Local history]]> Fishing nets]]>
Images were sourced by the Talking Fish project team from Sally Grundy and Dean Tugwell on the day of their oral history recording.]]> Sustainable fisheries]]>
Tracy is a business partner in the sustainable commercial fishery, which achieved Marine Stewardship Council certification in 2008.

The images show equipment inside the fishery and the process by which Coorong Mullet are packaged for sale.]]> Tournament fishing]]> Bait fishing]]> Lure fishing]]> Fishing nets]]> Floods]]> Water resources]]> Water--Law and legislation]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Blackwater]]> Salinity]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Riparian areas]]> Fishes--Breeding]]> Environmental flows]]> Water quality]]>
Brian talks about: native fish activity in the Sturt Reserve, in particular Murray Cod and their habitat; the importance of river flow on fish breeding cycles; the changes in baiting methods from live bait to lures; banned fish net practice; petitioning against commercial fishing in South Australia; the changes he has observed in water levels in the Murray River, including vegetation; 1956 flood; blackwater; water salinity; traditional knowledge (pinpointing the birthplace of a Murray Cod from its stomach lining); and the different species of Callop in South Australia.

Mention of a silver fish 'tookeri' and a 'scarfish'.]]> CC-BY]]> Fisheries]]> Local history]]> Family histories]]> Marine ecology]]> Estuarine ecology]]> Salinity]]> Fishing regulations]]> Water--Law and legislation]]> Licenses]]> Introduced fishes]]> Aboriginal culture]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Floods]]> Sustainable fisheries]]> Acid sulfate soils]]> Fishes--Identification]]>
Gary is a commercial fisher in the Lower Lakes and Coorong Fishery for 28 years; a third generation fisher on his father’s side, and a fifth generation fisher on his mother’s side (lineage to the Rumbelow family, and whalers from Victor Harbour, South Australia). His family came to the Lower Lakes in the 1930s. Gary lives and grew up in the Meningie area, four-hundred metres from Lake Albert. Gary discusses the three different habitats – marine, estuarine (the most productive system), and fresh water. He recalls life as a youngster working at his grandfather’s fish processing business. He has not been able to fish commercially in the Coorong south lagoon for 20 years due to hyper-salinity, and is concerned about the government’s targeting of commercial fishers and fisheries rather than habitat degradation. The low-tech, high physical-input nature and rotational harvesting of the fishing industry is a factor in its sustainability. The Lower Lakes and Coorong Fishery incorporates Lake Albert, Lake Alexandrina, the Coorong from Goolwa to Salt Creek, the ocean from Goolwa Beach Road to outside Kingston. The Coorong relies on Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.

Gary talks about: differences in fishing over 80 years from family history and personal observation ‘every year was different’; history of the Coorong and Lower Lakes Fishery, documented since 1854; the commercial fishing industry in Meningie (including when the coastal road through Meningie and Coorong was main route to Melbourne from Adelaide); history post World War II, including native vegetation land clearing; changes in licensing, which were freely available until mid-1970s when zoning occurred; commercial fishing registration, which influenced fishing behaviour (return on investment) due to administrative load; monthly ‘Catch and Effort’ data reported to government; health of region before construction of barrages 1935-40; the reduction in estuary size of Lake Alexandrina; changes to fish ecology separating salt from fresh water; changes to flood patterns; declining river flows; water extraction; degradation of habitat and lifecycles of estuarine-dependent species; bait fish industry (rock lobster market); the chain affect of water hyper salinity in the South Lagoon on species; brine shrimp – evidence of salinity and system collapse; rate of water release from lakes into the Coorong and sea; high percentage of carp in Lake Alexandrina; ground and surface water flows; 1981 closing of the Murray mouth; acid-sulfate soil; fishery closures in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia; Riverland Fishery (most sustainable model); importance of fish ways to their movement upstream; certification in 2008 of the Lower Lakes and Coorong Fishery; parallels in fishing methods with historical methods; traditional knowledge transfer, Ngarrindjeri peoples.

Gary also discusses the flood of 1956, and a severe drought in the last five years where water levels dropped a metre below sea level.

Other fish mentioned (unspecified species): Australian Salmon, soft-mouthed Hardyhead. Gary discusses an interesting relationship between Dandelion plants and fish movement.

