Minister's message
Andrew McNamara MP
The recent discovery of two 95 million year old crocodile fossils near Isisford has allowed Queensland to claim the unique title of being the home of the earliest known form of the modern crocodile. Today Queensland is still recognised as the home to two species of crocodile, the estuarine crocodile and the freshwater crocodile.
For the crocodile to survive such an immense span of time here makes it an integral part of Queensland's living heritage - with its presence today giving much of north Queensland its special character as 'croc country'.
I find it confronting to think that the presence of one of these ancient species came under serious threat when the estuarine crocodile was nearly shot out of existence for skins and sport during the twentieth century.
When the State Government protected both species of crocodile in 1974 it took the first steps to bring the estuarine crocodile back from the verge of extinction. Now, over three decades later, populations of the estuarine crocodile are still recovering from the impacts of past hunting and the species remains listed as vulnerable under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.
Through the implementation of the strategies identified in the new Nature Conservation (Estuarine crocodile) Conservation Plan 2007 and Management program for Crocodylus porosus in Queensland 2007-2017, the State Government is continuing to secure the future of the estuarine crocodile in Queensland.
This plan will come into effect on 1 March 2008 and builds on three decades of crocodile management and research to now provide a comprehensive framework for conserving estuarine crocodiles in Queensland while responsibly addressing a range of other management requirements.
A key focus of the plan is human health and safety. To this end, the plan identifies strategies for better problem crocodile management and the introduction of deterrents for inappropriate behaviour in areas inhabited by estuarine crocodiles.
The plan also acknowledges that estuarine crocodiles have other values. To Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples of Queensland the estuarine crocodile has important cultural value and the plan respects their traditional rights and interests to take and use crocodiles.
Estuarine crocodiles have also become a valuable economic resource and the plan recognises and supports their sustainable use as a source of skins and meat, and as an internationally recognised Queensland tourist icon.
The Queensland Government will continue to increase its understanding of estuarine crocodiles through its long-running research and monitoring program and by working with other research bodies. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service's own crocodile research program has provided new insights into crocodile behaviour and biology that now form the basis of crocodile conservation and management approaches in this new plan.
While much has been discovered, ongoing monitoring will be critical for gauging the recovery of the estuarine crocodile in the wild.
Finally, I would like to thank all those community members and stakeholder organisations that contributed submission to this plan, and commented on its early drafts. Their input has resulted in an innovative and responsible approach to protecting the estuarine crocodile for the future in a way that also recognises its economic and cultural values, and the importance of public safety.
I must also commend those who work within the State Government's agencies for their efforts in producing this document and rendering the complex management issues addressed here into a set of realistic and achievable strategies. Well done.
Andrew McNamara MP
Minister for Sustainability,
Climate Change and Innovation
Last updated: 27 November 2007