News
Building Stewardship for K’gari through Citizen Science
The Australian Citizen Science Association defines citizen science as ‘public participation and collaboration in scientific research to increase scientific knowledge.’
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Sea Cucumber Research Update
As we wrote in the last newsletter, PhD student Alison Hammond from the University of the Sunshine Coast is currently undertaking a research project on the sea cucumber (bêche-de-mer) fishery in Hervey Bay, the Great Sandy Strait and Tin Can Bay in the 1980s and 1990s. Project results will be used to map the historical and current distribution of sea cucumbers.
In late 2025, the project received Human Research Ethics approvals. So, Alison has been able to interview some local retired commercial fishers and long-term residents/naturalists about the history of the sea cucumber/beche-de-mer industry in Great Sandy.
“A million thanks to those who have generously given their time for an interview. These insights are absolutely invaluable to reconstructing some semblance of a pre-fishing baseline, especially in the absence of any catch monitoring prior to 1995,” said Alison.
Permits are now in place for the in-water survey and eDNA component, so the team can begin searching in earnest for sandfish in the Great Sandy Marine Park. In-water surveys in Moreton Bay Marine Park are planned for February to assess the current status of sandfish stocks there for comparison with the 2018 and 2001 surveys.
Finally, Alison was excited to announce that they recently found a small, lone sandfish at Tinnanbar.
“Not quite the hundreds of thousands that once roamed the seagrass beds, but at least one is a start! The finder called me, and I was able to race down and grab a skin sample from it for genetic testing.
Alison is specifically seeking sightings of the sandfish Holothuria scabra (see photo) anywhere within the Great Sandy Marine Park. If anyone finds one, it would be great if they could take a photo and, if possible, a GPS location (or a screenshot of their location on Google Maps would be good), and text it to Alison on 0419 740 994 or email alison.hammond@research.usc.edu.au.
Article contributed by Alison Hammond, University of the Sunshine Coast
Getting Techy With IT
Are you BioBlitz curious, but worried about all the technical skills that go with IT? That’s Information Technology, and apologies for the geeky joke!
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K’gari Conference 2025
The University of the Sunshine Coast’s 2025 conference celebrated the theme Voices of K’gari: Research, Respect and Responsibility, bringing together K’gari’s Traditional Owners, the Butchulla people, leading researchers, conservationists and artists who together explored the cultural, ecological and geological stories of K’gari and the surrounding Great Sandy region.
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BAC Welcomes Butchulla K’gari Djaa Rangers
The Butchulla first lore is ‘What is good for the land must come first.’ K’gari’s and the Butchulla People’s health are deeply connected. When K’gari is unwell, then her people are unwell too.
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Will killing dingoes on K’gari make it safer? We think it’s unlikely.
After the tragic death of Canadian backpacker Piper James on K’gari (Fraser Island) on January 19, a coroner found the 19–year–old had been bitten by dingoes while she was still alive, but the most likely cause of death was drowning. Days later, the Queensland government announced it would cull the entire pack of ten dingoes seen near where Piper’s body was found. Most of those animals have now been killed.
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Dingoes are not domestic dogs
For decades, scientists, policymakers, graziers and land managers have been locked in a surprisingly high stakes debate over what defines a dingo. Are these wild canids their own species? Or are they simply feral dogs?
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K’gari Tops the Island Charts for Frog and Freshwater Fish Biodiversity
Researchers have completed the first comprehensive database of freshwater species on Australian islands. The results of the research have been published in Diversity and Distributions journal.
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Effective & Collaborative Fire Management on K’gari
Collaborative fire management is important to ensure planned burn program objectives are met for the island.
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Bushfire Season: Fire Fuel Assessment
The K’gari Fire Enhancement Team took a day out of bushfire prep to meet with Senior Bushfire Consultant Guy Morgan on-island to discuss collaborative bushfire mitigation planning around neighbouring residential and resort tenure.
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FINIA 