Protect Top End dugongs

Limmen Bight, at the mouth of the Roper River, is a special slice of the Top End.

Managed by the Marra people for millennia, this remarkable stretch of coast is where healthy seagrass meadows and mangroves support barramundi, mud crab, sea turtles and dugongs.

But Territorians are seeing changes. Pressures are rising from climate change impacts, pollution, and dam and cotton proposals. Recreational fishers also know that the rod doesn’t bend like it used to in too many places.

The NT’s CLP government made an election commitment to expand Limmen Bight Marine Park.

The government is now expanding ...

Limmen Bight, at the mouth of the Roper River, is a special slice of the Top End.

Managed by the Marra people for millennia, this remarkable stretch of coast is where healthy seagrass meadows and mangroves support barramundi, mud crab, sea turtles and dugongs.

But Territorians are seeing changes. Pressures are rising from climate change impacts, pollution, and dam and cotton proposals. Recreational fishers also know that the rod doesn’t bend like it used to in too many places.

The NT’s CLP government made an election commitment to expand Limmen Bight Marine Park.

The government is now expanding the marine park by 185km2, including a huge 65km long seagrass meadow where dugongs feed and fish breed! Now they need to hear your support.

Help protect dugongs and the seagrass meadows they feed on. Add your name now to support the expansion of Limmen Bight Marine Park.

Expanding Limmen Bight Marine Park is a win for the Top End’s marine life, lifestyle, fishing, culture and local tourism economy.

+

Add your name to protect dugongs in the Top End

6 emails sent

Find your local rep

Subject:

I welcome the CLP Government taking this important step towards delivering on its election commitment to expand the Limmen Bight Marine Park.

Like many Territorians, I care deeply about protecting the lifestyle, jobs and local communities that depend on healthy coasts. That is why I am writing to express my support for the extension of the Limmen Bight Marine Park.

Located at the mouth of the Roper River in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Limmen Bight Marine Park supports some of the best fishing in the Top End. It is rich in culture and home to iconic marine life including dugongs, turtles and dolphins. Its seagrass meadows, mangroves and coral reefs provide vital nursery grounds for barramundi, mud crabs and prawns.

The pressures on Territory coasts are increasing, and signs of decline are already evident. Fishing is not what it used to be in too many locations. Climate impacts, pollution, and industrial development are placing growing strain on coastal and marine ecosystems.

Marine parks, when done well, protect the places fish grow, wildlife feed and visitors come to experience the best of the Top End. Recent scientific research has confirmed the importance of extending the southern boundary of the marine park to Rosie Creek. In parallel, the CLP has engaged with stakeholders, Traditional Owners, locals, travellers and business owners, with strong and consistent support expressed for the proposed expansion.

The Territory’s natural environment is a powerful drawcard for visitors. Yet too much of the tourism market continues to bypass the Northern Territory in favour of destinations such as the Great Kimberley Marine Park, Ningaloo Marine Park and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Well-managed protected areas, including marine parks and gillnet-free zones, are proven drivers of visitation, particularly for those seeking high-quality fishing, cultural and nature-based experiences.

The Limmen Bight region is recognised internationally by the IUCN as an Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA). It supports globally significant populations of Australian snubfin dolphins and the highest density of dugongs in the Northern Territory. The area contains 65 kilometres of continuous seagrass meadows that provide critical dugong habitat and nursery grounds for key fishery species. Seagrass ecosystems are among the most valuable in the world, yet they are declining globally. We must ensure this does not happen in our own coastal backyard.

Extending the Limmen Bight Marine Park to Rosie Creek respects Marra Sea Country and fills a critical gap in protection. This expansion will create continuity between the Commonwealth Limmen Marine Park offshore and the Yanyuwa (Barni-Wardimantha Awara) Sea Country IPA expansion to the south, strengthening protection across land and sea.

This is our chance to put safeguards in place to protect this iconic area, protecting its fishing, marine life and growing the Territory’s tourism economy.

I support the NT Government’s proposed expansion of the Limmen Bight Marine Park and note:
 - If well-managed and well-funded, the marine park can be a win for fishing, culture, tourism and marine life, helping protect our coastal lifestyle and support local jobs. We now need a marine park implemented on the water, not just one that exists on paper. 
 - On-water management should be delivered in partnership with Sea Rangers and Traditional Owners, who provide vital local knowledge, effective “eyes on the water”, while supporting employment opportunities.
 - Commercial barramundi gillnet fishing and inshore netting are not compatible with the values of the marine park. Limmen Bight Marine Park should be declared net-free. Removing nets is a critical strategy for protecting dugongs and inshore dolphins, and will also improve fishing quality and tourism appeal.
 - This expansion goes a long way towards delivering on the CLP’s commitment to strengthen marine protection at Limmen Bight, and also the election commitment to develop marine parks based on science and in consultation with Traditional Owners and stakeholders.

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the management and protection of one of the Territory’s most important coastal places. Please accept this as my submission to the consultation on the Limmen Bight Marine Park extension.

How we use the data you enter on this form

By adding your name, an email will be sent to NT Parks, the NT Minister for Tourism and Parks, and your local NT Member of the Legislative Assembly.

Do Gooder (the advocacy platform powering this online action) processes personal information from you that you enter on this form so that we can provide the functions and related services to you and The Campaigner (the organisation responsible for this online action) for their legitimate purposes, including possibly exporting it to other systems, and to effectively respond to enquiries and communications related to those services.

Specifically when you enter:

Your location data (residential address or postcode) it is used to locate your elected representative, to pre-populate your email signature and to provide The Campaigner with a visualisation of the location of the support for this campaign.
All other data you may enter, including your email address, name, telephone number, commentary and so on is used by The Campaigner to advocate for the campaign’s goals and where required may be sent to the target of the campaign.

The data collected by Do Gooder is also used by us in aggregate form to improve the service and may be held on your behalf outside your country of residence by our third party service providers. These providers are bound by contract to only use personal information on our behalf, in accordance with agreed terms. While the privacy laws of the country in which personal information is stored or transferred may be different from those in your country, we will always have safeguards in place when storing or transferring personal information. We will never sell, rent, loan or in any other way pass your information on to other parties other than to provide this service to you and The Campaigner.

The personal information collected by Do Gooder is held subject to a Data Processing Agreement between Do Gooder and The Campaigner in compliance with the EU's GDPR and Australian law.

Learn more about our privacy policy here

How is my data used?