The Shark Bay Marine Park is protected marine park located within the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Shark Bay, in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The 748,725-hectare (1,850,140-acre)[1] marine park is situated over 800 km (500 mi) north of Perth and 400 kilometres (250 mi) north of Geraldton.[2][3]

Shark Bay Marine Park Western Australia
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
A dolphin at Monkey Mia in the marine park
Shark Bay Marine Park
Nearest town or city	Denham
Coordinates	25°48′S 113°45′E
Established	1989[citation needed]
Area	7,487.25 km2 (2,890.8 sq mi)[1]
Managing authorities	WA Department of Parks and Wildlife
Website	Shark Bay Marine Park
See also	List of protected areas of Western Australia

The marine park is known for its large marine animals, such as the famous Monkey Mia dolphins, turtles, dugongs and sharks. The park and its vast seagrass meadows, with a total of twelve species of seagrass in the park that form an important part of the Shark Bay World Heritage Area.[4][5]

Major reference points of its boundaries include Steep Point at the south side of Dirk Hartog Island and Cape Inscription at the north side.^{[citation needed]}

Fishing

Fishing in the marine park are governed by the Gascoyne Fishing Rules[2] that specify the waters and species[6] of the Shark Bay area, also known as the Shark Bay Inner Gulfs:

• Eastern Gulf Zone: the region located east of the Peron Peninsula and north from Cape Peron North (25°30.2′S 113°30.6′E to a line at 25°16.6'S) and east to the coast of the mainland. Fishing is not permitted in the southern portion of this zone, the Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve.
• Denham Sound: the region also known as the Western Gulf Zone, south to line at Goulet Bluff (25°13’S) which separates the Freycinet Estuary.

See also

• Protected areas of Western Australia
• Australian marine parks

References

Further reading

• Sumner, Neil R.; Steckis, R. A. (1999). Statistical analysis of Gascoyne region recreational fishing study July 1996. Fisheries Western Australia: Fisheries research report. North Beach, WA: Government of Western Australia. ISSN 1035-4549.
• Thomson, Carolyn (1997). Discovering Shark Bay Marine Park and Monkey Mia. WA Department of Conservation and Land Management. Como, WA: Government of Western Australia. ISBN 0-7309-6854-5.