The Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) has welcomed Queensland Government funding to reduce Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) and boost coral resilience while releasing a powerful new video about their work to protect coral reefs.
Nearly $1 million provided through the Queensland Government’s Natural Resource Management Expansion Program has been allocated to NRM Regions Queensland, working in partnership with TSRA, to reduce crown-of-thorns starfish densities, strengthen coral resilience and improve threatened species habitat across 1,750 hectares of Sea Country.
TSRA Chairperson George Nona said the investment was vital for the future of the region’s reefs.
“This investment is not only welcome, it is essential for the survival of coral reefs in the northernmost part of the Great Barrier Reef in the Torres Strait,” Mr Nona said.
“This funding enables Torres Strait Traditional Owners, communities and rangers to continue leading critical on-Country work supported by Western science and government partnerships to control the crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks currently threatening our waters.”
This funding follows TSRA’s successful $2 million pilot program, Operation Urmemeg, a First Nations-led approach that combined traditional knowledge and Western science to remove more than 10,000 COTS in the eastern Torres Strait.
Partnering with Traditional Owners, the pilot program supported local school and community awareness while funding local training and employment opportunities, including for 12 local divers.
Recent TSRA-supported surveys confirmed active COTS outbreaks above sustainable levels including within Erub and Mer Sea Country.
If left unmanaged, these outbreaks could cause severe coral loss and threaten the reef habitats that underpin the livelihoods, food security and cultural identity of Torres Strait communities for generations to come.
TSRA’s newly launched video highlights the region’s reefs and resilience. Watch the Torres Strait Coral Protection video here.
Learn more at www.tsra.gov.au/cots
Operation Urmemeg fast facts
- 10,100 COTS culled
- 1,477 hours in water
- 305 Reef Health impact surveys
- 119 hours of surveillance
- 109 days on water
- 56 reefs visited
- 12 divers trained
- 10 communities consulted
- 6 cultural advisors
Torres Strait fast facts:
- The Torres Strait region is the northernmost part of Australia and includes the communities of Bamaga and Seisia in the Northern Peninsula Area to the outer Torres Strait islands bordering Papua New Guinea.
- The 48,000 km² area includes more than 270 islands and reefs.
- Northernmost part of the iconic Great Barrier Reef.
- Home to six of the world’s seven marine turtle species.
- Unofficial dugong capital of the world.
- Home to some of the largest seagrass meadows anywhere on Earth.
About TSRA’s Environmental Management Program
TSRA’s nation-leading Environmental Management Program – delivered by its Land and Sea Management Unit (LSMU) – aims to protect the ecological complexity and biodiversity of the Torres Strait region and recognise the strong and enduring connection of people to their islands and sea.
This program supports job opportunities for local people to combine traditional knowledge and Western science to care for land, sea and culture, including as rangers.
The Torres Strait is the northernmost tip of the Great Barrier Reef, home to marine life including turtle, dugong and vast seagrass meadows sustainably managed by communities for thousands of years.
TSRA’s Sea Team supports community aspirations and cultural protocols across projects, surveys and monitoring.
Activities include:
- crown-of-thorns starfish management
- marine turtle monitoring
- dugong monitoring
- marine debris cleanups
- migratory bird surveys
- ranger-led seagrass monitoring.