The World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Coast has been chosen as the location for the 2019 International Whale Shark Conference. Hosted by the Department of Parks and Wildlife with support from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, whale shark conservation group ECOCEAN and CSIRO, the event will be held in Exmouth in May 2019. Held every three years, the conference aims to generate and support international collaboration in whale shark science, conservation and management.  Previous host countries have included Mexico, the United States and Qatar. Ningaloo Marine Park is one of only a few places in the world where whale sharks appear regularly in near-shore waters in numbers and where they are easily visible to observers.  As a result, Exmouth and Coral Bay are world renowned for…

A man has been charged after he was intercepted at Perth International Airport attempting to smuggle 13 native bobtail lizards into Japan. On 24 May, Australian Border Force (ABF) officials detected a suspicious package inside a suitcase during x-ray screening, and notified wildlife officers from the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife. The suitcase contained seven live adult bobtail lizards and six live babies in cotton bags. A Japanese national was arrested and charged by ABF with attempting to export a regulated native specimen, contrary to section 303DD(1) of the Environment Protection and Bio-diversity Conservation Act 1999. Parks and Wildlife will lay charges for taking protected fauna, contrary to section 16(1) of the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. The man has appeared in court and will…