Napranum Ministerial Champion Grace Grace meets with representatives of Nanum Wungthim Land and Sea Management last week to announce a $60,000 grant to support annual beach clean-ups in both Napranum and Mapoon. Photo: Supplied.
The crucially important turtle nesting beaches of Napranum and Mapoon on Cape York’s western coastline will be litter-free thanks to a $60,000 funding boost from the State Government.
While visiting Napranum on 27 June, the community’s Ministerial Champion, Grace Grace, announced the Tangaroa Blue Foundation would receive the grant to support the annual clean-ups.
The multi-day events will focus on the area’s significant turtle-nesting beaches, and will provide a valuable educational experience for community partners and visiting volunteers.
Nanum Wungthim Land and Sea Management ranger co-ordinator Marietta Matasia said the funding would help to achieve an ambitious target of tripling volunteer numbers for the 2024 events.
“This grant funding will allow even more people from far and wide to be part of something meaningful and see first-hand the tiresome efforts the rangers undertake as custodians of the country they live, work on, and care for,” she said.
“We are already receiving interest from local organisations wanting to be involved in the upcoming beach clean-ups, and we are hoping to double or even triple the number of participants this year [because] many hands make light work.
“During a previous beach clean-up event, my rangers worked with the Tangaroa team and approximately 60 tourists, locals, Traditional Owners and Elders, and other stakeholders to remove 4.8 tonnes of marine debris over five days from five kilometres of beach.”
Minister Grace said discarded fishing equipment, including ghost nets, had a detrimental impact on the Cape York coastline if not collected.
“We know that general waste, fishing lines and fishing nets make up most of the litter entering our waterways and washing up on our beaches, and we have seen the devastating impact this litter has on our marine life,” she said.
Tangaroa Blue Foundation chief executive officer Heidi Tait thanked the government for its support of the region’s environmental management efforts and said the organisation had been assisting with beach clean-ups on Cape York for more than a decade.
“Tangaroa Blue has been working with communities across Cape York on marine debris clean-ups for over 12 years, and due to the constant flow of rubbish washing up from offshore sources in these remote areas, continued clean-up efforts are needed,” she said.
“We are excited to be able to continue our partnership with the communities of Mapoon and Napranum for our annual large-scale beach clean-up events this year.”
