 It is surrounded by the Shark Bay Marine Park and Shark Bay World Heritage Site and, as the Faure Island Sanctuary, is owned and managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC).The island was given its European name by French explorer Nicolas Baudin in 1801, in honour of the geographer, Pierre Faure, aboard his ship "Le Naturaliste".Pastoral leases over the island were granted to Charles Broadhurst in 1873, and to WD Moore & Coy in 1883.