Blue Mud Bay

Coordinates: 13°07′59″S 136°00′55″E / 13.133°S 136.015167°E / -13.133; 136.015167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

intermediate egrets

Blue Mud Bay is a large, shallow, partly enclosed bay on the eastern coast of

traditional owners of much of the Northern Territory's coastline have exclusive rights over commercial and recreational fishing
in tidal waters overlying their land.

Description

The bay is about 90 km in length and up to 35 km in width. Its 45 km wide mouth stretches from Cape Shield in the north-east to Cape Barrow in the south-west, with

Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected Area, which is planned to be extended to include the remainder of the coastal waters and islands of the bay.[1]

Flora and fauna

Plants

Triumfetta litticola, a plant species endemic to the Arnhem Coast bioregion, has been recorded. The threatened Australian arenga palm (Arenga australasica) is also found here, as well as 34 plant species endemic to the Northern Territory .[1]

Birds

The bay's seasonally flooded coastal plains have been classified by

wandering whistling-ducks (up to 40,000), and brolgas (up to 3000).[2]

Many other waterbirds breed in colonies on the floodplain, especially

lesser sand plovers and red-necked stints. The islands hold significant breeding colonies of little, black-naped and bridled terns.[1]

Other animals

The beaches of the bay's larger islands are important for nesting flatback sea turtles. There is a large colony of little red flying foxes in the mangroves at the northern end of the bay. The threatened brush-tailed rabbit rat is present. Douglas' skink (Glaphyromorphus douglasi) is endemic to the Northern Territory. Introduced water buffalos and feral pigs threaten the wetlands.[1]

Blue Mud Bay case

The Blue Mud Bay case, or Blue Mud sea rights case, was the name given to a court case with original reference to the ownership of fishing rights in tidal waters overlying Aboriginal land at Blue Mud Bay. The case was eventually decided by the

Commonwealth of Australia and the Northern Territory Seafood Council against a decision made by a lower court in March 2007.[3][4]

The High Court ruled that the water lying over Aboriginal land should not be treated differently from the land itself. Ownership of Aboriginal land adjoining marine waters in the Northern Territory generally extends to the

traditional owners or the appropriate land council to go on to Aboriginal land, the Court made it clear that such permission is also required to go on to water overlying that land.[4][5]

This case is signification as it was the first time that

Yolŋu community of Baniyala played a key role in achieving the outcome.[6]

Fishing and other industry

In 2019, the people of Baniyala engaged the

eco-tourism, and chartered fishing expeditions.[7]

In July 2019, Northern Land Council entered into an agreement with the NT Government for rights over access to the waters for commercial and recreational fishing, before consulting the appropriate traditional owners. After community leader Djambawa Marawili raised the matter, a meeting was held with the NLC, and on the 11th anniversary of the High Court's Blue Mud Bay decision, traditional owners signed an agreement to allow fishing access to these waters for the following 18 months.[8]

In July 2020, the Northern Land Council and the NT Government signed the "Blue Mud Bay Action Plan", by which both are committed to securing fishing rights for the region's Indigenous people. This plan is part of the Nitmiluk Agreement, which aims at building economic opportunities for Aboriginal people in the fishing industry, including establishing an Aboriginal-owned fishing enterprise.[9]

Garrangali Band

The Garrangali Band, from the tiny community of Baniyala on the bay, in their 2020 song "One Voice", sing of the way of life in the region. Mudiny Guyula, the band's lead vocalist, said that the song is about bringing people “back to their promised land, their homeland, so we can recognise who we are”.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Blue Mud Bay and associated coastal floodplains" (PDF). Sites of Conservation Significance. Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b "IBA: Blue Mud Bay". Birdata. Birds Australia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  3. ^ Northern Territory of Australia v Arnhem Land Aboriginal Land Trust [2008] HCA 29 (30 July 2008), High Court
  4. ^ a b "The High Court's decision in the Blue Mud Bay case: a summary" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. 11 February 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  5. ^ "The battle for Sea Country legal rights". Australian National Maritime Museum. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Baniyala". East Arnhem Land. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  7. ^ Terzon, Emilia (1 August 2019). "How the CSIRO is helping Arnhem community Baniyala take charge of its economic future". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  8. ^ Smith, Douglas (27 June 2019). "Traditional Yolngu owners excluded from historic Baniyala settlement". NITV. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  9. ^ a b Knowles, Rachael (13 October 2020). "Blue Mud Bay Traditional Owners navigating homeland rights". National Indigenous Times. Retrieved 4 November 2020.

13°07′59″S 136°00′55″E / 13.133°S 136.015167°E / -13.133; 136.015167

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