Landscape Context
Faure Island Sanctuary lies within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area and is entirely surrounded by the Shark Bay Marine Park. Two other islands in Shark Bay, Bernier and Dorre Islands, support populations of five threatened mammals that have been extinct on mainland Australia for over 50 years (Banded Hare-wallaby, Rufous Hare-wallaby, Boodie, Western Barred Bandicoot, and Shark Bay Mouse). Faure Island presents a unique opportunity to create a third island to support a similar suite of threatened Shark Bay mammals, thereby significantly increasing the long-term security of these species.
The island is a key breeding area for many seabirds, and supports one of the biggest Pied Cormorant rookeries in Shark Bay. Expansive mudflats surrounding the island provide vital feeding grounds for thousands of wading birds that migrate from as far away as Siberia, and marine animals such as dugong, turtles, and manta rays abound in the waters of Shark Bay.
Francois Peron National Park on the Peron Peninsula, and the Marine Park waters are managed by the Western Australian DEC. AWC works in close co-operation with DEC, which also has an ambitious fauna reconstruction program on Peron Peninsula (Project Eden). The management of Faure Island by AWC, and the implementation of its conservation programs, is complimentary to DEC’s Project Eden.