A visual exploration of wildlife in the Ngari Capes Marine Park
The Kilcarnup fish sanctuary zone, Margaret River.
Along the coastlines at Margaret River there is diversity of marine wildlife. The region between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste is on the junction of the Indian and the Southern Oceans. Although classed as a temperate wildlife zone, the two oceans have complex interactions. Whales pass on their migrations between the polar Antarctic and the tropical north; herring and salmon spend different parts of their life cycle in different oceans, and the Leeuwin Current brings sub-tropical creatures on accidental journeys south in the winter.
The Margaret River marine habitats are part of the Great Southern Reef, which stretches from Kalbarri in Western Australia, right around the south coast and up into New South Wales. The Reef was only named in 2017, in an effort to recognise what is one of the worlds great marine ecosystems.
In 2019, the long awaited Ngari Capes Marine Park was established to protect the marine environment, while providing for the wide range of recreational activities the region hosts. The Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park runs alongside the Marine Park, and receives hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Perhaps, these images may encourage people into exploring our coastline in peaceful co-existence with the creatures of the sea.
” … four young oysters hurried up,
all eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat-
and this was odd you know,
because they hadn’t any feet.”
Lewis Carroll, from the Walrus and the Carpenter
Copyright Jinni Wilson 2021