Indigenous rangers dive in to Great Barrier Reef protection

Sixteen traditional owners started diver training this month to advance Great Barrier Reef restoration work, including crown-of-thorns starfish removal and coral health monitoring.

Indigenous ranger Simon Muriata is one of 16 traditional owners who started diver training this month to advance Great Barrier Reef restoration work, including crown-of-thorns starfish removal and coral health monitoring.

Learning to scuba dive was a daunting task for Indigenous ranger Simon Muriata, but it was a necessary step to continue the work of his ancestors in protecting the Great Barrier Reef.

The 36-year-old Girramay man is one of 16 traditional owners who started diver training this month to advance reef restoration work including crown-of-thorns starfish removal and coral health monitoring.

The Reef, which has suffered four mass bleaching events since 2016, has spiritual and cultural significance for 70 traditional owner groups.

A new report from the Australian Institute of Marine Science found parts of the Reef now have the highest amounts of coral in the 36 years despite another episode of bleaching this year. It found coral cover in the southern part of the Reef, from Mackay to Bundaberg, had dropped slightly due to a continued outbreak of crown of thorns starfish.

Mr Muriata said he wanted to learn to dive so he could help better protect the Reef from the growing threat of climate change.

“Now we have global warming, the sea temperature rising and a lot of pollution, it will be good to be able to go down and get more data,” he said.

“Looking after the Reef is really important, it is not just about looking after our lands but our culture as well. The Reef holds our storylines, our cultural sites.”

Mr Muriata said he wanted to learn to scuba dive all his life, and was thankful for the program, funded jointly by the state and federal governments.

“It makes me proud I suppose, and honoured to be taking it to the next step,” he said.

“I am hoping more people learn to dive so we can go out and cover more areas. It’s a whole different world down there.”

Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said rangers from 10 traditional owner groups had already undertaken the training, run by a Cairns tourism operator Experience Co.

“First Nations communities have been the custodians of their country for more than 50,000 years – including on the Great Barrier Reef,” she said.

“It’s only right that we continue to support opportunities for First Nations Peoples to care for country and support their ambitions.

“Their efforts ... with the efforts of the Queensland and Australian governments, and our broader community are helping to protect the Reef, the 60,000 good jobs that rely on it and our lifestyle.”

Her federal counterpart Tanya Plibersek said diving skills learnt by the rangers would evolve into future job opportunities.

She said the federal government had promised to double the number of Indigenous rangers – responsible for Aboriginal land management – to 3800.