Marine turtles are totemic species for Torres Strait Islander communities, reflecting and reinforcing cultural identity from which livelihoods, knowledge systems, and culture have been sustained over countless generations. This deep connection encompasses extensive knowledge of turtle behaviour, habitats, and seasonal movements, placing Torres Strait Islander communities in a unique and critical position to lead research and management. These communities are frequently marginalised, with conventional ecological monitoring in the region typically led by external priorities. Such projects often overlook locally relevant research questions and perpetuate extractive “parachute science” practices.
Here, Torres Strait Regional Authority presents a practical framework for designing sustainable marine turtle monitoring programs that center cultural priorities for robust ecological data collection. The project design framework is adaptable to variable financial and logistical capacity over time, whilst supporting communities to generate, access, and apply data for adaptive sea country management. From consultation to implementation, we share a case study from a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) monitoring project at the northernmost point of the Great Barrier Reef; Maizab Kaur. We demonstrate that by embedding community interests and knowledge systems at the core of project design, conservation outcomes for threatened species can be enhanced and scaled.