Fat, fishing patterns, and health among the Bardi people of north Western Australia

Incorporating uncertainty in Indigenous sea Country monitoring with Bayesian statistics: Towards more informed decision-making

Partnerships in marine monitoring combining Traditional Ecological Knowledge and western science are developing globally to improve our understanding of temporal changes in ecological communities that better inform coastal management practices. A fuller communication between scientists and Indigenous partners about the limitations of monitoring results to identify change is essential to the impact of monitoring datasets on decision-making. Here we present a 5-year co-developed case study from a fish monitoring partnership in northwest Australia showing how uncertainty estimated by Bayesian models can be incorporated into monitoring management indicators. Our simulation approach revealed there was high uncertainty in detecting immediate change over the following monitoring year when translated to health performance indicators. Incorporating credibility estimates into health assessments added substantial information to monitoring trends, provided a deeper understanding of monitoring limitations and highlighted the importance of carefully selecting the way we evaluate management performance indicators.

An Introduction to Aboriginal Fishing Cultures and Legacies in Seafood Sustainability

The purpose of this paper was to explore the rich legacy of Aboriginal fishing cultures through historical and contemporary records, in order to inductively identify cultural and social elements which may enhance the aquatic resource sustainability knowledge and ethos in Australia. A thorough, comprehensive and analytical literature review was conducted. The literature review explored the importance of Aboriginal Peoples’ (AP) fishing cultures, and identified examples of fishing practices, ideology and sustainable philosophy, which may be beneficial in sustainably managing dwindling seafood resources. The overriding theme of Aboriginal Peoples’ fishing cultures is the taking of enough fish to ease personal/community hunger, and restricted fishing based on seasons and/or stock abundance. This practice protects fish during vulnerable or important stages, such as spawning, allowing fish stocks to regenerate, and allowing fish to be caught when they are healthy and most nutritious. It is considered that the Aboriginal Peoples of Australia can contribute significant knowledge to the management of dwindling aquatic resources. Access to sacred sites and favourite fishing grounds would benefit communities, would increase the contact between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Peoples, and may assist in an interchange of sustainability information and philosophy. The world’s aquatic resources are dangerously depleted. Without a significant shift in focus, this will continue. Rather than relegate the fishing cultures of Aboriginal Peoples to ‘histories past’, we can learn valuable lessons to conserve aquatic resources, and to better understand the interconnectedness with the environment inherent in their cultures. Fishing is used as a generic term for both freshwater and marine fishing in this article.

Aboriginal Consumption of Estuarine Food Resources and Potential Implications for Health through Trace Metal Exposure; A Study in Gumbaynggirr Country, Australia

Fishing and resource use continues to be an essential aspect of life for many Aboriginal communities throughout Australia. It is important for dietary sustenance, and also retains deep social, cultural and economic significance, playing a fundamental role in maintaining group cohesion, transferring cultural knowledge and affirming Indigenous identities. We surveyed approximately 20% of the Gumbaynggirr Aboriginal community of Nambucca Heads, New South Wales, Australia. This paper explores Gumbaynggirr Connection to Country and engagement in cultural practice. It quantifies fishing efforts and consumption of seafood within the community. We found 95% of the sample group fish, with the highest rate of fishing being 2-3 times a week (27%). Furthermore, 98% of participants eat seafood weekly or more frequently, up to more than once a day (24%). Survey results revealed that Myxus elongatus (Sand mullet) and naturally recruited Saccostrea glomerata (Sydney rock oysters) continue to be important wild resources to the Gumbaynggirr community. Trace metals were measured in M. elongatus and S. glomerata samples collected by community participants in this study. Maximum levels prescribed in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code were not exceeded in the edible tissue for either species, however both species exceeded the generally expected levels for zinc and copper and S. glomerata samples exceeded the generally expected level for selenium. Furthermore the average dietary exposure to trace metals from consuming seafood was calculated for the surveyed population. Trace metal intake was then compared to the provisional tolerable weekly intake prescribed by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives. This process revealed that copper and selenium intake were both within the provisional tolerable weekly intake, while there is no guideline for zinc. Furthermore, participants relying heavily on wild resources from the Nambucca River estuary may exceed the provisional tolerable weekly intake for cadmium. This suggests the need for further investigation of this issue to minimize any possible health risk.

Attention to four key principles can promote health outcomes from desert Aboriginal land management

We identify four principles that can promote the prospects of health outcomes for desert Aboriginal people from livelihoods engaged with land management. The principles were derived inductively using a grounded theory approach, drawing on primary research that used qualitative and participatory methods, and from relevant literature and theoretical frameworks. International and Australian literature offers evidence that supports desert Aboriginal people’s view that their health depends on their relationship with their land. Engagement with land management can lead desert Aboriginal people to feel that their own actions are consistent with their own sense of the right and proper way for them to behave towards land, family and community. This increased ‘sense of control’ impacts positively on health by moderating the impact of sustained stress from health risk factors in the environment and lifestyle. The four principles focus on underlying characteristics of Aboriginal land management that are important to promoting this increased ‘sense of control’: (1) Aboriginal land management governance recognises and respects Aboriginal custom and tradition, and is adaptive; (2) learning is embraced as a life-long process; (3) relationships are recognised as very important; and (4) partnerships give priority to doing things that all parties agree are important. These principles are presented as hypotheses that warrant further development and testing. While they do not account specifically for the impact of lifestyle and environmental factors on health, we expect that the increased sense of control that desert Aboriginal people are likely to develop when involved in Aboriginal land management that applies these principles will moderate the impact of such factors on their health. The principles offer a starting point for further development of criteria and standards for good practice in Aboriginal land management, potentially including an environmental certification scheme that integrates social and environmental outcomes.