This project has developed a strategy to guide engagement between Indigenous nations and the Commonwealth government, in relation to the management of fisheries. Please see below for more information.

Commonwealth fisheries

Photo credit: Nick McClean

Following legislative changes to the Commonwealth Fisheries Management Act in 2017, Commonwealth government agencies now have an obligation to take into account the interests of Indigenous groups when making decisions about how Commonwealth fisheries are managed.

The aim of this project is to develop a strategy to guide effective engagement between Indigenous fishing interests and management agencies responsible for Commonwealth fisheries, and with applicability to appropriate state and local level processes.

The project has worked with a group of capable Indigenous experts and community leaders with relevant knowledge and experience in fisheries and Sea Country matters to advance the project activities. The first meeting of the project Indigenous working group can be found in the attachments below.

The team has worked with relevant government agencies to build clear commitments to engaging with Indigenous groups in the process of managing Commonwealth fisheries. A Statement of Commitment from these agencies can be found below.

Resources provided below include:

Development and trial of an Indigenous Fisheries Technical Working Group.

Workshops and submissions that relate to the development and trial of an Indigenous fisheries technical working group (IFTWG), as one part of a wider engagement strategy, are provided below. This includes a detailed submission prepared by a trial IFTWG on possible changes to the Commonwealth Harvest Strategy Policy and Commonwealth Bycatch Policy, as part of regular statutory reviews of these policies.

Document library on Indigenous Fisheries and Sea Country.

This document library provides a list of 104 publicly available resources on Indigenous fisheries and Sea Country, including links to documents themselves. 

Our focus in collating these documents is to highlight those publicly available statements that have been made by Indigenous Nations related to their rights, responsibilities and interests in fisheries and their Sea Country over a very long period of time.

By collating publicly available resources at the time of the project’s conclusion (Dec 2024) we aim to support better engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups with respect to these issues. 

Documents included in this list cover primarily Indigenous-led sea country and Indigenous Protected Area planning documents produced since c.2000, and Commonwealth public inquiries or commissioned research since the mid-1980s (with some state level documents included). 

Chief investigators

The project team includes senior Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers as follows: 

  • Dr Nick McClean, Climate Society and Environment Research Centre, UTS. 
  • Stephan Schnierer, Independent fisheries researcher. 
  • Prof Daryle Rigney, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research. 
  • A/Prof Steve Hemming, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research.

Funding body

Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Australian Government, and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. 

Project Reference FRDC 2021-024: Development of an Indigenous engagement strategy for fishing interests with a focus on Commonwealth fisheries. 

Resources