A. Species
Scientific name: Crocodylus porosus
Common name(s): Saltwater crocodile
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Least Concern
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Northern Territory
Country/Region: Australia / Northern Territory / Maningrida (Indigenous Lands) region
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Sub-national / Sub-region / Sub-State
Name/Details of location: Maningrida region/ locally managed Indigenous Protected Area
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 1989
End Year: 2015
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed, Collection/display and Decorative and aesthetic
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence and Income generation from trade (individual/household/community)
Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and National / local private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: Historical records from the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Service and the Northern Land Council
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The study states that Saltwater crocodile populations were depleted to c. 3000 individuals in the Northern Territory by unmanaged commercial exploitation during 1945-71, but following their protection in 1971 they entered a recovery phase, which is now almost complete. The Northern Territory population is estimated to include 80,000 - 1000,000 non-hatchlings
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The study demonstrates that community-managed wildlife use programmes can yield conservation benefits and improvements in rural Indigenous livelihoods. The programme has been worth over half a million AUS dollars to the local economy, which is significant in the context of Maningrida’s very small economy with limited options for expansion. It has created employment opportunities that utilize local people’s skills in wildlife harvesting. Benefits go well beyond the purely economic, to strengthening and utilizing Indigenous knowledge and skills, building community capacity for natural resource management, keeping people on country (i.e. enabling them to continue to live on their traditional estates), ensuring local ownership and management of wildlife resources, and improving people’s physical and mental health.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The study demonstrates that community-managed wildlife use programmes can yield conservation benefits and improvements in rural Indigenous livelihoods. The programme has been worth over half a million AUS dollars to the local economy, which is significant in the context of Maningrida’s very small economy with limited options for expansion. It has created employment opportunities that utilize local people’s skills in wildlife harvesting. Benefits go well beyond the purely economic, to strengthening and utilizing Indigenous knowledge and skills, building community capacity for natural resource management, keeping people on country (i.e. enabling them to continue to live on their traditional estates), ensuring local ownership and management of wildlife resources, and improving people’s physical and mental health.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: this study does not record this
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: this study does not record this
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: this study does not record this
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: this study does not record this
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
The study states that efficiency needs to be improved to fulfil the need for a reliable and dependable supply chain, and regulatory institutions should give Indigenous harvesters sufficient freedom to pursue innovative and viable livelihood options.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2018-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-11-13