Indigenous Ecological Knowledge of marine and freshwater organisms and ecosystems on Sea Country: from past absences to future inclusion

Mitchell C. Gibbs; Raphaela S. Rotolo-Ross; Laura M. Parker; Elliot Scanes; James Gibbs; Pauline M. Ross

doi:10.1071/MF24247

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Indigenous Ecological Knowledge of marine and freshwater organisms and ecosystems on Sea Country: from past absences to future inclusion

Mitchell C. Gibbs ^A , Raphaela S. Rotolo-Ross ^B , Laura M. Parker ^C , Elliot Scanes ^D , James Gibbs ^E and Pauline M. Ross

^F ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A The University of Sydney, School of Geosciences, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia.

^B The University of Sydney, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia.

^C The University of New South Wales, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia.

^D Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia.

^E The University of Sydney, Faculty of Science, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia.

^F The University of Sydney, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: pauline.ross@sydney.edu.au

Handling Editor: Rachel Przeslawski

Marine and Freshwater Research 76, MF24247 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF24247

Submitted: 5 November 2024 Accepted: 21 February 2025 Published: 20 March 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

For over 60,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia have developed an enduring knowledge of marine and freshwater organisms and ecosystems on Sea Country. However, it has taken more than 200 years since colonisation, and a biodiversity and habitat crisis for Australia, to begin to recognise and value Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK). This perspective piece builds on previous work to define IEK in the context of Sea Country research, particularly within Australia. It discusses reasons for the rarity of IEK in marine and freshwater literature, the loss of intergenerational transmission of IEK, the erosion of cultural heritage and the tensions between Western science and IEK, and strategies for change. The elevation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge in national research priorities offers an opportunity to correct historical wrongs and develop effective strategies for the inclusion of IEK and Indigenous researchers. Together we need to protect what has been lost and restore and sustain marine and freshwater organisms and ecosystems on Sea Country.

Keywords: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, IEK, Indigenous Ecological Knowledge, Sea Country, TEK, Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

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