Aspiring photographers can showcase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in the Great Barrier Reef through a new competition launched today.

Run by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), the Sea Country Partnerships Photographic Competition promotes the link between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Sea Country.

GBRMPA Indigenous Partnerships Group Director Liz Wren said this was the first time the organisation had run such a competition

“There are so many great things happening in the area of Indigenous Sea Country management that we decided to create an avenue for people to capture these initiatives on camera,” she said.

“We also felt that there were some wonderful photo opportunities in the way that Traditional Owners use marine resources, the way that they interact with their environment on an artistic level and the way that Elders pass their knowledge on to youth.”

There is more than $5000 in prizes over five categories.

The top prize for each category is an iPad2 and the overall competition winner will receive a Nikon D-3100 camera with a twin lens kit.

The competition closes on Friday 1 June 2012 and the winning entries will be announced as part of the NAIDOC Week celebrations in Townsville from 1-8 July.

The winning entries will also be displayed at Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, the national education centre for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

The competition is being funded through the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country Reef Rescue Land and Sea Country Indigenous Partnerships Program.

For more information or to download an entry form, go to the GBRMPA website.