The Sharing and Consumption of Dugong and Turtle Meat Outside Torres Strait: management implications and options

[Preamble] This report is associated with Project # 11/6 funded by the Australian Marine Mammal Centre (AMMC), the primary aim of which was to generate information that could be used to support the long-term sustainability of the Torres Strait dugong fishery (already strongly underwritten by the numerous community-based management plans developed during the last 5 years and other research funded by AMMC and NERP). The project was initially conceptualised as an exploration of the sharing and consumption of dugong meat between Torres Strait Islander families. However, it became apparent at the onset of the project (see Section 2.5) that discussions regarding the sharing of dugong meat could not be separated from discussions about the sharing of turtle meat or seafood in general. Dugongs and green turtles are often hunted together and their meat is often shared along with other seafood. Thus, we could not have separated the consumption of these foods without compromising the objectives of the project. This report along with its accompanying documentation thus deals with the sharing of dugong meat, turtle meat and other seafood between Torres Strait Islanders who live in the Torres Strait (TS) and those living on the mainland. Particular attention is, however, paid to issues associated with dugong meat