Australian Marine Conservation Society chief executive and director of Protect Ningaloo Paul Gamblin said the Exmouth Gulf was \u201ca magnificent natural wonder, one of the greatest in Australia\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeagrass meadows, mangrove forests, sponge gardens \u2013 it is of extraordinary biodiversity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is Ningaloo\u2019s nursery. It\u2019s intricately connected with the Ningaloo Reef, yet, until this marine park announcement, it has been unprotected for far too long.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe underwater heatwave that has caused so much damage to Ningaloo and the Gulf and all along the coast makes this even more urgent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government\u2019s commitment is the kind of approach that the community expects to protect nature \u2026 this is an example of Western Australia showing marine conservation leadership, and we applaud that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gamblin said marine parks had an increasingly important role to play in an ocean that was \u201cbeing depleted\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMarine parks provide the opportunity for nature to restore itself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a legacy. This is about future generations. This is about being respectful of the marine environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also about understanding that conservation is the underpinning of a healthy community and the underpinning of a healthy economy \u2013 there is no disparity between those things.\u201d<\/p>\n
WA Premier Roger Cook said that a carefully zoned and properly managed marine park would enable strong environmental, social and economic outcomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an outcome which will ensure that we can restore the coral outcrops here at on the Gulf and ensure that it\u2019s here for the future for the people of Exmouth and here for the people of Western Australia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The marine park will be jointly managed by the state government and the Nganhurra Thanardi Garrbu Aboriginal Corporation.<\/p>\n