6 | BURDEKIN DRY TROPICS COASTAL COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN PROJECT PROSPECTUS
Upstart Bay Marine Megafauna Protection
This is a Citizen Science project aiming to improve the current and long-term outlook for marine megafauna at Cape Upstart Bay , by establishing an accessible community monitoring and reporting system .
Background and project information
Cape Upstart Bay is a protected area for dugongs , frequented by endangered sawfish , as well as being a nesting and feeding ground for marine turtles .
This project would support the small community of permanent residents at nearby Wunjunga to monitor and report on megafauna activity and incidents on local beaches .
Project activities would include developing a phone application ( for iOS and Android phones ) that will be used to report all strandings and nestings , and automatically notify appropriate stakeholders or authorities ; installing signage to promote the app and raise awareness of megafauna activities .
Wunjunga ’ s residents are well-placed to monitor and report megafauna strandings , turtle nesting , and other incidents along the largest beach of Cape Upstart Bay .
A smartphone app would make it easier for them to collect and store information securely and reliably — and report issues to the relevant regulators or Traditional Owner Rangers .
At present , there is no central contact to receive this information , which may be relevant to one government body or Traditional Owner organisation , but not another .
Wunjunga Progress Association
Wunjunga Progress Association ( WPA ), the proposed lead for this project , has a longstanding commitment to improving the ecological health of Cape Upstart Bay .
WPA contributed important information to help develop the Burdekin Dry Tropics Community Action Plan , commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation in 2020 .
WPA identified Cape Upstart Bay populations of sea turtles , sawfish , and dugongs as particularly important , and vulnerable to local threats .