Concerns are mounting in Broome about the threat to Scott Reef off the Kimberley coast from Woodside’s Browse Basin proposal for 50 oil and gas wells around the iconic marine biodiversity hotspot.

This morning a gathering of locals requested Kimberley Member of Parliament Divina D’Anna convey their concerns about the proposal to the WA Minister for the Environment Matthew Swinbourn and Premier Roger Cook.

“The community clearly doesn’t want Woodside’s damaging, risky, polluting project that would send most of the gas overseas. There’s only a downside to this proposal for West Australians and our globally significant coastlines,” said Martin Pritchard, Executive Director of Broome-based conservation group Environs Kimberley.

Broome residents gathered to voice concerns about Woodside’s Scott Reef plan. Photo: Wendy Mitchell.

The proposal is under assessment by the WA EPA, and the Cook Labor Government is expected to make a decision in early 2026.

“Scott Reef off the Kimberley coast is a marine biodiversity jewel of the Indian Ocean and is one of Australia’s most important offshore oceanic reefs,” said Mr Pritchard. The reef is a haven for 900 species of fish, 300 coral species, 1,500 species of invertebrates and 29 species of marine mammals including the endangered pygmy blue whale. Sandy Islet, a sandy cay at Scott Reef, is the nesting ground of 1,000 genetically distinct green turtles, any damage to the islet could be catastrophic for the species. If oil and gas is extracted from underneath the reef, Sandy Islet is expected to sink and would no longer be suitable for green turtle nesting.

Locals hold handmade signs asking for protection of Scott Reef. Photo: Wendy Mitchell.

“A major oil spill would be catastrophic for marine life at Scott Reef and we have a nearby example of the Montara oil disaster from 2009 which devastated the West Timor economy and seaweed farmers’ livelihoods. An oil spill of this magnitude is too much of a risk for Scott Reef and the Kimberley coast,” Mr Pritchard said.

The emissions from the Browse oil and gas project would be on a global scale at 1.6 billion tonnes of CO₂ according to Woodside’s reports. This would further fuel climate change which is devastating reefs globally, with the latest coral bleaching covering over 1,500km of the West Australian coast and reefs from Ashmore Reef to Ningaloo.

Broome-based conservation group Environs Kimberley (EK) is calling on the WA and Federal governments to reject the proposal from global sea cage fish farm developer Tassal to establish 84 barramundi sea cages across the remote, environmentally sensitive, National heritage-listed Buccaneer Archipelago north of Broome.

EK’s submission to the WA EPA assessment outlines seven of the reasons the proposal should be rejected.

Tassal, owned by Canadian giant Cooke Aquaculture Inc., is one of the companies involved in the ongoing salmon sea cage controversy in Tasmania. It recently acquired the existing, relatively small, Cone Bay barramundi sea cage operation in the Kimberley and has put forward a proposal to establish 84 sea cages spread across 50 km in the Mayala Marine Park which forms part of the National Heritage-listed Buccaneer Archipelago.

EK Executive Director Martin Pritchard said the marine and island environment of the Mayala Marine Park and Buccaneer Archipelago is incredibly significant for its environmental values and is no place for a high-risk industry like large scale sea cage fish farms.

Humpback whale calf with its mother. Photo: Matt Deakin.

“Recent experience in Tasmania, and also a massive fish death event at Cone Bay in 2019, show that large scale sea cage fish farming brings many impacts and risks which under no circumstances should be imposed on a globally significant environment like the Buccaneer Archipelago.

“The Kimberley coast is in the top 4% of least impacted coastlines in the world.  (Source: Halpern et al 2008)

“The marine environment of the Kimberley, including Buccaneer Archipelago, is a recognised stronghold for species like Humpback whales who give birth here, dolphins, dugong, turtles, rays and sawfish – species which are under increasing pressure elsewhere due to habitat loss, pollution, fishing and global warming.

“The Buccaneer Archipelago is also popular amongst recreational fishers who are concerned about this proposal.

Cone Bay. Photo: Martin Pritchard.

“Here in the Kimberley these marine species have the world’s most pristine environment where they can migrate, breed, raise their young and feed in safety. The many islands too are incredibly significant as refugia for species whose populations have sharply declined on the mainland due to introduced species and changed fire regimes.

