As part of its support for NAIDOC Week 2022 this month, FRDC acknowledged the special relationship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have with their traditional lands and waters.
Managing Director Dr Patrick Hone says FRDC is committed to investing in R&D projects around Australia to help Indigenous Australians achieve their aspirations in fishing and aquaculture.
This investment is guided by FRDC’s Indigenous Reference Group (IRG), which comprises Indigenous people from all over Australia with expertise in fishing and aquaculture.
FRDC supports the National Fisheries Plan 2022-2030 and is committed to helping achieve its priorities, which includes “Nurturing cultural and customary values and supporting and enabling participation of the Indigenous fishing, aquaculture and seafood sectors in fisheries management and fisheries-related business”.
“We are committed to enabling R&D on fishing and aquaculture by and for Indigenous Australians and to valuing the experiences, knowledge, perspectives and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and incorporating these into research projects and outcomes,” Patrick says.
The IRG was established in 2012 following workshops held with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with an interest in fishing and seafood to help identify key R&D priorities.
Those priorities are primacy for Indigenous people; acknowledgement of Indigenous cultural practices; self-determination of Indigenous rights to use and manage cultural assets and resources and economic opportunities arising from these; and enhanced capacity building opportunities for Indigenous people.
Patrick says FRDC is working to help integrate Indigenous cultural knowledge into research and improve opportunities for Indigenous Australians in research activities.
To help increase internal understanding of Indigenous cultures and perspectives, FRDC staff are now undertaking Core cultural training provided by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.
One of the current projects being overseen by the IRG is aimed at enabling the Narungga people of Guuranda (South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula) to sustainably manage their totemic fish species, the Gynburra, also known as butterfish or Dusky Morwong. The project, led by Narungga man Garry Goldsmith, aims to capture cultural and scientific knowledge about the species, which will be shared with the broader community.
Another current project overseen by the IRG involves reviewing evidence from Australian and international seafood brands that are owned by Indigenous people to determine if there are commercial benefits in the use of specific Indigenous branding and if those benefits can be captured along the supply chain.
As well as directly funding and overseeing research, development and extension, the IRG and FRDC link with organisations doing similar work, such as the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation, the CSIRO, the Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and state and territory governments.
One of the targets to achieve by 2030 under the National Fisheries Plan is to enhance and support the participation of Indigenous people of all ages and genders in commercial and recreational fishing, fisheries management and monitoring.
Indigenous people are encouraged to apply for leadership programs supported by FRDC to help increase their skills and capacity in fishing and aquaculture. These include the National Seafood Industry Leadership Program, which is the only national fishing and aquaculture program designed in consultation with all sectors and stakeholders. In 2022, there are 18 participants in the NSILP in-person cohort and 15 online participants. Previous participants include Indigenous, recreational, and commercial fishers, aquaculturists, and people involved in the value chain of Australian seafood.
FRDC also supports a fishing or aquaculture participant in the Australian Rural Leadership Program (ARLP) for people from rural, regional and remote areas and for a Nuffield Scholarship, which enables participants to develop their knowledge and skills, to travel and to join a global network. The ARLP is open for applications for 2023 until August 5 and FRDC encourages applications from Indigenous people.
For more information about opportunities related to Indigenous fishing and aquaculture, please contact Senior Research Portfolio Manager Josh Fielding at Josh.Fielding@frdc.com.au.
This article relates to R&D Plan Outcomes 3 and 4.
