Reef Traditional Owners have been actively protecting and monitoring their Sea Country for thousands of years. In a crucial step forward for localised management, Traditional Owners recently participated in one of the world’s largest citizen science programs in the build-up to summer.

It’s the first time that Traditional Owners, teachers and the tourism industry have been collectively trained in how to monitor and assess the health of the Great Barrier Reef through the Reef Authority’s Eye on the Reef program.

These training events off Airlie Beach and Cairns qualified approximately 125 new citizen scientists. Amongst the 25 Traditional Owners trained was Mandubarra Traditional Owner Larrence O’Donnell, who undertook Reef Health and Impact Survey training – a quick and efficient way to provide a snapshot of Reef health at any time on any reef. 

“It’s been an amazing couple of days,” he said.

“We’ve learned so much about our beautiful, beautiful environment. We’ve learned the skills, techniques, and methodologies to take back to our Country and put it to good use, to help heal our Country and help give kids – and everyone in our area – something to be happy about and to be excited to get on Country.”

This training takes place at a meaningful time, as the Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreement (TUMRA) program marked its 20th anniversary on 8 December, and reinforces the TUMRA program’s commitment to empowering Traditional Owners in the co-management of the Marine Park.

TUMRAs were developed to support sustainable take of protected species such as turtles and dugong, however, over the last 20 years TUMRAs have evolved to include a range of activities that support effective Sea Country management. There are currently ten accredited TUMRAs.

The Eye on the Reef tool provides a streamlined, accessible way for Traditional Owners to convert their frequent, long-term observations on their own Sea Country into actionable data points.

By receiving formal training on how to collect Eye on the Reef data, Traditional Owners unlock a new, consistent stream of highly valuable data and information that is used to understand the bigger picture and inform how we manage the Reef. Data collected and trends observed can then be fed back to Traditional Owner groups.

This collaborative approach ensures that the management of the Reef is not only informed by science but also by the extensive, on-the-ground presence and generational understanding held by Traditional Owners.

“Stuff like this is so important. Bringing all of us together – Traditional Owners, western science,” he said.

“It's about all of us coming together to be able to do the big things. We can do anything if we work together. And it's all about getting back home country. 

“And remember, as my grandfather always said, healthy Country, healthy people.”

This training opportunity was supported by Commonwealth Reef Trust funding for Traditional Owner capacity building and delivered by the Reef Authority’s Reef Education and Engagement teams.

Training at a glance

• 4 days of Reef health training
• 25 Traditional Owner representatives participated
• 7 Reef Traditional Owner groups represented
• 4 sectors (Traditional Owners, Tourism, Government and Education) learning alongside each other