“Spreading sea cage fish farming through this remote and pristine marine and island environment brings many risks including pollution, introduction of pests and diseases, attraction of predators, interruption of breeding and feeding patterns, unauthorised access to islands and disposal of large volumes of dead barramundi.

“Because of its remoteness, high tides, fast currents, narrow channels (and cyclones), if there is a major event like mass fish escape or mass disease and death event, it will be logistically very difficult to address.

Edeline Islands. Photo: Martin Pritchard.

“There is absolutely no good reason to put at risk a unique environment like the Buccaneer Archipelago to grow barramundi in sea cages. Fish farming should be undertaken close to population centres and support services and should be developed as closed-cycle operations on land, not in the open sea. This is the case with barramundi farming in the Northern Territory.”

Read more: WA Today's report "Tarnished Tassal brand targets WA barramundi".

Hundreds of community members gathered for the premiere screening of Corals’ Last Stand here in Broome this week. Corals’ Last Stand by documentary filmaker Jane Hammond, tells the story of the Kimberley marine treasure, Scott Reef and the challenges it faces as Woodside, BP, MiMi and Petrochina threaten the reef system with a proposal to extract oil and gas from beneath it. The story is narrated by West Australian author Tim Winton, accompanied by musician John Butler and a host of leading conservationists from Western Australia including EK's Martin Pritchard who secured the boat and went out to Scott Reef with them.  

The night also featured a screening of A Crude Injustice, another film by Jane Hammond, which tells the harrowing story of the Montara oil spill that occurred in 2009, off the Kimberley coast. The uncontrolled spill lasted for over 74 days in the Timor and reached as far as the coast of Indonesian Timor, devastating marine life and seaweed farms in its path, damage that has still not fully recovered. The Montara oil spill disaster is a timely reminder that when things go wrong in oil and gas extraction, they can go very wrong.  

Hundreds of Broome residents turn out for screening of Corals’ Last Stand. Photo: Wendy Mitchell.

The campaign to save Scott Reef is gaining momentum, with people from across Australia getting on board to protect the magnificent marine life there from the damaging effects of drilling for fossil gas. Scott Reef is a biodiversity hotspot in the Kimberley and should not be jeopardized for profit, nor should the Kimberley coast line be put at risk of a spill. Keep an eye out for further events in Broome as the fight to Stop Woodside and Save Scott Reef continues.  

To see if there is a screening happening near you check out: https://www.coralslaststand.com.au/screenings 

Or registered to host a screening for friends and family: https://www.coralslaststand.com.au/book-a-screening  

Environs Kimberley (EK) has rejected Woodside’s just-announced changes to its Browse gas project on Scott Reef as ‘tinkering around the edges’.

The WA EPA is now seeking public comment on Woodside’s five proposed ‘Section 43A’ changes which the company claims will reduce the project’s environmental risks and impacts.

Executive Director of EK, Martin Pritchard, said the proposed changes would in no way change the fact that the Scott Reef project should never be approved.

“Scott Reef is a natural jewel off the Kimberley coast. There is no way that drilling, processing and piping gas in this living marine environment could ever be made environmentally acceptable.

“In 2024 it was revealed via an FOI application that the EPA had formed the ‘preliminary view’ that Woodside’s Browse proposal was environmentally unacceptable.  According to the documents, the EPA cited threats to endangered whales and turtles and the risk of an oil spill and concluded that the project posed threats of serious or irreversible damage.

“Woodside’s tinkering has done nothing to change the reality that its project is unacceptable.

Scott Reef. Photo: Wendy Mitchell.

“We are dealing with a global climate and extinction crisis caused in large part by fossil fuels. It makes absolutely no sense to locate a new fossil fuel project, which would result in millions of tonnes of additional GHG emissions, in an environment rich in rare and threatened marine life like Pygmy blue whales, dolphins, marine turtles and sea snakes, as well as countless fish and coral species.

“Instead of tinkering with the project and toying with the assessment process, Woodside should get serious and drop the whole proposal.”

Banner image: Scott Reef. Photo: Alex Westover.