Poachers pillaging dugong and turtles in Cairns

Carenda Jenkin, The Cairns Post 28 Aug 09;

POACHERS are killing dugongs and turtles near Cairns and selling the meat illegally for up to $50 a kilogram.

Rangers have also found rotting carcasses of the protected animals at the Yarrabah dump and nearby beaches south of Cairns this month.

These are believed to be discarded by poachers after taking the "good meat" for sale.

Reports of the black market trade and mass killings of the animals have left Yarrabah elders reeling at the waste of food, the abuse of traditional rights and ruining sustainability for future generations.

A Gunggandji clan traditional owner, who has inside knowledge of the racketeering, said the dumpings could be related to the black market trade in the Far North.

"They are swapping turtle meat for cash at Gordonvale, Innisfail and Cairns with prices ranging from $25/kg, or name your price," he said.

"They pay top price for dugong. Yes, about $50 and again, name your price. We want to catch them out in the act.

"This is not our culture. We are not too happy about this at all. We eat everything and leave the bones or shell behind but they are letting good meat rot.

"These are people who live in Yarrabah and are not traditional people."

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, police and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service are investigating the reports at Yarrabah.

"The (authority) cannot comment any further on the specifics of these investigations," a GBRMPA spokesperson said.

Department of Environment and Resource Management North Queensland Marine Parks regional manager Richard Quincey said officers found no evidence of dugong carcasses at the dump.

Mr Quincey said there had been reports of dugong taken at Yarrabah over the weekend of August 15 and 16.

North Queensland Land Council chairman Terry O'Shane said traditional owners or not, "they should be prosecuted".

He said residents at Yarrabah and other Aboriginal communities should "dob in" those who were involved in illegal
activities.

Former Yarrabah mayor Vince Mundraby said traditional owners needed to have a direct line of communication with all tiers of governments about land and sea matters.

Mr Mundraby said the string of incidents at Yarrabah was not surprising.

"There is no regional plan to manage natural resources with this council," he said.

Aborigines have the right to kill limited turtle and dugong with a permit for ceremonial purposes, in recognition of a 40,000-year-old custom.

The State Government's Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006 lists dugongs as "vulnerable to extinction".