The Kimberley coast is rich in species habitats, ranging from mangroves, to seagrass beds, fringing reefs, mudflats and sandy bottoms.  In addition, the Kimberley boasts an extraordinarily large tidal range of more than ten metres.  This results in two major effects; an extensive tidal zone, and strong currents, exceeding five knots at times.  The currents also stir up silts deposited by the large rivers of the Kimberley, causing high water turbidity, particularly inshore during Spring Tides.

Dr Gerald Allen and Roger Steene, in their excellent Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide state that "Increased sea temperatures have only had adverse effects since 1980, when El-Nino boosted temperatures exceeded the thermal tolerance of corals and their symbiotic algae."  When the upper limit of heat tolerance is reached by the algae that give corals their colour, deaths will occur with the corresponding bleaching of the coral host.  Besides colour, the algae also provide sugars and other nutrients leaked into the tissue of the coral host.  Global warming is believed to be a major factor in coral bleaching, and may herald the beginning of the end of coral reefs as we know them.

1.  Survey of the Aquatic Fauna of the Kimberley Islands and Reefs, Western Australia, Edited by Gary Morgan, Western Australian Museum, April 1992.

2. 2.Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, Dr Gerald R.Allen and Roger Steene, Tropical Reef Research, 2002.
   

The remote and largely inaccessible Kimberley coast is one of the last remaining wilderness areas in the world. 

Characterised by a broad continental shelf, the area is dotted with reefs, shoals, banks and near shore islands, often fringed with coral reefs.

At least 2,815 surveyed and mostly uninhabited islands extend through the Bonaparte and Buccaneer Archipelagos.