The Federal Government is under fire for offering up areas close to the Rowley Shoals, a world-class diving spot off the W-A coast, to oil and gas exploration.
Expressions of interest in the proposed lease areas, just three nautical miles from the coral reefs, close tomorrow.
The shoals, 260 kilometres west of Broome, are said to rival the Great Barrier Reef for their spectacular marine life.
Paul Gamblin of the World Wildlife Fund says any development so close to the reef would be devastating.
"It's a place where wildlife including whales and dolphins, turtles, sharks, tuna, fish in their abundance, hundreds of species of coral are found," Mr Gamblin said.
"An oil spill, even a small spill, within a few kilometres of a place like this which is so healthy, so pristine, could be devastating."
ABC News
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