The region is also threatened by increasingly frequent and intense storms, and warming air temperatures.
What is being done to look after Shark Bay?
Make sure fresh food is free of soil, ants, snails or other small animals. Install and regularly check rodent bait stations on board your vessel. Replace baits every six months to retain potency. Do not take firewood onto islands or light fires.
How did Shark Bay get its name?
On his second voyage to Australia in 1699, the English explorer and pirate, William Dampier, gave Shark Bay its name. It seemed he felt that the area was frequented by sharks, probably mistaking the dolphins for sharks.
