Marine conservation initiative builds on Indigenous knowledge

THREE groups are collaborating on a pioneering research project in the Otways and Victoria’s southwest coast that places Indigenous bio-cultural knowledge at the core of marine conservation.

The Otways Marine Ecosystem Resilience (OMER) Initiative, led scientifically by the Conservation Ecology Centre (CEC) in partnership with Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC) and citizen science group Otways Ocean Care, aims to address critical knowledge gaps in coastal marine ecosystems while strengthening Sea Country management for the future.

Launched in 2024 with support from the Wettenhall Environment Trust, the pilot phase focused on Cape Otway, Apollo Bay, and Skenes Creek.

The project recently secured a 2025 Coastcare Victoria Community Grant (Stream 3: Caring for Country) to expand monitoring to four new sites – from Sugarloaf to Lorne in the east, and Aire River to Warrnambool in the west- and to conduct an Indigenous Ecological Knowledge review across the Otways and southwest coast.

 

At the heart of the OMER Initiative is EMAC’s vision for Sea Country – a vision grounded in deep cultural ties and a responsibility to care for Country that spans generations.

“Eastern Maar’s connection to Sea Country is deep and enduring,” EMAC Sea Country Manager Mandy Watson said.

“We’re proud to be part of this work, it’s part of the EMAC vision to ensure Eastern Maar Sea Country assertions are central to decision-making.”

Indigenous knowledge of marine ecosystems in the region has long been under-documented, despite coastal clan groups such as the Peek Whurrong maintaining strong cultural relationships with coastal ecosystems for millennia.

The OMER initiative supports the development of EMAC’s Sea Country Plan and builds capacity through training Eastern Maar Sea Country Guardians in ecological monitoring.

 

These Guardians contribute cultural insight to marine surveys while gaining experience in scientific methods, strengthening Eastern Maar’s leadership and stewardship across the coast.

The habitats under study – such as sandy beaches, seagrass beds and subtidal reefs – lack co-ordinated monitoring, despite their ecological and cultural importance.

“Without baseline data, it’s nearly impossible to track environmental change or manage climate and human impacts effectively,” OMER program manager at the Conservation Ecology Centre Dr Kay Weltz said.

“Thousands visit the Great Ocean Road and Great Ocean Walk each summer, yet we lack measures to understand the effects on marine ecosystems.

“At the same time, climate-driven threats like warming seas, rising sea levels and increasing extreme weather events are already impacting these environments.”