Mutton fishing has been a part of Tasmanian Aboriginal culture for tens of thousands of years, but members of the Aboriginal community fear it is being lost.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mutton fish - or abalone - continue to form part of the Tasmanian Aboriginal diet to this day.
IN OTHER NEWS: How a team of two ladies plans to take a Trans-Tasman title
Aaron Everett is from larapuna, a pukana people from meenamatta country off of tubuna, and he has fished for abalone his whole life.
"I used to be able to walk out only up to my knees and knock a few [abalone] off the rocks," he said.
"Now I can't even do that, and that's only over a period of about six to eight years."
Mr Everett said now, less than a decade later, he has to head to open water to get his mutton fish.
He said to get a feed for his family he needs to five down seven metres.
For Mr Everett the reason is obvious. He said commercial and recreational fishing encroaching towards Aboriginal islands and lands are knocking out abalone populations at the shore.
"In these areas the commercial abalone fishers come into 100 or 50 metres from shore and hit the abalone out there," he said.
"When they hit them out there they break the connection for the abalone to be able to come into where we have locally been able to gather our own traditional foods for so long."
Mr Everett said the depletion of abalone populations around Tasmanian Aboriginal islands like Cape Barren/truwana, Babel, Big Dog, Chapel, Badger, Clarke/lungtalanana, Trefroil and Steep Head islands as well as down the East coast - where larapuna people lived - was one of the biggest issues the community faced.
He said it extended beyond abalone as well, to other subsistent salt water cultural foods like periwinkles.
While a withering food source may be increasingly common across the world, for pakana people there are grave fears for what it means for culture and an ongoing battle to reclaim land and have their voices heard.
"It's affecting culture," Mr Everett said.
"I dive all the time with my girls and when I'm having to take them to deeper depths ... it's not just because it's more difficult.
"A lot of our families are really resilient but if we're made to try swim to deeper depths just to get a feed, that's going to restrict a lot of families."
Mr Everett's concerns are not alone.
For years the Tasmanian Aboriginal community has expressed to the state government their desire to have cultural exclusion zones or indigenous protected areas explicit in the waters around the Aboriginal islands as well as all Aboriginal lands connected to the sea.
READ MORE: How city's cafes react to isolation weekend
Adam Thompson, a pakana man and Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre heritage work, said the extension of land right into the sea was vital for an Aboriginal community largely associated with the salt water.
Mr Thompson fishes for abalone personally and takes groups of young Tasmanian Aboriginal kids to Aboriginal lands to look for mutton fish.
He said there are often times where they are unable to harvest any abalone at all.
Mr Thompson said now a treaty was being discussed at a state level, and a feeling of genuineness was being felt by the Aboriginal community towards the state government, ongoing calls for intervention to sustain the cultural tradition needed to be heard or there was a risk the cultural connection would be lost.
IN OTHER NEWS: Tasmanian golf clubs cull thousands of native animals
"We're sick of those calls falling on deaf ears, and as time goes by the problem has just gotten worse," he said.
"Since I started working on the islands 20 years ago until now, the change is obvious - even in that time.
"Old fellas around my grand mother and great-grand mother's age, they'd just get abalone off the rocks. That's what they'd do for lunch and their use of that resource was sustainable."
Mr Thompson expressed the feeling within the community was the state government was genuine about reconciliation with the pakana people.
Roger Jaensch is the Tasmanian Aboriginal affairs minister, though the potential implementation of cultural protection legislation for sea around Aboriginal areas crosses into three portfolios including the Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment department.
When asked whether Mr Jaensch would introduce legislation to mirror the calls from the Aboriginal community, and if he was concerned the mutton fishing tradition could be lost a government spokesperson responded.
"All Tasmanian fisheries are managed to achieve sustainability. The management approach by DPIPWE relies upon research by the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) and fisheries management plans are made for each fishery by engaging industry and community organisations," they said.
"Any person concerned about localised depletion of a fishery should contact the Department to discuss their observations. Management changes to any fishery would only be considered after consultation with all users and the wider community."
In a media release on Sunday in the wake of NAIDOC week Mr Jaensch said, "[the government's] goal is to see better outcomes and more opportunities for Tasmanian Aboriginal people and their families; to dignify the relationship with Tasmanian Aboriginal people and to achieve a truly reconciled community".
"Just last week, we committed to drafting new, stronger legislation to better protect Tasmania's Aboriginal heritage.
"This government has a genuine desire to make a positive difference that recognises over 40,000 years of continuous Aboriginal heritage and culture, and one that points to a brighter future for Aboriginal Tasmanians."
Palawa elder Rodney Dillon said the practice of undertaking reconciliation through indigenous protected areas was commonplace.
IN OTHER NEWS: How this Dutchman became obsessed with Tasmanian platypus
"They've got them all over Australia. They've got them in South Australia and the newspaper still comes the next day and the sun continues to rise," he said.
Mr Dillon said just introducing protected areas was not enough.
"We need a say in the management," he said.
"It's not much good getting the resource back if it keeps reducing. The position of our people is we only take enough so that it can sustain itself.
"We've been doing it for 50 or 60 thousand years, so we've got a bit of experience with it."
What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor:
