Cultural considerations in the Menindee and Lower Darling Baaka Fish Passage Business Case
In mid-March 2023, approximately 20 – 30 million fish died on the Lower Darling-Baaka River near Menindee. The Office of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer has recommended developing a business case for permanent fish passage at Menindee to protect native fish from similar events in the future, improve the overall health of the river, and boost native fish populations along the Darling-Baaka River.
The business case will be developed in collaboration with First Nations community members from the Menindee Lakes and Lower Darling-Baaka River. A key phase of Business Case development will be to collect cultural information through a research project co-designed with First Nations community representatives that can inform the Cost-Benefit Analysis associated with the permanent fish passage business case program for the Lower Darling-Baaka.
The project will engage with First Nations people to understand their social, cultural and economic values and perspectives about native fish management. The process aims to provide an iterative, culturally appropriate process for First Nations representatives to collaborate in the development of the business case.
Cultural considerations in the business case will be made through a collaborative Participatory Action Research approach, using mixed methods over a multi-phase process where outputs from each phase inform subsequent phases. Community representatives will: co-design a research survey questionnaire, review survey results; review and provide feedback on the Cost-Benefit Analysis, and the Preliminary and Detailed Business Case.
NSW DPIRD Fisheries are currently seeking ethics approval from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group will be established to provide leadership and guidance for NSW DPIRD in developing and implementing the associated methods and actions, which will progress over the next 12 months to inform business case development for the Menindee Lakes and Lower Darling-Baaka River permanent fish passage program.