Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia

Another abalone hunt

Today is the third day of the abalone season. Son number three went on his first expedition last Sunday and defied my expectations by catching two. Well catching is the wrong word. The molluscs just lie there peacefully minding their own business then some boofhead comes along and levers them off the rock with a screwdriver. One of the problems is that people tend to lever first then measure after. Abalone do not easily survive being thrown back. Nor do they appreciate having their shells damaged with things like narrow screwdrivers. I explained to my son that what he needs is an abalone iron, which is broad – sort of like a tire lever, and he should first measure them in situ with a gauge. He has a gauge.

When the great white hunter returned home with his reef plunder last week I had to show him how to cut out the edible bit - and how to wrap it into a tea towel and whack it a couple of times with a steak mallet – then how to coat it in bread crumbs, cook it in extra virgin olive oil and eat it. He had a taste, but was not actually enthusiastic.

Nevertheless, inspired by last week’s effort he has departed again this morning to participate in the slaughter. The banging and crashing which marked his departure was much earlier.

Now last weeks haul did not go unnoticed by other members of the household. Son number two nipped off to the Fisheries Department and bought himself a $70 full-house licence too. So this means my boys have spent $140 so far to take these creatures.

Because the licences are so expensive, the holders will go all out to make sure they get as many shellfish as they can. As a conservation measure, high licence fees are self defeating. They encourage determined specialisation and excessive effort.

Fishermen will always claim they are conservation minded, but this is nonsense. Most take everything they can, and they will always break the rules if they think there is chance of getting away with it.

It is something which was apparent from my 1991 honours thesis An ethnohistorical study of the Swan–Canning fishery in Western Australia: 1697–1837; my 1997 PhD dissertation Maritime resource exploitation in southwest Australia prior to 1901 plus two 1998 post-doctoral studies, An oral history of fishing on south coast estuaries. and An oral history of Ningaloo Reef.

Just this weekend the state government has announced it is creating more fishing exclusion zones on the Ningaloo Reef. The Ningaloo reef system is approximately 260 km long and lies directly adjacent to the Western Australian coastline, south of Northwest Cape. On a map, the northern extremity corresponds with the northwest portion of Exmouth Gulf.

The news has created outrage amongst recreational fishing groups. They have an agenda to take as many large fish as they possibly can. One spokesman appeared on TV news and threw up the bizarre argument that it is okay for a jet ski to take off the head of a dugong, but no longer okay for his little boy to catch a fish on a line.

When I was interviewing people about fishing practises I became aware of recreational fishers doing outrageous things. Chemical poisoning, dynamite - you name it, it has all been done in these waters. Even with conventional means, target species are coming under immense pressure, and so the catch activities spread further and further afield. It is a predictable pattern of human behaviour. The problem is amplified at Ningaloo by charter operations which cater to untold thousands of visitors, all of whom want to go home with a photo of them holding up a huge fish they have killed. There are thousands of the biggest and best fish getting slaughtered every week up and down the coast. The practice is absurd and unsustainable. Even with the no-catch zones in place at Ningaloo the remaining resource will still be squandered by the rednecks, who feel they have an undeniable right to pay for their trip by taking home a freezer full of prime fillets. The rules are still overly generous. If fishing is to continue, no one should be permitted to freeze and transport any fish from the area at all. This is still allowed.

For most species which inhabit the reef, very little is known of then scientifically. But we can be sure there is a systematic interaction between most of them. In my view, the entire reef needs to be declared a no-catch zone. Observing and photographing live fish in their habitat is the way to go as the primary activity of visitors. Ningaloo stands to become the greatest tourist attraction in the world. One certainty is that a dead fish will never attract more tourists.

Recreational fishers are like smokers. They kick and scream about maintaining their rights to do as they please, but in reality they contribute nothing to the well being of the biota. They are a scourge. When their nasty little habits are stopped, most other people, with the wisdom of hindsight, will wish it had been done sooner.

© MMIV Paul R. Weaver.

About the writer

Check out the index of my "common-man" monologues about survival in 21st century Australia – plus a little history occasionally. An original essay is added most days.

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