About us

Who we are

Protect Ningaloo is a grassroots not-for-profit campaign dedicated to safeguarding Exmouth Gulf. 

We are hosted by the Australian Marine Conservation Society, in alliance with local volunteer organisation Cape Conservation Group.

A massive industrial proposal threatens Exmouth Gulf and people who love Ningaloo are standing up to protect its nursery- photographers, scientists, local wildlife enthusiasts, tourism operators and business owners, visitors. 

With the support of tens of thousands of people, we campaign to ensure Ningaloo and Exmouth Gulf continues to be appreciated for generations to come.

How we started

The original Save Ningaloo campaign formed in the early 2000s to stop inappropriate development at Maud’s Landing near Coral Bay. 15 000 people rallied in the streets of Fremantle. Over 100 000 told the government they care about Ningaloo. The development was dropped. Sanctuary protection expanded, the Ningaloo Coast became World Heritage Listed. 

In 2017, multinational Oil and Gas company Subsea 7 proposed to build a pipeline facility at Heron Point in Exmouth Gulf. Protect Ningaloo came together to stop the project and work towards a sustainable future for Exmouth Gulf.

Milestones

Protect Ningaloo welcomes WA Government’s commitment to create a marine park with high levels of protection across the whole of Exmouth Gulf that will be jointly managed with Traditional Owners. The Government has responded to Exmouth Gulf Taskforce recommendations with long-awaited measures that prioritise conservation.

Following years of campaigning, plans for a massive industrial saltworks at Exmouth Gulf-Ningaloo have been withdrawn by the German corporation, K+S.

  • August 2023: Labour will consider World Heritage Listing application for Exmouth Gulf

At Parliament House, Tim Winton and the Protect Ningaloo team met with ministers to speak about the importance of Exmouth Gulf. Thousands sent letters to the Federal Environment Minister in support of National Heritage listing for the Gulf.

‘Worth the Risk?’ national advertising campaign was launched to raise awareness of the risks posed to humpback whale mothers and calves from the controversial Gascoyne Gateway industrial port proposal. 

The public signed letters calling for WA Minister for Environment to take EPA’s advice and advance protection for Exmouth Gulf’s environmental, cultural and social values as a priority. 

The #BeautifulNingaloo campaign used print, radio and a billboard truck in Perth CBD to raise awareness of the threat Subsea 7 posed to  Exmouth Gulf. 10s of 1000s of people joined the campaign and told the government they didn’t want the Gulf to be industrialised. Subsea 7 withdrew their proposal.

The proposal to open vast areas of the marine environment to the oil and gas industry off the Ningaloo World Heritage area, Shark Bay and the Abrolhos Islands has been scrapped after 30,000 people signed a letter opposing it.