Mandubarra Sea Country stretches from Mourilyan Harbour to Kurrimine Beach in the Wet Tropics of northern Queensland. Its coastline, protected by the Great Barrier Reef, King Reef and the Barnard Islands, provides a haven for inshore seagrass meadows. The Sea Country is co-managed by the Mandubarra Aboriginal Land and Sea Incorporated (MALSI) through a Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreement (TUMRA). MALSI have partnered with James Cook University, TropWATER to survey and document benthic habitat and particularly seagrass ecosystems within their Sea Country. Over the last three years the partnership has surveyed 650 sites using underwater cameras. Seagrass has been present at 35% of sites with six species observed. Over 1,500 hectares of seagrass ecosystems have been mapped and annual monitoring of key meadows has already detected significant declines in cover following flooding associated with Tropical Cyclone Jasper in 2023. The seagrass program has now expanded to include drone surveys of dugong and turtles and underwater video surveys of fish communities. The information and training gathered through this program has helped empower Mandubarra to play an active role in the care and management of their Sea Country and its important seagrass habitats into the future.
This abstract will be presented by multiple authors.