Bringing back Aboriginal fish traps on the south coast

Rangers from Batemans Bay Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) have restored a traditional rock fish trap at Buckenbowra on the NSW south coast near Batemans Bay.

Located on the Clyde River, the Buckenbowra Fish Trap holds cultural significance for the local Aboriginal community of the Batemans Bay and Mogo region.

The rehabilitation project was initiated after Elders from the local area voiced their concerns about the condition of the traps.

Elder, Uncle Les Simons worked with local rangers to restore the site.

He said many local people were quite surprised to find the fish trap was there.

“My uncles told me about this trap when I was a young fella,” he said.

“A lot of people didn’t know it was there actually, they are driving past shocked to see it there,” he said.

He said bringing back the fish traps, located on a stopover site of a traditional pathway, will help them pass down culture to the younger generations.

“We are trying to get it back so we can use it again, educate the young kids about the area and the resources that we have got here.”

He says he’s hoping the site will be used by the community in future years as a place to both catch and cook up fish.

“Make them understand that it’s a part of our culture, that this river system fed us years ago, fed our ancestors,” he said.

Adam Nye, Ranger with Batemans Bay LALC, said rebuilding the fish trap was satisfying work.

“With Uncle Les’s guidance, we were able to restore this to almost its original state… It took us about two weeks to move a couple of truckloads of really, really, big stones.”

“It was a joint effort, solid work,” he said.

He said working on the reconstruction has helped him reconnect to his culture.

“It’s always rewarding working on our ancient culture, trying to maintain that balance with nature and strengthen our people and reconnect with country.”

There are two more fish trap restorations in the planning stages nearby.

A video on restoring the fish traps at Buckenbowra has just been released.

You can watch the video Bringing back the Buckenbowra Aboriginal fish traps to see the restoration of the traps in action and find out more.

To watch more videos like this, check out the Marine Estate Sea Country playlist - on the DPI Fisheries YouTube channel.

This collaboration project was conducted by DPI Fisheries with funding from the Marine Estate Management Strategy – Initiative 4.