Ashmore and Cartier Islands National Reserves Environment

Ashmore and Cartier Islands National Reserves Environment. Historical, Culture and Tourism. Natural Reserve and Marine Reserve. The best you will be informed on Ashmore Reff and Cartier Island. Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve and Cartier Island Marine Reserve (the ‘Reserves’) lie off the coast of northern Western Australia in the eastern Indian Ocean. Located in Australia’s External Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, the Reserves are under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Australia. They are within an area subject to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Indonesia and Australia, which provides for continued Indonesian traditional fishing activities in an area known as the MOU Box. The Reserves were established by the Commonwealth for the purposes of protecting their outstanding and representative marine ecosystems and to facilitate scientific research. Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve was established on 16 August 1983. Cartier Island Marine Reserve was established on 21 June 2000