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Mary Tarran on James Price Point negogitaions
Jabirr Jabirr Traditional Owner Mary Tarran discusses the importance of protecting Indigenous culture and heritage at James Price Point.
KLC media statement, July, 2009
Four dugongs were tagged with trackers in the most successful round of research conducted by the Bardi Jawi Rangers.
The second round of dugong tagging was held at Beagle Bay when the Bardi Jawi Rangers led the three-day project in early July. They were assisted by the Nyul Nyul rangers after gaining approval from Traditional Owners to carry out the project on their country.
A light aircraft was used to spot the dugong from the air before information on its location was radioed back down to three boats, which were charged with the mission of capturing the animal.
“It’s pretty exciting stuff. There are rangers in the plane telling the boats where to go and then the search is on. The boats are zooming around trying to get the animal close enough to the boat to capture it. Everything happens at once,’’ Kimberley Land Council Deputy Director Nolan Hunter said.
“Once the dugong is close to the boat one of the rangers dives into the water and secures a rope around its tail so it can be secured alongside the boat.
“That’s no easy feat for the ranger because the dugong is a mighty animal weighing in at about 400kg and they can be three to four metres long. So it’s hard work for the ranger and pretty tiring.”
Once the dugong was tied alongside the boat, a noodle or long floatation device, was placed around its upper body to keep it above water.
A satellite transmitter is then attached to the tail of the Dugong. The transmitter sends signals to a satellite which then relays information on the Dugong’s movement patterns, and depth profile through the Internet.
“It’s fantastic technology. The rangers log onto the Internet and they can track the movements of particular dugong’s and see what areas it has been congregating in,’’ Mr Hunter said.
“The Bardi Jawi Rangers are leading the way in dugong research and is the only group in the Kimberley to undertake such extensive research.
“The project is led by Traditional Owners, who are involved in every step along the way from deciding on where to locate dugongs, spotting them, capturing them and tagging them with a tracking device. But their work doesn’t stop there because they continually monitor the animal and record their findings which will be made into a research document.’’
