Hobart conference celebrates collaboration in marine research

The Marine and Coastal Hub was a Silver Sponsor, supported the Indigenous workshop, and maintained a booth full of smiles and information. Hub projects featured in more than 15 presentations, from offshore renewable energy and partnerships for sea Country to underwater imagery and threatened species.

The symposium ‘Better together – partnerships for better sea County outcomes’ highlighted collaborations and Indigenous leadership in research for Country.

Research partnerships sometimes spark the connection of stories and songlines that reach far inland, far out to sea, and far back in time. Surveys in Australian Marine Parks (AMPs) are laying geological histories and snapshots of marine life alongside these songlines and the ancient, submerged coastlines they trace.

A presentation by Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (ETNTAC) Director, Doc Reynolds, outlined a Traditional Owner-led project funded collaboratively under the Australian Government’s Ocean Discovery and Restoration Program with funding partner Lotterywest.

The Wudjari Ancient Coastlines project involves ETNTAC, The University of Western Australia (UWA) and Parks Australia. It brings together Wudjari kaartdijin (knowledge), cultural values and a sea Country ranger program with geoarchaeological and biodiversity surveys and seafloor mapping.

Their focus is on paleochannels and depressions that mark former wetland areas of the Recherche Archipelago. Biodiversity sampling in these areas is using national standards developed through the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) to ensure they have the best way of discerning patterns, and so the datasets can contribute to national and global reporting.

The collaboration and new understanding of submerged landscapes and biodiversity will support the Tjaltjraak Healthy Land and Sea Program and management of the South-west Corner Marine Park and Eastern Recherche Marine Park.

The 2017 AMSA Conference Indigenous workshop at Darwin was important to the development of First Nations-led research on sea Country. This was the second Indigenous workshop facilitated by the NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub (a forerunner of the Marine and Coastal Hub). Doc Reynolds attended with an eye on establishing an Indigenous sea Country alliance in southern Australia and creating opportunities for Wudjari people through research collaboration. Parks Australia was keen to collaborate with First Nations People to understand and appreciate cultural values and to inform ongoing management of Australian Marine Parks off southern Western Australia.

Collaborations with Parks Australia evolved over the following six years, with on Country workshops and sharing stories of cultural connections to sea Country across the Recherche Archipelago and Australian Marine Parks. With the establishment of the ETNTAC Ranger program, partnerships with UWA have supported training of rangers in marine monitoring and assessment. The link with NESP investment also continues, with a hub project begun in 2024 that includes training ETNTAC rangers in methods for monitoring Australian sea lion populations.

Collaboration between the capes

Collaborations happening further west, between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, were outlined in presentations led by Wadandi knowledge holders Wayne Webb and Zac Webb of the Undalup Association and Karri Karrak Aboriginal Corporation.

With Wadandi Cultural Rangers Joe Adams, Kaylene Gray and Meeka Rees, they talked about Kaartdijin wongi – Knowledge that speaks: informing the management of Geographe Marine Park on Wadandi Country, and mapping across South-west Corner Marine Park. This work is in collaboration with the Marine and Coastal Hub and Parks Australia.

Zac Webb explained that while the water has come closer since ancient times, songlines have not changed. He and his colleagues demonstrated how cultural and historical guidance provided for Geographe Marine Park offered context for managing the cultural and ecosystem features of AMPs into the future.

Mapping of songlines provided guidance for biodiversity surveys using baited remote underwater stereo video on Country with Wadandi Cultural Rangers and UWA researchers. The new window on this underwater world also lent the songlines a deeper note of understanding.

Hub researchers Matt Navarro and Tim Langlois of UWA showed how this cultural guidance complements and supports place-based training using the hub’s Field manuals for marine sampling to monitor Australian waters.

The Undalup Rangers also developed a boat ramp survey that asked people how they are using Country and how it related to songlines. Matt Navarro worked with the rangers during this project to develop a standard monitoring protocol to implement on Country.

“The growing Indigenous guidance and leadership of projects in the marine hubs has been a huge help to us,” Tim Langlois said. “We have not been developing western science or adding anything to Indigenous science, but forming a fusion of two-way seeing that is giving understanding, context, and place to our collaborative research.”

“Sea country connects us all,” Zac Webb said. “It’s fantastic to have family out doing surveys with us. It’s a chance to share stories and hear from our elders and great to get different generations on Country and transfer information so their stories will live into the future.”

Energy, imagery and repairing Country

Hub researchers also gave presentations in conference sessions that covered offshore renewable energy, underwater imagery and repairing sea Country. A selection of talks feature in the images below.