Fishing for Ocean Data in Sea Country with Marine Rangers of the Tiwi Islands Northern Territory

Synopsis

The Tiwi Marine Ranger Program commenced in 2001 and was the first Indigenous Marine Ranger Program in the Northern Territory (NT). The program was developed in response to Traditional Owners wanting a more active role in sea country management.

We’re offering a unique opportunity to participate in a new project that will combine ocean data collection using novel ocean sensors to crowd-source ocean data in collaboration with Marine Rangers of the Tiwi Islands around the Sea Country in and adjacent to the Oceanic Shoals Marine Park.

Marine Parks Australia has funded a 3-year collaboration between UNSW, Charles Darwin University (CDU), and Elysium EPL in the NT to commence ocean temperature observation with Sea Country Rangers.

Aims

This project will demonstrate the feasibility of collecting baseline subsurface water temperature data with Tiwi using cost-effective technology to: 

• Provide an affordable and locally appropriate observation network for long-term temperature monitoring in the Tiwi region and the Oceanic Shoals Marine Park.
• Provide contextual oceanographic data to culturally significant values (e.g. turtle habitat) and commercial ventures (e.g. commercial oyster farms) in the coastal areas of the Tiwi Islands to understand their potential and vulnerability.

Student benefits

Learn modern ocean data collection techniques including crowd sourcing of ocean data in collaboration with Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System. Learn to analyse ocean temperature data. Learn to code in R or Python. Learn validation and assessment of ocean models and understanding of marine extremes. Participate in fieldwork in the remote NT (fishing charters with Tiwi Rangers). Learn how to braid traditional ocean knowledge with ocean data.

Supervisors: Prof. Moninya Roughan (UNSW School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, mroughan@unsw.edu.au), Dr Ruth Patterson (Elysium EPL, ruthpatterson@elysiumepl.com.au) and Dr Rachel Groom (Charles Darwin University, rachel.groom@cdu.edu.au).