June 2005
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Checking Kaikai
CRC Torres Strait researcher Ms Sara Busilacchi, a PhD student at James Cook University, is working with Torres Strait Islanders on a project looking at subsistence fishing, or ‘fishing for kaikai’ as it is known in the Straits, on Mer, Erub and Masig Islands in the Eastern Torres Strait. Sara will be visiting the participating communities every two months during the next year, to collect data and information on subsistence reef fishing practices. During the visits, Sara is hoping to enlist the help of students from local schools to collect fisheries data. During her last visit to the islands, Sara met students in grades 5-7. She gave each student a ‘survey kit’ (a logbook, a pencil and a ruler), and explained how to correctly record information about fish taken for family consumption. Students are being asked to record the number of people who went fishing, and where, how and what species were caught, including fish lengths. To help students recognise fish, identification booklets have been prepared with assistance from community members. These are specific to each island, and illustrate fish species usually harvested for subsistence listed with their island names. Principals and teachers were keen to participate in the research and found it useful for the children to become more familiar with marine resources. The teachers also indicated that the skills gained in identifying fish species, using rulers, and organising to collect their own data are all beneficial to students. Involvement of school children in the survey is an important part of the research project because it allows the continued collection of subsistence fisheries data for the length of the project. This should improve understanding of subsistence fishing dynamics and characteristics. It is also a unique opportunity for school students to learn more about their local environment and marine resources. Final results from this project will be available to all interested stakeholders, and will be collated into feedback documents for the use of Island communities in making management decisions. For more information, contact Sara Busilacchi, James Cook University, sara.busilacchi@jcu.edu.au |
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PO Box 772 Townsville
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