I
n May 2019, the Gnaraloo Wildness
Foundation made two important submissions to
the State Government of Western Australia
concerning the future of the Gnaraloo coast - and
the turtles. The first was addressed to the Project
Manager of the Future Directions for the Ningaloo
Coast Regional Strategy, and stresses the
importance of the Ningaloo Coast, and the need for
Government to re-establish a strong focus on
protection and World Heritage values, as well as the
danger of any new tourism node development,
particularly accommodation proposals for Gnaraloo
Bay and/or Cape Farquhar.
The second submission was made to the
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and
Attractions, and relates to the Nyinggulu (Ningaloo)
coastal reserves draft joint management plan 2019.
A number of issues are identified, with the GWF
reiterating its opposition to the development of any
accommodation in Gnaraloo Bay, given its
importance as a nesting site for turtles. The
intended new camping ground at the Gnaraloo
Cape Farquhar location (despite the DBCA’s stated
aim of maintaining the status quo) is also opposed
on the basis that this wilderness area contains
important nesting beaches. The GWF calls for
ambiguities in maps detailing Maine Sanctuary
Zones to be rectified, and endorses continued
protection of nesting areas, and the exclusion of
unmanaged visitors during the turtle nesting period.
This submission points out that, incredibly, although
the government plan champions the collection of
baseline data and contains an ‘Introduced animal
control plan’, there is no reference anywhere to the
activities of the GWF, which has collected baseline
data for more than a decade, and afforded 100%
protection to turtle rookeries from feral animal
predation until the Government took over the
coastal tenure at Ningaloo in July 2015.
Understandably, the GWF is seeking some
recognition of its important contribution to protecting
turtle nesting sites and collecting valuable data, and
also goes on record as saying that the lack of
government support is contrary to public expecta-
tion, especially since the DBCA’s stated aim is to
support research and monitoring. Despite requests
for assistance, the GWF/GTCP received no support
from the DBCA or the State Government for its
continued sea turtle field work in 2018/19, and this
resulted in a break in the 30-year scientific baseline
data for Loggerhead Turtles. The submission invites
the DBCA to work with the GWF and the Baiyungu
people for continued satellite tagging of the
endangered Loggerhead Turtles on the Gnaraloo
coastline, at the Gnaraloo Bay Rookery and the
Gnaraloo Cape Farquhar Rookery.