Thousands of years before Captain Cook's ship Endeavour struck a reef near Cooktown, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (the Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef region) used the reef, islands and adjacent mainland to fish, hunt and gather. Social and cultural practices associated with the Great Barrier Reef demonstrate long-standing, complex and intertwining connections with people and sea country.

Traditional Owner groups along the Great Barrier Reef hold a range of past, present and future cultural and heritage values for land and sea country, and for surrounding sea countries. These values may be:

• Cultural
• Spiritual
• Economic
• Social
• Physical
• Or a mixture of these.

These values form the basis of how Traditional Owners wish to manage land and sea country in the future.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) is committed to protecting culturally and historically significant sites and areas. The 2005 GBRMPA Heritage Strategy recognises both the tangible and intangible elements of Indigenous cultural and heritage values and outlines a range of ways to enhance their consideration in Marine Park management.

Cultural and heritage values in management

Traditional Owner groups are seeking effective ways to meet their goals for sea country, and to maintain and strengthen cultural and heritage values in sea country. The GBRMPA is committed to improving the way Indigenous cultural and heritage values are taken into account in the management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and recognises the sensitive nature of these values and the need to establish culturally appropriate processes for their use in management.

An appreciation and understanding of the cultural values that exist within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is essential for effective permitting and planning processes.

Related Links

• Learn more about the Indigenous Reef Naming
  
• Learn more about the Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef on ReefEd