Snapshots of coastal activities
Hundreds of aerial survey photographs have been used to create maps of human activity along the West Kimberley coastline that will provide key insights for conservation and sustainable development of the region.
Professor Lynnath Beckley from Murdoch University and her team have spent two years using low-altitude shots to monitor where and why people and their vehicles end up in some of the most difficult places to access in WA.
"People always talk about the remoteness and the emptiness of the Kimberley, but this is the first time anyone has actually quantified human presence along the whole coast," Professor Beckley said.
"We were interested in finding out where people were spending time along the coast, and also what they were doing."
The survey area covered Eighty Mile Beach, Roebuck Bay, the Dampier Peninsula, King Sound, Buccaneer Archipelago and Camden Sound.
Professor Beckley said the information was vital for environmental managers and the Department of Parks and Wildlife to plan for biodiversity conservation and tourism, particularly as human activities in the area grew.
"The coast from Port Hedland to Wyndham has traditional owners, towns and communities, commercial endeavours, tourism and recreation activities and several marine parks," she said.
"There are about 40,000 residents in the study area with more than 16,000 people living on the Dampier Peninsula."
Results of the surveys showed human use of the region was very seasonal and concentrated in particular areas of the coast with good road access.
Professor Beckley said that, as expected, the number of people along the shore and number of boats operating in coastal waters were much higher during the dry season from May to October.
But residents were observed to get out and about during the wet season to take part in various recreational activities.
"On Eighty Mile Beach people were mainly concentrated around the caravan park with anglers and their associated four-wheel-drive vehicles clumped into about 30km of coastline," Professor Beckley said. "Camping during the dry season was largely confined to the larger caravan parks at Eighty Mile Beach and Port Smith, but also seen at Barn Hill Station and Cape Keraudren.
"This study has provided a spatially explicit benchmark of human recreational activities at the inception of the newly created Eighty Mile Beach Marine Park."
The research team also monitored boating in the central Kimberley region, through both aerial surveys and a collation of data about voyages of cruise vessels.
Cruise vessels operate mainly from April to September, between Broome and Wyndham, with most of the vessels offering boutique expeditions.
Montgomery Reef was the most popular destination in their itineraries with 275 visits by cruise vessels in 2013.
The study forms part of Murdoch University's contribution to the Western Australian Marine Science Institution Kimberley Marine Research Program.
