Options for managing the sustainable use of green turtles: Perceptions of Hammond Islanders in Torres Strait

Jillian Grayson,Helene Marsh,Mark Hamann,Stephen Ambar

doi:10.4103/0972-4923.62673

Abstract

One of the largest populations of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the world spends at least part of its life cycle in the remote Torres Strait between Australia and Papua New Guinea. This population is subjected to traditional harvests from geographically dispersed communities including along the northern and eastern coasts of Australia, Indonesia and south-western Pacific nations. In Torres Strait, green turtle hunting is classed as a traditional fishery and is guaranteed by Australian legislation (Native Title Act 1993) and the Torres Strait Treaty between Australia and Papua New Guinea that aims to protect the traditional lifestyle of the region's indigenous peoples. To investigate the Islanders' thoughts and aspirations regarding marine turtle management, we interviewed hunters and Islander Elders from the Hammond Island community in the Kaurareg nation of Kaiwalagal. Although not the Traditional Owners of the Kaiwalagal sea country in which they live and hunt, Hammond Islanders wish to be involved in the management of resources on which they depend, including marine turtles. They considered community-based processes to be important, especially the application of (1) cultural norms to the development of tools to achieve compliance and enforcement within the community, and (2) consensus-based decision-making amongst hunters and elders within the community, with regard to the use of more formal rules. However, the need for co-operation with other communities and stakeholders across scales was also recognised, particularly with regard to enforcement. Our results suggest that co-management is likely to be a more appropriate approach for managing green turtles in Torres Strait than either community-based management or government-driven management.

Highlights

Appropriate processes to manage common pool resources depend on factors such as the scale of the resource and the types of use, the degree to which stakeholders are willing to share decision-making power, and the capacity of various stakeholders to be involved (Berkes 2005; Campbell et al.2009)
Our results suggest that co-management is likely to be a more appropriate approach for managing green turtles in Torres Strait than either community-based management or government-driven management
Community-based management can overcome the problems—excludability or controlling access and subtractability or rivalry (Feeny et al 1990; Ostrom et al 1992; Ostrom 1999)—associated with single common pool resources that occur within a limited area and are used by relatively few groups because communities are able to exclude/manage other resource users and regulate their own use (Berkes 2005)

Summary

Introduction

Appropriate processes to manage common pool resources depend on factors such as the scale of the resource and the types of use, the degree to which stakeholders are willing to share decision-making power, and the capacity of various stakeholders to be involved (Berkes 2005; Campbell et al.2009). As the spatial scale of the resource increases, the resource tends to be used by multiple groups, often in several jurisdictions (inter and intra nations) In these more complex situations, management approaches that bring together groups of resource users, stakeholders and governments are needed to achieve effective management (Hilborn 2004; Berkes 2005). Government-driven management may incorporate the views of multiple stakeholder groups that use and/or value various habitat and species resources (Sagarin & Crowder 2009). Such an approach may utilise stakeholder participation, the government regulatory agency typically controls the implementation of management

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion