The Montebello Island Marine Park (area 58,331 ha) is located off the northwest coast of Western Australia, about 1,600 km north of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, and 120 km west of Dampier. The reserve includes the entire group of

Montebello Islands The Montebello Islands, also rendered as the Monte Bello Islands, are an archipelago of around 174 small islands (about 92 of which are named) lying north of Barrow Island (Western Australia), Barrow Island and off the Pilbara region of We ...

. Close to the marine park is one of the most important oil and gas extraction zones in Australia, the Gorgon gas field, and it is also one of the most important breeding and nesting sites for sea turtles. There are two large contiguous protected areas: Barrow Island Marine Park (4169 hectares) and Barrow Island Marine Management Area (114,693 hectares). in 1952 and 1956, British-Australian atomic tests took place on/near Alpha and Tremouille Islands in the Montebello group.

Flora and fauna

Amongst the larger forms of sealife found in the marine protected area are: the

Flatback sea turtle The Australian flatback sea turtle (''Natator depressus'') is a species of sea turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is endemic to the sandy beaches and shallow coastal waters of the Australian continental shelf. This turtle gets its co ...

Green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

Hawksbill sea turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is largel ...

, the occasional

loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

minke whale The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish n ...

toothed whale The toothed whales (also called odontocetes, systematic name Odontoceti) are a parvorder of cetaceans that includes dolphins, porpoises, and all other whales possessing teeth, such as the beaked whales and sperm whales. Seventy-three species of t ...

Bryde's whale Bryde's whale ( Brooder's), or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and maybe four. The "complex" means the number and classification remains unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research ...

humpback whales The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hump ...

sperm whales The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...

short-finned pilot whale The short-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala macrorhynchus'') is one of the two species of cetaceans in the genus '' Globicephala'', which it shares with the long-finned pilot whale (''G. melas''). It is part of the oceanic dolphin family (Del ...

killer whales The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pa ...

, false killer whales, common dolphins,

striped dolphin The striped dolphin (''Stenella coeruleoalba'') is an extensively studied dolphin found in temperate and tropical waters of all the world's oceans. It is a member of the oceanic dolphin family, Delphinidae. Taxonomy The striped dolphin is one o ...

bottlenose dolphins Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common ...

and

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...

. There are 150 species of hard corals in the marine area, over 450 fish species, 170 species of echinoderms and over 630 species of molluscs. Six mangrove species occur on the coast, and within lagoons. Eretmochelys-imbricata-Kélonia-1.JPG,

Stenella coeruleoalba-cropped.jpg,

Striped Dolphin The striped dolphin (''Stenella coeruleoalba'') is an extensively studied dolphin found in temperate and tropical waters of all the world's oceans. It is a member of the oceanic dolphin family, Delphinidae. Taxonomy The striped dolphin is one o ...

Killerwhales jumping.jpg,

Killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pa ...

Dugong.jpg,

Dugongs The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...

Oceanic whitetip shark @ Montebello Marine Park.jpg, '' Carcharhinus longimanus''

Economic uses

The Gorgon gas fields contain approximately 40 Tcf of gas. Commercial fishing for sharks and turtles occurs in addition to recreational fishing. Nature tourism with diving, snorkelling, wildlife observation and water sports is also important. Additionally, cultured pearl production has been carried out in the area since 1902.

Other

Archaeological traces of Aborigines have not yet been found on the coast of this park.

References

External links

Montebello & Barrow Island Marine Park: galleryMontebello Islands MP (pdf) - BrochureProtected planet: Map of marine reserve
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montebello Islands Marine Park Montebello Islands archipelago