Wally Stewart's Joonga Land and Water Aboriginal Corporation (Joonga) has been awarded the right to establish a South Coast Aboriginal Fishing Cooperative.
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Walbunja Aboriginal Fishing Cooperative will create jobs for South Coast Indigenous people, potentially generate profit for their communities and give them more say in Sea Country management.
A state-wide expressions of interest process saw 16 Aboriginal community-owned fisheries business proposals apply for three openings in the Aboriginal Fisheries Business Development Program.
"Communities as far south as Eden and as far north as Nowra or Wollongong can get involved.
"It is a fishing cooperative for our communities," he said.
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Mr Stewart does not know the full extent of it yet because they have 18-24 months to build a business plan.
"Between now and then there will be lots of feasibility studies done in this area to come up with a solid plan," he said.
He has already formed partnerships with several Aboriginal commercial fishers and a few local Aboriginal land councils.
The program is run by DPI and Department of Regional NSW, together with key program partners including the Aboriginal Fishing Advisory Council, NSW Aboriginal Land Council, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation.
It will also be used to develop case studies that could easily be replicated across the state and other jurisdictions to develop other successful Aboriginal community owned and operated fisheries businesses in other areas.
"This is what we have been fighting for," Mr Stewart said.
"We have been left out of the equation and we want to be in this industry too.
"We are sea people and this is where we want to work."
Mr Stewart and his associates have several ideas for the cooperative including using cultural fishing techniques to differentiate their produce in the market, already have some established markets and have identified synergies with programs such as SMART drumlines.
SMART drumline contract renewed
Joonga's contract for SMART drumlines was renewed on November 1.
It is one of around 20 SMART drumline crews that collect data for DPI when it catches sharks.
It notes which side of the mouth the shark was hooked, collects saliva for DNA samples and photographs the teeth's patterns.
'We tag all the sharks but with the white shark, tiger shark and bull shark we put a tracker on them," Mr Stewart said.
When those sharks pass a signal station people with the SharkSmart app are alerted of the shark's location.
The renewal of the 18-month contract for a further three years is good news because it has created seven jobs and it had cost Joonga around $650,000 to set up the necessary assets.
"It has changed people's lives and we have built up partnerships with the fishermen to make it work," Mr Stewart said.
"If Fisheries is working with us, we have a great opportunity of the fishing cooperative being successful by putting our knowledge together."
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