Other mentions: President of Southern Fisherman’s Association (Gary has historical minutes of meetings); Murray-Darling Basin water management plan; Department of Environment; Department of Water; Riverland Fishery (South Australia); Fisheries Act; Marines Stewardship Council Certification; World Wide Fund for Nature, Scheme of Management; Department of Fisheries; South Australian Research Development Institute.]]> CC-BY]]> Fishing industry]]> Fisheries]]> Ecological sustainability]]> Sustainable fisheries]]> River engineering]]> Water quality]]> Water resources]]> Fishes--Breeding]]>
Born in 1941, Henry is a sixth generation commercial fisher, and also ran a yabby restaurant for thirty years. He talks about learning to fish from his father, a commercial fisherman at Renmark, in the Riverland; and his grandfather, a First World War veteran. Henry is a member of the Community Stakeholder Taskforce for the Murray-Darling Basin Native Fish Strategy. His commercial licence covers Lake Albert, Lake Alexandrina, Coorong, and the Great Southern Ocean three nautical miles out from Goolwa to Kingston.

Henry talks about: his fishery's World First Environmental Management Plan and Marine Stewardship; the difference between fishing methods/equipment in the Riverland compared with the windy conditions of the Lakes, Coorong and ocean; sustainable fishing practice; effects of water over allocation (upstream); the lack of intermediate floods from the Murray and Darling, affecting the breeding cycle of fish; salt from irrigation; hypersalinity of Coorong, and possible solutions; the closure of the Murray mouth in 1981; counting bird species; and the increase of seals, sting ray, barnacles, and tube worm in the Coorong (now a marine environment); 1992 flood; plant species.

Other fish species mentioned: 'bull nosed mullet'.
]]> CC-BY]]> ]]> Salinity]]> Floods]]> Dams]]> Irrigation]]> Barrages]]> Dairy industry]]> Farms]]> Fishing--Australia]]> Fishing licenses]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Aboriginal spirituality]]> Silt]]> Riparian areas]]> Restoration ecology]]> Sustainable fisheries]]> Aquifers--Australia]]> Land custodianship]]> Fishing industry]]> Cultural flows]]>
Matthew Rigney is an Elder of the Ngarrindjeri Nation in South Australia. He discusses the culture and spirituality of his people, the changes in the waterways within the Coorong region with special regard to floods and barrages, the issues with government in gaining water for cultural flows for Indigenous peoples, traditional Ngarrindjeri land and water management, and fishing in the region.

Topics covered include: Aboriginal land and water management practices; competing views of Aboriginal and Eurocentric viewpoints regarding the environment and economy; Indigenous connection to land; cultural flows; Cultural Water Access Licences, Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN); Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority.]]>
Electronic records have been made private as per the request of Matthew Rigney's family. As part of our data access requirements, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Data Archive (located at the University of Technology, Sydney) requires an applicant to sign an undertaking before access to material can be approved. These undertakings may include a request for information about the intended use of the data. The depositor and/or family may be informed of the application.

Preliminary applications may be made to:
atsida@lib.uts.edu.au.
]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Floods]]> Salinity]]> Fishes--Migration]]> Aboriginal culture]]> Droughts]]> Marine ecology]]> Fishing nets]]>
Dean, born 1929, is from Victor Harbour, and lived through the 1956 flood. Married since 1960, Dean and Sally live at Mundoo Island near the mouth of the Murray River. Dean recalls memories fishing with his father, and spear fishing with mates at Victor Harbour in the ocean. They talk extensively about the changes in fish species and vegetation they have seen at Mundoo Island and other parts of the Coorong and Lakes systems.

Dean and Sally talk about: changes in vegetation at Mundoo Island due to salt (brackish) water; fishing methods and equipment used in the ocean and lakes (including a pitchfork to catch Flounder); seeing dead Murray cod from upstream in the 1956 flood; natural movement of Congolli species from fresh to saltwater; activities of cockling, floundering, and yabbying; local Aboriginal culture; the effects of wind power on the water system; marine species (e.g. shark, seal, stingray, turtle) in the Coorong; and the severity of recent droughts compared with earlier ones.

