Ashmore and Cartier Islands
The Ashmore and Cartier Islands are uninhabited territories located approximately 320 kilometers off the northwest coast of Australia in the Indian Ocean. Officially recognized as the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, they have been under Australian authority since 1931. The Ashmore Islands consist of coral islets and a rich marine ecosystem, while Cartier Island is predominantly sandy with limited vegetation. Both islands are significant for biodiversity, housing diverse avian and marine life, including several species of fish, marine turtles, and coral.
In 1983, the Ashmore Islands were designated a national nature reserve, and Cartier Island became a marine reserve in 2000, primarily due to environmental concerns and efforts to restore depleted fish populations. Historical interactions with Indonesian fishermen have highlighted ongoing disputes over fishing rights and resource management in the area. Both islands are recognized for their ecological importance, with Ashmore Reef designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2003. As uninhabited territories, the islands only have seasonal caretakers, serving to protect their unique ecosystems and mitigate human impact.
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
The Ashmore and Cartier Islands are uninhabited islands that have been under Australian authority since 1931. Officially they are known as the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands. The islands are located in the Indian Ocean approximately 320 kilometres off the northwest coast of Australia and are rich with diverse avian and marine life. On 16 August 1983, the three islands that make up the Ashmore Islands were designated a national nature reserve. The Ashmore islands are made up of coral islets within a reef, whereas Cartier Island is sandier in its makeup and contains no vegetation.
After World War II, Cartier Island was used as a bombing range for forty years by Australian armed forces. It became a marine reserve in 2000. In June 2003, in order to restore a depleted fish population and protect biodiversity, the Australian Department of the Environment closed fishing access to certain parts of the islands for seven years. During this closure, the Australian government also wanted to search for any unexploded ordnance from when the island was used as a bombing range. This closure caused conflict with traditional fishermen from nearby Indonesia, who depended on fishing around the islands for their livelihood.
In August 2016, Australia launched the Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release, which offers bidding on twenty-eight areas offshore from the Ashmore and Cartier Islands for petroleum evaluation.
Historical Perspective
Indonesian fishermen first visited the islands in about 1700. A European first reached Cartier Island in 1800, when British captain Nash (his first name is not recorded) sailed his ship, the Cartier, around it. In February 1811, British captain Samuel Ashmore, piloting the ship HMS Hibernia, discovered the Ashmore Reef and islands. American whaling ships came to the area in the 1850s, and both the United Kingdom and United States claimed rights to the islands. The United Kingdom annexed the Ashmore islands in 1878. A British ship named the Ann Millicent ran ashore on Cartier Island in 1888, and its remains are still there as of November 2016. Cartier Island was annexed a couple of decades later, in 1909.
Both islands came under Australian authority on 3 July 1931, and a formal administration was established to govern them in 1933, under the Ashmore and Cartier Islands Acceptance Act. Five years later, the islands became administratively linked to the Northern Territory of Australia. This governance would last until 1978, when the national government was granted governance. Shortly after annexing the islands, the UK government began exploiting them for their natural resources, particularly phosphate. This continued for about a hundred years, which caused concern in the scientific and environmental communities over the depletion of plant and bird life.
Due to the islands' close proximity to Indonesia, the boundaries used for fishing and maritime activities have come into dispute over the years. Both countries negotiated an agreement in the mid-twentieth century to formalise the rights of Indonesian fishermen. A memorandum of understanding was signed in 1997 aimed at settling a number of other maritime boundaries between the two countries.
Geography and Climate
Both the Ashmore and Cartier territories have tropical climates throughout the year and are located 320 kilometres northwest of Western Australia and about 170 kilometres southwest of the island of Roti, Indonesia. They sit on the outer edge of the continental shelf in the Indian Ocean and the Timor Sea. The Ashmore Reef is composed of the West, Middle and East Islands, along with two lagoons, all within the reef rim. The islands have a combined area of 1.12 square kilometres, while the reef comprises about 583 square kilometres. Ashmore Reef contains a wealth of maritime species, with 14 varieties of sea snake, over 400 species of mollusc, 70 fish species and over 250 varieties of coral identified in the territory. There is also a large marine turtle nesting area, a migratory bird population and a significant amount of whale sharks around the Ashmore Islands. The Ashmore Reef Commonwealth Marine Reserve covers 583 kilometres and generally includes all of the territory considered to be the Ashmore Reef. Because of its importance in providing a resting place for migratory birds and for supporting a significant amount of seabird breeding colonies, the Ashmore Reef was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2003.
Seventy kilometres east of the Ashmore Reef is Cartier Island. This island is surrounded by its own reef and lacks vegetation aside from pockets of seagrass that grow close to the reef. Cartier Island rises to only about three metres at its highest point. Along the southern reef can be found the wreck of the Ann Millicent and a crashed Royal Australian Air Force plane from the 1940s. The Cartier Island Marine Reserve covers an area within a 7.2 kilometre radius of the centre of the island and a total area of 167 square kilometres. The reserve was established to protect the diverse ecosystem of Cartier and its surrounding reefs, which are home to over 540 identified species of fish.
Economy
The Ashmore and Cartier Islands are uninhabited, but Indonesian fishermen and tradesmen have harvested the diverse resources of its ecosystem for centuries, both legally and illegally. Alongside the wealth of fish, Indonesians have also collected birds' eggs, clams, sea cucumbers, turtles and turtle eggs for both consumption and trade in Asia.
Demographics
Both the Ashmore and Cartier Islands are uninhabited. The only people on the islands at any one time are seasonal caretakers.
Bibliography
"Ashmore and Cartier Islands." Geoscience Australia, Australian Government, www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/remote-offshore-territories/ashmore-and-cartier-islands. Accessed 18 Nov. 2016.
"Ashmore and Cartier Islands." Encyclopaedia Britannica, 19 Dec. 2014, www.britannica.com/place/Ashmore-and-Cartier-Islands. Accessed 17 Nov 2016.
"Ashmore and Cartier Islands." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 13 Sept. 2016, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/at.html. Accessed 8 Dec. 2016.
Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Understanding the Cultural, Natural Heritage Values & Management Challenges of the Ashmore Region. Environment Australia, Dept. of the Environment and Heritage, 4--6 Apr. 2001, www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/9b6dcace-c78b-4b37-ab00-e755623bfe03/files/ashmore-abstracts.pdf. Accessed 8 Dec. 2016.
Stacey, Natasha. Boats to Burn: Bajo Fishing Activity in the Australian Fishing Zone. Australian National UP, 2007.