What a CRAZY EXPERIENCE. In Episode 101 we get to witness a normal day in the life of my friends of the Aboriginal Uutaalnganu Tribe of Cape York, Australia. Deep in their traditional country Im invited to spend a day exploring, catching our lunch and cooking it on a remote river bank before setting off again. Along the edge of Queenslands Great Barrier Reef, we find HUGE Giant Trevally and then stumble on a herd of Dugong.
The boys take this opportunity to show me how they hunt dugong and explain part of their sustainable hunting practice. Im in awe of this culture and how alive it is.
Dugong are a beautiful mammal of the ocean that play an integral role in the oceans eco system. They live on seagrass and where they are in numbers this would mean the health of the local eco system is in good order.
The area that we found here in Uutaalnganu Sea Country was abundant with them which was amazing to see.
Dugong are now, and have been for THOUSANDS of years, a huge part of aboriginal culture. The coastal tribes of Northern Australia, but in particular here, the Uutaalnganu Tribe, have always been respected Dugong and turtle hunters and for them to stay in contact with their culture they need to continue hunting these traditional foods.
Yes aboriginal people now hunt the ocean using motor boats as do the rest of Australians (that’s called evolution) but they have their own sustainability practices in play that again have been practiced since the beginning of time. These practises are very intricate within their own Lore, I have witnessed them all over Cape York and will endeavour to share these practises with all of you around the world.
I think its beautiful to see these Tribes all over Australia hunting food their ancestors have hunted for thousands of years rather than buying the food that is available in the community stores and cafes which sometimes is just deep fried rubbish.
As you see in this episode, this Dugong was not injured. There wasn’t even the question of keeping it. A dugong will only be taken when there are enough people to feed or if there are eskies ready to take it all back to the families in the community. The guys Im with here simply wanted to show me and all of you how they selectively hunt them and the abundance of them. We would have seen at least 15 dugong in this area in a short period of time
I always try to do the right thing when filming our content by staying in touch with the right authorities be it fisheries or marine parks and I knew Dugong would be a tricky one.
I recommend everyone look at sites like this before heading out on the water: environment.de...
We were there to witness how the boys hunted Dugong but could play no part in it. Because I am the skipper of my vessel Tremain also could not play any part in it.
From what I understand Dugong rules are slightly different to the approach zones for whales and dolphins. Special management declarations are what set the rules when they are in place. So we kept to 6knots when my vessel approached, out of gear when the dugong approached us and kept away from the mother. I did the best I could as a Non Indigenous Australian to capture this process and be respectful to the Dugong.
I hope you all enjoy it.
Huge thanks to Johnny, Tremain, Goose and the family for having me on country and sharing with everyone on RU-vid.
Get your merch at www.wildreaches.com/shop
and join our exclusive community at www.patreon.com/wildreaches
3 окт 2024
