The Shark Bay Heritage Precinct can be found at the most westerly point of Western Australia, covering an area of 2.3 million hectares.
The Shark Bay World Heritage area is one of Western Australia’s two World Heritage listed areas and one of very few World Heritage listed areas world wide that meet all four of UNESCO's outstanding natural universal values.
The Aboriginal name for Shark Bay is Gathaagudu and it means ‘two waters’.
The conservation value of the Shark Bay area is unparalleled, as it exists as a complete marine ecosystem that contains many important features:
- Vast seagrass beds that are the largest reported seagrass meadows in the world (4,000 square kilometres). The Wooramel seagrass bank is the largest of its kind in the world and covers 1,030 square kilometres.
- Shark Bay supports approximately 12.5% of the world’s population of dugong.
- The Hamelin Pool stromatolites (colonies of algae which form hard, dome-shaped deposits and are among the oldest forms of life on earth) are the most diverse and abundant examples.
- Shark Bay is home to major populations of five species of endangered mammals.
- The area is an important port of call for humpback whales.
- The area provides nesting sites for two species of endangered marine turtle.
- The wild dolphins that visit Monkey Mia and voluntarily approach humans are a natural phenomenon and exceptionally rare worldwide.
- The incredible Project Eden conservation program is working hard to slow and eradicate extinction and ecological destruction in the area.
Shark Bay is one of Western Australia’s most extraordinary places to visit. Its natural marvels include Zuytdorp Cliffs, the Wooramel Seagrass Bank, Shell Beach and Monkey Mia.
Location: the Shark Bay Heritage Precinct is located 700 kilometres north of Perth, or 200 kilometres south of Carnarvon.
UNESCO World Heritage
Shark Bay World Heritage Site
Australia’s Coral Coast
The Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery Centre