11/03/2005 - Environment
and Heritage Minister Senator Ian Campbell
and Fisheries and Conservation Minister Senator
Ian Macdonald today invited public comment
on a draft document aimed at ensuring that
all traditional harvest of marine turtles
and dugongs in Australia is sustainable and
legal.
The draft report, Sustainable and Legal Indigenous
Harvest of Marine Turtles and Dugongs in Australia
- A National Approach canvasses a range of
actions that governments, communities and
individuals can take to ensure that traditional
use is sustainable and consistent with the
law.
The call for comment will be advertised in
tomorrow's edition of The Australian newspaper
and next week's Indigenous press.
"The Government recognises that in some
areas, sustainable and legal harvesting of
dugongs and turtles is an important part of
local Indigenous culture," Senator Campbell
said.
"However, given that dugong and turtles
migrate across northern Australia, and face
a range of threats including ghost nets and
feral animals, we need to establish if there
are areas where harvesting is occurring at
unsustainable levels.
"The Marine and Coastal Committee Taskforce
on Turtle and Dugong Populations, representing
Australian, State and Northern Territory agencies,
has been consulting informally with Indigenous
communities and individuals on the development
of the draft report.
"This complements other action the Australian
Government has taken, including the strategic
assessment of the Torres Strait turtle and
dugong fishery, priority Natural Heritage
Trust projects and a $3.8 million project
to develop community-driven approaches to
sustainable management of the species across
northern Australia," he said.
