Standard Presentation 2024 Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting combined with NZMSS

Sea Country Values and joint management of the Marmion Marine Park on Whadjuk Sea Country (#418)

Noel Morich 1 , Rose Walley 1 , Reg Yarran 1 , Matthew Navarro 2 3
  1. Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation, Perth, WA
  2. University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
  3. UWA Oceans Institute, Perth, WA, Australia

For Whadjuk Traditional Owners an intrinsic link exists between the health of Country and the health of people. Revitalising the health of Country and re-instating awareness and appreciation of the Cultural values of Country is a priority. In this presentation leaders in the Whadjuk community will present a cultural perspective on the values of, pressures on and priorities for the management of Whadjuk Sea Country. The information presented was collated through workshops with Whadjuk and Yued Traditional Owners and knowledge holders. The workshops emphasised the interconnectedness of Culture, Country and Community, and raised concerns about the levels of overfishing occurring on Whadjuk Sea Country and the need for an increased understanding of Whadjuk Culture in Sea Country management. It also revealed the depth of knowledge held by Traditional Owners on the connections between Land and Sea. Whilst this Cultural perspective is being used to help inform the expanded jointly-managed Marmion Marine Park, there is still much work to be done to ensure the knowledge, values and priorities of Whadjuk Traditional owners is reflected in the management of their Sea Country.