Marine activity is a part of daily life for the residents of Galiwin’ku community and homelands throughout the Marthakal Indigenous Protected Area (IPA). Fishing, hunting and travelling by boat between communities and homelands is commonplace. These activities are not without risks however, and historically, the waters around Elcho Island have recorded the third highest incidence of search and rescue operations in the Northern Territory.
Gumurr Marthakal Rangers launch public safety initiative
Marthakal Homelands • August 25, 2023
Gumurr Marthakal Rangers launch public safety initiative
To combat this, the Gumurr Marthakal Rangers utilised funding from NT Fisheries in 2022 to purchase marine safety equipment as a public safety initiative to ensure that people had access to essential safety equipment when boating. The Rangers compiled 13 ‘grab bags’ of safety equipment, each containing essential equipment, such as an EPIRB, lifejackets, flares, anchor and emergency paddles. In the event of an emergency, this equipment could save a life by providing accurate location information and minimising time and resources required to effect a rescue.
On the 24th of January 2023, the Gumurr Marthakal Rangers led a community education session to launch the public safety initiative and promote the availability of the marine safety equipment to community members and boating families. The Rangers collaborated with NT Fisheries, Marine Safety Branch and NT Police to deliver a community activity to provide marine safety information, equipment displays and a marine flare demonstration.
The activity was hugely successful with many community members and stakeholders attending and participating in marine safety discussions and familiarisation with the safety equipment. The flare demonstration was a crowd favourite, with many people participating in flare activation under the guidance of the Rangers.
The Gumurr Marthakal Rangers are proud and committed to working with community and stakeholders to increase community awareness of vessel safety requirements. The Rangers will continue to promote the grab bags and ensure residents of community and homelands have access to safety equipment when boating.