The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) recently partnered with the Marine Conservation Program (MCP) and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) to research yula (muttonbirds) on Big Dog Island in the Furneaux Islands and near the Flinders Marine Park in Bass Strait.
The two-year TAC project, which is supported by funding from the Australian Government's Our Marine Parks Grants Program, aims to combine modern scientific tools with cultural knowledge to better understand yula habitat use, strengthen community connections with these culturally significant birds, and support reconnection with Sea Country.
As part of the project and over two yula breeding seasons, Pakana rangers from TAC worked alongside MCP and IMAS scientists to track foraging yula to better understand their use of marine parks when they are raising their young.
MCP and IMAS teams shared tracking techniques and technical skills, supporting the upskilling of Pakana rangers to continue this work into the future. In turn, the researchers gained a deeper understanding of the importance and need to protect Aboriginal knowledge systems, while building important connections and relationships within the team.
The project stands as a genuine collaboration between traditional knowledge and contemporary science. We’re honoured to have contributed to such meaningful work.
One of the project outputs is a short video about the project.
yula (Muttonbird)