A capacity-building fisheries workshop between Traditional Owners, the Torres Strait Regional Authority and Fishwell Consulting has won the People Development Award at the Queensland Seafood Industry Awards.

TSRA chair Pedro Stephen said the award aligned with TSRA’s dedicated fisheries program, which aims to support a sustainable fishing industry owned and operated by Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal peoples.

“More than 20 local people from various communities and fishing interests – including tropical rock lobster, beche-de-mer, reef line and prawn fishing – attended the workshop on Thursday Island to further develop skills and networks in sustainable fisheries management,” Mr Stephen said.

“I am proud of this award, which recognises the value of creating partnerships between Traditional Owners, scientists and the commercial fishing sector to build capacity, professionalism and best practice in our fishing industry.

“Climate change impacts including rising sea levels means a focus on local training, skills and support to future-proof our fishing industry is more important than ever,” he said.

TSRA fisheries portfolio member Yen Loban said workshop participants were already using the training to successfully advocate for changes to fisheries management.

“Fishing is in our blood, it’s our culture, livelihood and a major source of employment and income for the Torres Strait,” he said.

“Investing time and effort to build skills, capacity and awareness of new opportunities and technology will help support a sustainable and effective local seafood industry into the future.”

This article appeared in Cape York Weekly, 19 April 2022.