The level of engagement in recreational and traditional fishing by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is poorly documented at the national scale, with arguably some of the most significant knowledge gaps existing with regard to resource use occuring in the southern states. Issue of appropriate levels of sectorial allocation are often a common driver. This information is also vital in identifying suitable future fisheries developmental, stewardship and training opportunities in Indigenous communities (SA Research Priorities 2018 Indigenous – SARAC). Past challenges to collecting representative information have been identified during previous recreational fishing surveys that attempted to quantify components of Indigenous fishing catch and effort. Recent on-site fishing surveys provided site-specific catch and effort in Indigenous Protected Areas (IPA) (Rogers et al. 2010, 2014), yet found that targeted interview techniques would need to be evaluated and adopted to capture the scale of the Indigenous components of the broader recreational and traditional fishery information. Several approaches to collecting data on traditional and Indigenous recreational fisheries require evaluation. Following extensive discussions within government agencies, with community groups and Aboriginal nations, during the IRG priority setting discussions, during the recent Indigenous forum at the AMSA conference, the priority needs have been identified. The proposed project will support a series of regional meetings with key stakeholders and two national level expert workshops that will work with community groups to identifiy, develop and plan appropriate methods and strategies to address the critical information gaps in a manner that also aims to integrate non-scientific cultural knowledge flows.
Final report
Through two national workshops, Indigenous community and agency representatives and researchers discussed issues around collecting, sharing and ownership of Indigenous fishing data. Challenges and opportunities were shared from all perspectives and expertise, knowledge and information came together to enable a framework for improved data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fisheries resource use to be developed. The framework presents an approach to recognise the genuine shared goal to do things differently for better fisheries management and outcomes for communities.
This framework and the ongoing development of data collection methodologies aims to facilitate the sharing of Indigenous fishing data that ensures a more holistic and collaborative approach to fisheries resource management. The sharing of these data, incorporating catch related information and Indigenous knowledge should allow an improved understanding of the needs (culturally, socially, economically) of Indigenous communities and resource managers. Together we can then move toward ensuring culturally appropriate fisheries and resource management, protecting Indigenous fishing rights, and the sustainable, fair and equitable determination of resource allocation and management, that includes the needs of Indigenous communities.
This report acknowledges the challenges and limitations with the framework and provides a clear path forward to progress the outcomes.
