RECREATIONAL fishing groups have expressed concerns over a seeming lack of transparency involving amendments to policies relating to “Aboriginal cultural fishing” in NSW.
Angling groups have contacted the NSW Fisheries Department to voice concerns over the way these amendments have been processed and to question sustainability issues relating to the collection of large quantities of abalone and other shellfish.
There are also suggestions, as yet unverified, that an “amended” policy for indigenous fishing would see Aboriginal people be allowed to use nets in marine parks and recreational-only areas.
Fisho has asked for a briefing from NSW Fisheries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson on this potentially contentious issue.
Information we have received indicates that amended policy is the result of an agreement between the NSW Department of Primary Industries and the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and Native Title Services Corporation. It came into effect on January 22.
The amended policy allows Aboriginal people engaged in “cultural fishing” to take double the current NSW bag limits and increases the bag limit on abalone from two to 10.
Full details of the policy can be viewed here
It is understood that consultation on the implications of this “interim” policy is due to be held with interest groups, including anglers, later this month.
The issue looks set to trigger considerable debate about whether indigenous fishers should be subject to different regulations than non-indigenous fishers.
Fisho would make the point here that Aboriginal people were successful custodians of our rivers and seas for at least 40,000 years. Problems with overfishing and fish stock declines only eventuated after white colonization occurred. Aboriginal people didn’t cause these problems so why should their cultural and social heritage be compromised?
On the other side of the coin, it can also be argued that we are now all Australians, whether black or white, and as such everyone should be subject to the same laws and regulations, especially when those regulations are designed around sustainability issues.
Is allowing one group special dispensation to take more fish than other groups justifiable? Does “cultural fishing” have precedence over sustainability issues?
And then you have to consider the policy itself and whether it actually addresses the real issues. Surely the point here, both for Aboriginal people and our regulation makers, is whether indigenous people should be exempt from “white-fella” rules, and if so, in what circumstances? Some might say that doubling or otherwise increasing bag limits is not the answer per se. Other indigenous peoples in other parts of the world are sometimes exempted from general regulations… Inuit in Alaska, native Americans in some parts of the US ….
In general, many anglers are by and large sympathetic to Aboriginal people being able to harvest what they want for their own use using traditional methods … but maybe not if they’re using .308s for dugong, or scuba gear for abalone, or rods and reels for fish. Spear something, OK. Catch it on a homemade line or in a fish trap, OK. Gather it free-swimming or off a rock platform without implements, OK. But once you pick up “modern” gear, surely “modern” regulations should apply?
Based on the info we’ve received so far, Fisho is of the opinion that the NSW DPI “interim cultural policy” solution isn’t a solution at all. It just seems to be a tokenistic bandaid, a bureaucratic fix. To our way of thinking, the DPI policy doesn’t confront the basic issue of Aboriginals’ right to harvest seafood traditionally, it just gives them a bit of a short-term “handout”.
Untitled DocumentAll up, these are pretty interesting issues … And Fisho encourages open debate and discussion on these points and any other issues arising from this subject. Make your comments below. Please refer to our policies regarding comments – we will not approve any comments that are offensive or inappropriate.
We look forward to hearing your views and opinions.
