Are the Montebello Islands safe to visit after the atomic tests?

Mostly yes, with two clear exceptions. Trimouille and Alpha Islands still carry slightly elevated background radiation at the ground-zero sites and DBCA limits visits to one hour per day on each, with no soil disturbance and no removal of relics. The other 170-plus islands and the surrounding waters are at normal background levels and are fished and visited routinely. Charter operators brief these rules at the start of every trip.

How do I get to the Montebello Islands?

Charter or private boat only. The most common access is a 5 to 10 day mothership charter departing Dampier, which is a 16-hour drive from Perth or a flight into Karratha airport. A smaller number of charters depart Exmouth. Private boats need to be a capable offshore platform with full self-sufficiency for the 100-kilometre crossing — most private trips travel as a small fleet.

Can I camp at the Montebellos?

Yes, in limited designated zones with a DBCA permit. There is no water, no fuel, no facilities and no waste collection — campers must be fully self-sufficient and pack everything out. The vast majority of fishing visitors stay on a chartered or private mothership rather than camping.

What fish does the Montebello Islands marine park hold?

Over 450 recorded species. The reef and pelagic mix targeted by recreational and charter anglers includes Spanish mackerel, red and spangled emperor, coral trout, rankin cod, giant trevally, queenfish, sailfish and mangrove jack along the lagoon edges. Sanctuary zones overlay parts of the chain — verify on the current DBCA visitor map before fishing.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Montebello Islands (Conservation Park / Marine Park)

Tue 20 Oct 2026 · Australia/Perth

Forecast updated 5:02am AWST

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20 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Montebello Islands (Conservation Park / Marine Park)

first quarter · 65%

Weather: Unavailable Swell: 0.9 m @ 9 s SW Water: 24.3 °C Faces several ways: wind direction isn't scored here

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:30 pm

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dusk

Tide Turning

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 24.3 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:21 am Last light 6:44 pm

High 2:00 am Low 9:50 am High 5:54 pm Low 10:00 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:00 pm → 8:30 pm

2h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 8:30 am

3h 30m

Good

1:30 am → 2:30 am

Good

1:00 pm → 1:30 pm

30m

First light

5:21 am

Last light

6:44 pm

Sunrise

5:43 am

Sunset

6:21 pm

Moonrise

1:03 pm

Moonset

1:37 am

High tide

2:00 am

Low tide

9:50 am

High tide

5:54 pm

Low tide

10:00 pm

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.9 m SW

12am

1.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

1am

1.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

2am

1.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

3am

1.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

4am

1.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

5am

1.0 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

6am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

7am

1.0 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

8am

1.0 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

9am

1.0 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Slight

10am

1.0 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Slight

11am

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Slight

12pm

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Slight

1pm

0.9 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Slight

2pm

0.9 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Slight

3pm

1.0 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Slight

4pm

1.0 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

5pm

1.0 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

6pm

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

7pm

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Slight

8pm

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Slight

9pm

0.9 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Slight

10pm

0.9 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Slight

11pm

0.9 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Slight

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 24.3°

Sat

17 Oct

24.3°

Sun

18 Oct

24.4°

Mon

19 Oct

24.4°

Tue

20 Oct

24.3°

Wed

21 Oct

24.2°

Thu

22 Oct

—

Fri

23 Oct

—

Sat

24 Oct

—

Sun

25 Oct

—

Mon

26 Oct

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Current wind summary unavailable — see the wind chart above the map.

Wind map data: ECMWF HRES (operational), updated every 6 hours. Not for navigation.

Open in the full fishing map →

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:00 pm → 8:30 pm

2h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 8:30 am

3h 30m

Good

1:30 am → 2:30 am

Good

1:00 pm → 1:30 pm

30m

First light

5:21 am

Last light

6:44 pm

Sunrise

5:43 am

Sunset

6:21 pm

Moonrise

1:03 pm

Moonset

1:37 am

High tide

2:00 am

Low tide

9:50 am

High tide

5:54 pm

Low tide

10:00 pm

Species at this spot

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