New book about unique marine life of Ningaloo Marine Park released

29/8/98

The colourful and unique marine life of Ningaloo Marine Park and Coral Bay has been captured in the pages of a new book released today by Environment Minister Cheryl Edwardes.

The full-colour, 108-page book on The Marine Life of Ningaloo Marine Park and Coral Bay has been published by the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM).

"The Ningaloo Marine Park protects one of Australia's most important and popular tracts of reef," Mrs Edwardes said.

"This book offers an insight into the reef's prolific marine life which includes more than 500 species of fish, 250 known species of coral and about 600 species of molluscs.

"This book demonstrates the huge range of beautiful marine life that can be viewed along the 260km reef, much of which can be seen by snorkelling over a shallow lagoon."

The Marine Life of Ningaloo Marine Park and Coral Bay was written by Ann Storrie, a freelance underwater photographer and writer, and Sue Morrison, a scientist at the Western Australian Museum of Natural History. It was edited by Carolyn Thomson-Dans of CALM.

Mrs Edwardes said the book was the first comprehensive field guide on Western Australian marine life to be written in terms easily understood by readers with a non-technical background.

"For example, there is very little non-technical information available about the many different species of coral found in WA," she said.

"This colourful book will help people easily understand the differences between the major families of coral and the pictures will help them to distinguish a staghorn from a pocillopora coral, or a soft tubastrea coral from a black coral (which is not in fact black)".

Mrs Edwardes said that while the book was a field guide to the Ningaloo Marine Park, the species covered in the book were found in most tropical areas along the WA coast between the Shark Bay and the Rowley Shoals marine parks.

She said the underwater photography, including the region's famous whale sharks, would be enjoyed by all readers.

The Marine Life of Ningaloo Marine Park and Coral Bay retails for $14.95, and is available from most good bookshops, many dive shops, outlets in Coral Bay, from CALM's WA Naturally visitor information centre in Fremantle and from CALM offices throughout the State.

Media contacts: Nicole Trigwell 9421 7777

CALM - Dr Syd Shea 9442 0335