Fisheries Exploitation in the Indian Ocean: Threats and Opportunities

7. Indigenous Fishing in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia: A Case Study of Highly Regulated Fisheries in Coastal Communities

Indigenous Fishing in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia 141 7 INDIGENOUS FISHING IN THE KIMBERLEY REGION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA A Case Study of Highly Regulated Fisheries in Coastal Communities Hilary Rumley INTRODUCTION Despite the stereotypical, tourist image of Australian Aborigines being desert dwelling nomads, the r eality is that almost half of Australia’s indigenous people (as otherAustralians), inhabit and have always inhabited the coastal zone. The fact that many of Australia’s indigenous peoples inhabited and still do inhabit coastal and estuarine locations has, of course, much to do with the availability of r eliable food resources in the form of fish and shellfish along the coasts and estuaries, as well as short distances out to sea, which supplemented food r esources obtained from the land. This chapter is concerned with indigenous fishing in W estern Australia (WA), with a particular focus on the W est Kimberley region. It will indicate 07 Fisheries Exploitation 10/28/09, 12:41 PM 141 142 Hilary Rumley the difference in perspective of “ownership” of the sea between indigenous and non-indigenous people. It will attempt to show how indigenous fishing has become increasingly regulated through a number of legal and statutory means. There are threats to marine biodiversity and fisheries in the region from overfishing and r ecreational fishing. Yet there are also opportunities such as the increasing involvement of indigenous people in the management of fisheries, and the development of aquacultur e projects. The chapter will pr ovide a brief backgr ound on traditional fishing practices in the r egion and some of the mor e recent changes that have occurred. In addition, the chapter presents an overview of current policy and practice r elating to indigenous fishing. It describes and discusses issues relating to fishing by indigenous people (as well as fishing by all others) and shows how this is of ficially subject to a wide range of legal, statutory, bureaucratic, and regulatory limitations. There continues to be a relatively high level of subsistence fishing byAboriginal people, as well as a small-scale, informal, unr egulated market. This Kimberley case study also highlights the need to examine and compar e the policies and practices relating to indigenous fishing and fisheries in other parts of the Indian Ocean Region. TRADITIONAL/CUSTOMARY/ARTISANAL FISHING BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were the earliest owners and managers ofAustralia’s coastal zone. T oday, many indigenous communities maintain an active interest and involvement in coastal zone management. In some areas they retain ownership rights. As noted, nearly one-half of the indigenous population lives in Australia’s coastal zone. Aboriginal people today use the description “saltwater people” to refer to those who have strong links to the coast and the adjacent sea. Ther e are approximately 100 coastal indigenous communities in Australia occupying land under some form of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander leasehold, fr eehold, reserve, or native title. A further 200 or mor e outstations are associated with these communities and ar e occupied on a semi-permanent basis. Indigenous people form the majority of the population in a number of coastal regions, including, among other r egions, north-west W estern Australia. Coastal land and estuarine and marine r esources are of major economic and cultural importance to many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 07 Fisheries Exploitation 10/28/09, 12:41 PM 142 Indigenous Fishing in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia 143 people. Maintenance of traditional fishing practices and uses varies with local history, tenure, and legislation. It is most evident among indigenous people who are living on blocks of land they own or contr ol, although many people who have been legally dispossessed of their traditional lands continue to hunt, gather , and fish, and to car e for many places of cultural significance. The economic importance of marine r esources for some coastal communities is revealed in large measure by the dietary patterns of these communities. For example, a variety of seafoods has been estimated to contribute between 30 and 40 per cent of the calorific intake in one coastal outstation community in the Northern T erritory (Meehan 1982). Seafood consumption by Torres Strait Islanders has been ranked among the highest in the world. Indigenous people in the north of W estern Australia used and continue to use a variety of equipment and techniques to catch fish, depending on the species, the...