Ningaloo Reef

Advertisement
Bleaching at Ningaloo’s Tantabiddi Reef.

Record-breaking coral bleaching lays waste to WA’s most prized reefs

A wave of coral mortality has circumnavigated the globe and finally devastated what was previously considered resilient, including the state’s most famous reef.

  • Emma Young

Latest

Ningaloo Reef has suffered a bleaching event.

‘You realise your children are probably never going to see Ningaloo the way you saw it’

The west-coast reef has largely escaped the curse of coral bleaching that has blighted the Great Barrier Reef. This year, that’s changed.

  • Bianca Hall
Kassel Germany Billboards and other materials protesting K+S saltworks proposal for Exmouth Gulf region

German industrial giant dumps Exmouth Gulf project after fierce fight

For many years, the West Australian community has battled against the industrialisation of the area known as Ningaloo’s nursery. They’re now celebrating a “major win”.

  • Emma Young
Photos from coral bleaching along the Ningaloo coast in February.

Unprecedented heatwave causes mass bleaching of Ningaloo, Kimberley reefs

Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn raised the issue in parliament, stating the scale and duration of a marine heatwave had led to mass bleaching.

  • Holly Thompson
Ningaloo bleaching February 2025.

‘Underwater bushfire’: Half of WA coastline enduring reef-threatening marine heatwave

“We really need to grasp the fact that the greatest economic opportunity for business and the necessity for science is to stop building fossil fuels,” Andrew Forrest said.

  • Poppy Johnston
Ningaloo bleaching February 2025.

Major parties score poorly on environmental promises ahead of WA election

The Conservation Council of WA’s environment scorecard rates the Liberals’ platform the worst, with failures in every area.

  • Hamish Hastie
Advertisement
America played a large role in Exmouth becoming what it is today.

The remote Australian town built by America

It started off as a slice of American pie in the outback, but has now become a tourist destination better known for its famous reef.

  • Julia D'Orazio
Ningaloo bleaching February 2025.

‘Like an underwater bushfire:’ Shocking images as heatwave bleaches Ningaloo

Advocates are calling this a “red alert” moment for the usually resilient reef, as a marine heatwave already linked to a fish kill and cyclone intensification moves south.

  • Emma Young
Scott Reef, off the Kimberley coast.

Rare glimpse at stunning reef beside Woodside’s gas-drilling ambitions

Scott Reef is, in the words of author Tim Winton, the last “unspoiled” clear-water coral reef in Australia. It’s also near the site of a major gas-drilling proposal.

  • Bianca Hall
Kassel Germany Billboards and other materials protesting K+S saltworks proposal for Exmouth Gulf region

It’s time this west coast chart-topper got the fame it deserves

It was 1975. Queen was competing with Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin in the charts. And in WA, a new agency was compiling its own “the best of the best” list.

  • Paul Gamblin