Standard Presentation Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting 2023

Reef Cooperative Coming Together as One (#138)

Tarquin TS Singleton 1 , Tess TC Concannon 1 , Gavin GS Singleton 2 , Alicia AM McArdle 3 , Katie KC Chartrand 4 , Andy AR Ridley 5 , Eric EF Fisher 6 , Kerry KC Cameron 7 , Brian BM Murgha 8
  1. Reef Cooperative, Cairns, QLD, Australia
  2. Indigenous Organisation, Dawul , Cairns, QLD, Australia
  3. Private Company, Mar Sustainable Solutions, Cairns, Qld, Australia
  4. University, Tropwater/James Cook Unitversity, Cairns, QLD, Australia
  5. Non Government Organisation, Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, QLD, Austraila
  6. Tourism, GBR Biology, Cairns, QLD, Australia
  7. Consultancy, Reef Recruits, Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
  8. Indigenous Organisation, Gunggandji Rangers, Yarrabah, QLD, Australia

The Reef Cooperative is a group of colleagues with a shared vision coming together to look after Sea Country and to better understand the reef through the combination of traditional ecological knowledge and contemporary science. The mutual partners of the Reef Cooperative are First Nations Corporations, Reef Tourism Operators, Conservationists, Universities, and Corporate Enterprises. Our philosophy is recognition first, inform early, seek consent, inclusion and follow Traditional Owners protocols. The objective is to present a 21st century conservation model, which has created two fulltime positions. All projects are co-designed and co-managed with Traditional Owners. The Reef Cooperative currently operates on both Yirrganydji and Gunggandji Sea Country off the coast of Cairns and Yarrabah. Our achievements to date includes are the fabrication and installation of Mars Reef Stars and Coral Larval Reseeding. These projects involved both Yirrganydji and Gunggandji rangers, consultations, community days, cultural awareness, and approvals from Traditional Owners. These are the building blocks of our partnership. The key objective to this partnership is to have Traditional Owners involved at all levels of management and making sure cultural knowledge is recognised and safeguarded. This presentation will cover how the partnership works and the barriers we’ve overcome.