Last year, Mandubarra Aboriginal Land and Sea Incorporated published and launched a Mandubarra Sea Country Cultural Values plan to advise of the cultural richness within the Mandubarra Sea Country estate and their aspirations for managing Country with partners.

The development of the plan was a project under the Reef Authority’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Strategy for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which aims to help Traditional Owners keep Indigenous heritage strong, safe and healthy.

In partnership with Mandubarra Traditional Owners, the Reef Authority led managing agencies in a groundbreaking pilot to support a holistic approach to the management of Mandubarra Sea Country. This pilot builds on the success of the Mandubarra Traditional Use of Marine Resource Agreement and Indigenous Land and Sea Country Rangers Program.

At the workshop Mandubarra Traditional Owners shared their priorities for Sea Country management with the Reef Authority, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, and Cassowary Coast Regional Shire Council.

These agencies in turn shared their knowledge on how Mandubarra Sea Country is used and accessed currently, including fishing, permitted and recreational use, and existing regulatory requirements that are in place.

With information exchanged and a deeper understanding of Mandubarra Traditional Owner perspectives, Mandubarra and the Reef Authority identified where the Reef Authority and the Reef Joint Field Management Program could implement Mandubarra’s priorities for management of their Sea Country and move towards increased co-management.

The Reef Authority and the Queensland government are committed to a broad range of partnership activities and formal agreements with Traditional Owners to manage the Great Barrier Reef Marine Parks.

Future workshops with Mandubarra Traditional Owners will be held to further refine and expand opportunities for co-management to enhance the protection and conservation of all values within their Sea Country estate of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

This project is an initiative under the Reef Authority’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Strategy for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.