INTRODUCTION

Despite the stereotypical, tourist image of Australian Aborigines being desert dwelling nomads, the reality is that almost half of Australia's indigenous people (as other Australians), inhabit and have always inhabited the coastal zone. The fact that many of Australia's indigenous peoples inhabited and still do inhabit coastal and estuarine locations has, of course, much to do with the availability of reliable food resources in the form of fish and shellfish along the coasts and estuaries, as well as short distances out to sea, which supplemented food resources obtained from the land.

This chapter is concerned with indigenous fishing in Western Australia (WA), with a particular focus on the West Kimberley region. It will indicate the difference in perspective of “ownership” of the sea between indigenous and non-indigenous people. It will attempt to show how indigenous fishing has become increasingly regulated through a number of legal and statutory means. There are threats to marine biodiversity and fisheries in the region from overfishing and recreational fishing. Yet there are also opportunities such as the increasing involvement of indigenous people in the management of fisheries, and the development of aquaculture projects.

The chapter will provide a brief background on traditional fishing practices in the region and some of the more recent changes that have occurred. In addition, the chapter presents an overview of current policy and practice relating to indigenous fishing. It describes and discusses issues relating to fishing by indigenous people (as well as fishing by all others) and shows how this is officially subject to a wide range of legal, statutory, bureaucratic, and regulatory limitations. There continues to be a relatively high level of subsistence fishing by Aboriginal people, as well as a small-scale, informal, unregulated market. This Kimberley case study also highlights the need to examine and compare the policies and practices relating to indigenous fishing and fisheries in other parts of the Indian Ocean Region.