DARUMBAL CROWN-OF-THORNS STARFISH MANAGEMENT

_{^{Story created in collaboration Darumbal Traditional Owners.}}

The Darumbal People are the Traditional Owners of the Rockhampton and Capricorn Coast area, with their traditional boundaries ranging from the Styx River to the north, Raglan Creek to the south, Westwood and the bottom of the Mt Morgan Range to the west. They are also the Custodians of thousands of kilometres of sea Country in the southern Great Barrier Reef.

A major threat to their sea Country is the crown-of-thorns starfish, or COTS. In normal numbers on healthy coral reefs, COTS are an important part of the ecosystem. They tend to eat the faster growing corals which gives the slower growing species a chance to catch up, enhancing the coral diversity of our reefs. However, when the coral-eating starfish appear in outbreak proportions, the impact on coral reefs can be disastrous, and COTS are a leading cause of coral damage over the past 40 years.

The manual culling of crown-of-thorns starfish is one of the most effective methods used for suppressing the population of COTS on the Great Barrier Reef. Specially trained divers cull the starfish by injecting them with bile salt or vinegar.

For Darumbal Enterprises, the COTS control industry provides an important opportunity to contribute to the health of their sea Country, however significant investment in training and the development of partnerships is needed to help build the foundations for Traditional Owner-led COTS management.   

To build these foundations, Darumbal Enterprises, in collaboration with Tunuba Pty Ltd, secured a grant through the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and supported SCUBA and COTS training for four Traditional Owners to develop the leadership skills and capabilities to manage COTS within their sea Country. This is being done in partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

The four Traditional Owners are now able to conduct surveys, monitoring and research, as well as play a larger role in the future management of Durambal sea Country including, the Swains Reef area. 

The Darumbal COTS management and capacity building project has also created space for Durambal Traditional Owner leadership in strategic and on-ground initiatives, enabling non-indigenous stakeholders to value the perspectives, approaches and world views of Traditional Owners in sea Country management.           

Find out more about Darumbal Enterprises.