Yirralka & Dhimurru Rangers Cleanup Report 2005

2005-09-14

Yirralka Laynha Rangers with Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) recently completed a cleanup of ghost nets and marine debris along the coast around Garrthalala. The Dhimurru Rangers also with CVA recently completed a cleanup south of Caves Beach (Lurrpukurru). The cleanups are part of the Carpentaria Ghost Nets Programme which is a co-operative venture between communities of the Gulf of Carpentaria, sponsored by the National Heritage Trust (NHT).

Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been either lost or discarded that are still ‘fishing’ as if guided by a ghostly hand. The project objectives are to reduce the numbers of nets in the Gulf and collect information on these nets such as the rate of accumulation, country of origin, amounts of nets washing up on our shores and types of animals trapped in them.

They are a major threat to marine wildlife as they continue to catch animals whilst in the ocean. They’re particularly dangerous for marine animals such as dolphins, whales, dugongs and turtles. Once these animals become entangled, they panic and struggle to escape. Eventually the animals die from exhaustion or drowning, before washing up on a beach. In the recent surveys, the remains of 5 turtles were found in nets by the Laynha and Dhimurru Rangers.

Conservation Volunteers Australia assisted with 7 of their volunteers for the eight days of cleanup. The combined operation of Dhimurru and Laynha beaches collected around 20 tonnes of rubbish or the equivalent of 24 tray-back ute loads.

Wanyubi Marika, the Indigenous Protected Area Coordinator for Laynhapuy Homelands said “This work is a small but crucial step towards cleaning up our sea country”.

“It was very surprising to see just how many nets that have washed up on the beaches and to think that they exist all along Australia’s northern coastline, we have a big job ahead of us” said Jane Dermer, Carpentaria Ghost Nets Programme Project Facilitator.

Data collected from cleanups are being used to identify the source of the ghost nets. A combination of net size, colour, twine diameter and mesh size are used to identify the nets using a booklet developed by WWF. Once the source of the debris is known, actions can be implemented to fix the cause of the problem.

“We would like to thank everyone that was involved with the cleanup, especially all the Rangers and volunteers and look forward to working with other groups in the future” said Jane Dermer.