From 1913 until the mid-1960s it was zoned as a Reserve for Government Purposes and, for a short period, was used by the Adelaide University Regiment as a target for gunnery practice during field exercises.

[1] Breeding seabirds include little penguins, silver gulls, and crested, Caspian and fairy terns.

Reptiles recorded from the island include Cunningham's spiny-tailed, White's and Peron's earless skinks.

[2] The island is an important breeding site for Caspian terns, with 50 of the birds counted there during a 2020 survey.

The waters within 100 metres (330 feet) of West Island were declared as an Aquatic Reserve under the Fisheries Act 1971-1976 in 1971 in order to protect sites used for abalone research.