Other fish species mentioned: tcherie/turie/toukrie, salmon trout, sunfish, pyebrie, garfish, whiting. ]]> CC BY-NC-ND]]> [was Mundoo Channel pre-barrage]]]> ]]> ]]> Local history]]> Aboriginal culture]]> Aboriginal peoples]]> Estuarine ecology]]> Salinity]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Plants--Identification]]> Birds--Identification]]> Agricultural land]]> Floods]]> Acid sulfate soils]]> Weeds]]> Introduced fishes]]> Naturalists]]> Fish surveys]]> Boats]]> Threatened species]]>
Terry and John collectively discuss: pre-barrage days, when a blue line was visible, separating fresh from salt water in Lake Alexandrina (which is now freshwater); changes in fishing methods and equipment; a time when the Mulloway fish species were captured for their gelatine; history of flows and currents in the Coorong from the southern end, as a result of drainage schemes; salinity from agricultural soils and runoff; hypersalinity of the Coorong; traditional knowledge and legends of the Ngarrindjeri peoples; comparisons in flooding and rainfall between 1956 flood and the present day; the dairy and agricultural industry and trade routes in the 1950s; history of prominent naturalists studying the area; the Strathalbyn Nationalist book, an extensive repository of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants in the area; South Australian Naturalist surveys; observation of fauna in the 1950s-60s and consequent changes; popular family and community activities (e.g. fishing, yabbying, hunting); history of boat types and fishermen huts (‘shacks’); dredging and acid sulphate soil issues; methods of catching and transporting fish (and duck); the impact of salinity on the small snails in the food chain of duck species; vegetation (weeds) popular to ducks; and the effect of European carp in the 1970s on the swan population; 1956 flood, and a family story about a 1870 flood; plant species.

They discuss a fish species 'disostra' in the Coorong and worldwide that died off in the early 20th century. They talk about water birds, and a species called a Banded Stilt which feeds on brine shrimp - a sign of hypersalinity.

Also mentioned: the South Australian Farmers Union, which became Southern Farmers, then National Foods.]]> CC-BY]]> Fisheries]]> Sustainable fisheries]]> Marine protected areas]]> Salinity]]> Licenses]]> Marine ecology]]> Blackwater]]> Introduced fishes]]> Fishing regulations]]> Acid sulfate soils]]> Fishing nets]]> Fishes--Identification]]>
Tracy is a partner in a sustainable commercial fishery, which achieved Marine Stewardship Council certification in 2008. She lives in Meningie and is a member of the Women’s Industry Network and Vice President of the Southern Fisherman’s Association. Tracy expresses concern about the misinformation in discussions around commercial fishing, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and the imbalance in commercial and unregulated recreational fishing. She also discusses the activities of the Women’s Industry Network.

Tracy talks about: the significance of wind power on water movement and fish catch in the water systems; hypersalinity of Coorong South Lagoon; difference between brackish and salty water; brine shrimp – evidence of salinity and system collapse; history behind the construction of barrages, and the sudden changes in fresh/salt content with their opening/closing; Total Allowable Catch (TAC) quotas; Riverland Fishery; Lakes and Coorong Fishery; changes in commercial licensing and fishing methods (e.g. type of nets used); impact of fur seals in the area; harvest rotation (freshwater, estuarine, saltwater) and low-tech, low-impact fishing; management of the Narrung bund (between Lake Albert and Lake Alexandrina); acid sulfate; blackwater from anabranches; public outreach about commercial fishing activities; carp extraction. Other species mentioned: tubeworms (build ‘bombies’ or coral-like tubes), crab, rock lobster, fur seal. Note: Yellowbelly (Golden Perch) are known as Callop in this region of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Tracy also mentions: South Australian Research Development Institute (SARDI), Pew Trust, Marine Scale Fishery, Murray-Darling Basin Plan, Water Act, Women’s Industry Network, South Australian Seafood Industry Awards, Sea Net (Ocean Watch), Regional Development Board, Marine Stewardship Council, PIRSA Fisheries, Ramsar Treaty, National Parks Act, Lower Lakes and Coorong Infrastructure Committee.]]> Local history]]>
The images span the late 1930s to 1950s. They show Murray Cod caught from the infamous 'Garden Hole' spoken about during the interview, located south of E.J. Beardmore Dam.
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