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New plan recognises sea country connection
The heritage, knowledge, and cultural values of Mandubarra Traditional Owners is now formally captured and will be used to inform future management of their sea country in north Queensland.
The Mandubarra Sea Country Cultural Values produced by Traditional Owners and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority coversMourilyan Harbour near Innisfail to the southern end of Kurrimine Beach.
It contains important information on the area’s cultural history and will be a valuable source of information for Traditional Owners and marine managers in guiding management of the area.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Board Chairman Ian Poiner said the plan supports the Mandubarra Traditional Use of Marine Resource Agreement, which is in place for their sea country.
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A state-of the art $9.7 million vessel based at Gladstone will bring new capabilities in compliance, surveying and research on the southern Great Barrier Reef.
The 24-metre Reef Resilience vessel was unveiled on Friday by Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley, Queensland Environment and Great Barrier Reef Minister Meaghan Scanlon and Manufacturing, Regional Development and Water Minister, Member for Gladstone Glenn Butcher.
Ms Ley said the Reef Resilience vessel was jointly funded by the Federal and Queensland governments under the Reef Joint Field Management Program. Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley and Queensland Environment and Great Barrier Reef Minister Meaghan Scanlon cut the ribbon to unveil the $9.7m Reef Resilience vessel. Picture: Rodney Stevens
Meanwhile, little Malco Turnbull little mate in New South Wales, Mike, is about to lawfully (change the present legislation) unleash massive environmental degradation like never before by allowing farmers to remove more trees from their paddocks, while federal Labor wants their mates in queensland to do more to protect nature which the previous Turnbull s mates, the Liberals (CONservatives) under Newman, encouraged to be massively destroyed by farmers. The environmental record from the Liberals (CONservatives) is terrible. So when Turnbull announces some patch up coastal solutions, he does not really want to talk about the real cause of global warming: burning coal and other fossil fuels, especially the mining thereof.
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IMAGE: New research on how fisheries and conservation goals are impacted by yellow zones (limited fishing zones) is crucial for future marine park management. view more
Credit: Kynan Hartog-Burnett / ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.
A world first study within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has found limited fishing zones (yellow zones) are still important conservation and fisheries management tools when paired with no-fishing zones.
Lead author Dr April Hall, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University (Coral CoE at JCU), said partially protected yellow zones still contain healthy numbers of reef fish targeted for recreational and commercial fishing. These include coral trout, tropical snappers, emperors and tuskfish.
Unsustainable fishing on the GBR
Under-regulated fishing is putting unnecessary pressure on the Great Barrier Reef, a Reef that is already at risk from the impacts of climate change and poor water quality.
Overfishing, illegal fishing and incidental catch, alongside practices such as gillnet fishing and trawling, have a serious impact on the biodiversity and integrity of the reef system leading to a decline in reef health.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s (GBRMPA) latest position statement on fishing lays out a series of issues. Incidental catch of at-risk species – including dolphins, whales, dugongs, saw fish, sea snakes, turtles and some shark – was “the most significant fisheries sustainability issue” in the marine park.