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Ashmore

Introduction
The isolated and uninhabited island of Ashmore falls within the external territory of Australia. Ashmore and Cartier are two desolate tropical island groups situated in the Indian Ocean towards the north-west of Australia. The Ashmore and Cartier Island group include east, west as well as the central islands of the Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island along with the stretch of territorial sea that these islands have generated. These islands are created out of coral and sand and are covered by grass.

Political Overview
The deserted islands of Ashmore and Cartier came under the possession of Australian province in 1931. However, the region came to be formally administered after two years. Now Ashmore and Cartier are being administered from Canberra, Australia. In fact, Australia also has the accountability of the defense of Ashmore and Cartier Islands. Moreover, depending on the region of the island, the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia and of the Northern Territory apply in Ashmore.

Geographical Overview
The geographic coordinates of Ashmore and Cartier Islands are between 12 14 S, 123 05 E. A wide range of marine life can be seen in the Ashmore Reef, which was converted as a National Nature Reserve in 1983 and covers an area of 583 km². On the other hand, in the year 2000 Cartier Island became a marine reserve.

Together Cartier and Ashmore Island possesses a total of 74.1 km of shoreline. However, the island has no ports or harbors but only the possibility of offshore anchorage. The Ashmore reserve contains varied marine life such as sea snakes, Dugong, etc., along with their natural habitats like lagoons, coral reef flats as well as seagrass meadows and so on. The reserve also serves as a significant Bird Area with over 50,000 breeding pairs of various kinds of seabirds. The island of Ashmore experiences a tropical climate.

Tourism in Ashmore
Being a protected area nobody is allowed to get into Ashmore Island. So, it is not easy to visit this island for common people. For tourists wanting to visit Ashmore must get a permit from the Australian government to step in the islands.

Trade and commerce
Ashmore Island sees no economic activity. Fish is the only natural resource found here. The Ashmore Reef of Australian territory comes very close to Indonesia, which had caused many incidents of people smugglers who used to transfer refugees from Indonesia to Australia through Ashmore. However, the Australian government used many steps to stop this practice. Many Indonesian fishermen come to the West Islet of Ashmore to catch fish on fresh water.

 

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