Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00070:body:0:p9
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00070
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 26574–29526

of around half a kilometre

Seabirds

Christmas Island is internationally significant for seabirds, with over 100 species of seabird recorded on the island. Christmas Island is the last remaining breeding colony in the world for the threatened and endemic Abbott's booby and the Christmas Island frigate bird. It also supports populations of the golden bosun  an endemic subspecies of the white-tailed tropicbird. The marine park adjoins Christmas Island National Park, connecting and increasing protections across land and sea for species like seabirds, which require both the resting and nesting habitat on the island and the surrounding marine habitat (to forage for pelagic fish and squid) for their survival.

Image: Abbott's booby (Museums Victoria)

Image: Flying fish (ikan terbang)  an important food source for Christmas Island seabirds (Museums Victoria)

Sharks (ikan yu, 鲨鱼)

The waters of Christmas Island are one of only 2 Australian locations known to provide foraging areas for threatened whale sharks, which generally aggregate in the waters surrounding Christmas Island around December to April. This period coincides with the mass spawning season for red crabs, and it is likely that whale sharks aggregate at this time to feed on red crab larvae.

Other oceanic sharks visit the island's waters from time to time, and white tip and grey reef sharks are known to forage and breed along the outer reef slope of the marine park. Ten species of sharks have been recorded at Christmas Island: whale shark, silvertip shark, grey reef shark, silky shark, oceanic whitetip shark, tiger shark, whitetip reef shark, scalloped hammerhead shark, great hammerhead shark and pelagic thresher shark.

     1.      Cultural values

Christmas Island has a unique history that reflects its multicultural community. The customs, traditions and languages of the Chinese and Malay communities on Christmas Island contribute to the island's diverse culture. For over a century, these communities have continuously relied on the ocean environment for their livelihood and sustenance.

Oral histories and stories

The Chinese and Malay communities consider their history on the island, which for many is inherently tied to the marine environment, to play a significant role in their cultural identity. It is important to these communities that the historical and cultural stories about the origins of their community and how it intersects with the marine environment are recognised and recorded. Locally held ecological knowledge is also an important resource for researching and managing the marine park.

Maritime skills and traditions

Maritime skills and traditions are important on Christmas Island. Sampans are an example of this. Sampans are boats handcrafted by the Malay community from a single tree trunk. They have been built for over 100 years, with each generation inheriting the building method from the previous. Historically, sampans