Caring for the Great Barrier Reef is strongest when marine science and Indigenous knowledge work side by side. For 20 years, Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreements (TUMRAs) have shown how Traditional Owners, scientists and managers can come together to respect culture, protect Sea Country and build a healthier future for the Reef. At its heart, this is a story about connection — to place, to people and to the wisdom passed down through generations. In this episode of Reef in Focus, host Lincoln Bertoli speaks with Jade Pryor, a Bandjin and Girramay Traditional Owner and coordinator of the Girringun TUMRA, whose lifelong ties to her community and Country have shaped her work and her identity.
Jade reflects on her early memories of listening to Elders, her first childhood experience on the Reef, and the responsibility she now carries in supporting the six saltwater groups of the Girringun region. She explains how the TUMRA has evolved to include seagrass, dugong, mangrove, fish and blue carbon monitoring, and describes the essential role of Girringun Rangers and Elders in both traditional practices and modern marine management. She also shares the deeply moving experience of returning to her Sea Country with her daughter and seeing healthy coral and marine life through the lens of culture and ancestry.
Jade highlights the importance of respectful collaboration, the strength that comes from combining Indigenous knowledge with contemporary science, and the need for Traditional Owners to have a stronger voice in caring for the Reef.