Traditional Owner led monitoring projects

A key outcome of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan is that the ecological and social values of marine ecosystems are maintained. In developing the Gidarjil Sea Country Management Plan 2019–2025, the state of coral reef communities and water quality within the Port Curtis Coral Coast (PCCC) Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreement (TUMRA) region were identified as major knowledge gaps.

In response, the Gidarjil Development Corporation has partnered with the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment, Science and Innovation and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to enable Gidarjil Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers to undertake inshore coral community and water quality monitoring on their Sea Country and that of the neighbouring Butchulla nation (with Butchulla Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger involvement).

Key achievements to date include:

• Increased involvement of Traditional Owners in the management of their sea Country through monitoring  its health.
• Information gaps relating to coral and water quality in the inshore zone of the southern Great Barrier Reef are being addressed.
• Permanent monitoring sites have been established on 14 inshore reefs and annual surveys have been undertaken since 2020.
• Water sampling has been undertaken at the coral monitoring sites and an additional site six times a year since 2020.
• Fifteen Gidarjil Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers have developed skills in coral and marine water quality monitoring.
• Results have demonstrated the impact of the 2022 floods on coral communities and inshore water quality.
• The monitoring project has fostered knowledge sharing between Gidarjil Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers and their community, their Butchulla nation neighbours, and national and international researchers, Indigenous groups and other government agencies.

Cultural value

Coral and water quality monitoring holds great importance for Gidarjil and its community. Beyond the collection of scientific data, these monitoring efforts are providing a deeper connection to Country and culture. In the words of Senior Gidarjil Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger Kelvin Rowe, a Taribelang Bunda Traditional Owner, one of the four groups of the PCCC, the coral monitoring project “gives me more connections to my Country and my old people” and “the more we know the more we can let others know what’s happening and get them involved”. Being able to monitor is to be reflective on custodial responsibilities and cultural obligations to Country, allowing for community to safeguard their cultural identity and traditions.

This program provides ongoing employment while developing a pathway to self-determination, self-governance and enhancing the strong connection between Country and culture within the region.

The Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program is funding Traditional Owners to undertake marine water quality monitoring at 15 inshore marine sites in the Burnett Mary region helping to validate the eReefs marine modelling.

Coral monitoring is funded by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.