Fish Dreaming – Murray Darling Basin
Restoring Cultural Fishing Places and Spirit
OzFish recognises that First Nations people have lost many of the places that were most significant to them for fishing, for their spiritual connection to Country and for food sources. OzFish sets out to restore these places alongside First Nations groups, including habitat, fish traps, songlines, meeting places, yarning circles, protection of middens, waterway related artwork, festivals and stories, re-establishing traditional woven fish basket materials and more.
We celebrate and embrace Indigenous art, dance and ceremony in as many of our works and events as possible.
The OzFish Murray Darling Basin team is working in partnership with a number of First Nations groups and services across Qld, NSW, Vic and SA.
These include, but are not limited to; Wiradjuri Cultural and Environmental Rangers, Boys to the Bush, First People of the Millewa Mallee, Miyay Birray Youth Services, Moree SHAE Academy, BackTrack Youth Works, Moombahlene Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC), Ashford LALC, Anaiwan LALC, Jubullum LALC, Bigambul First Nations Fire Fighters, Jagun Alliance, Moree LALC, Banbai Rangers, Tamworth LALC and Yinarr-ma.
Together recreational fishers and First Nations people are achieving success
in a number of projects:
Wiradjuri Country – Olive Perchlet
The Wiradjuri Cultural and Environmental Rangers have contributed to habitat improvement works benefiting the Olive Perchlet—a threatened species— by clearing invasive weeds and using them to construct floating habitat rafts.
220 volunteers from Boys to the Bush have contributed over 500 volunteer hours to projects involving riparian restoration (tree plantings), habitat improvement (fish motel construction), threatened species conservation (habitat raft construction), and illegal yabby trap disposal and recycling.
Latje Latje and Kureinji Country – Murray River
OzFish are working alongside First People of the Millewa Mallee Aboriginal Corporation by undertaking site tours and discussing the on-ground activities, obtaining the required cultural heritage approvals, building and installation of fish habitat/motels, sourcing and planting native vegetation and control of invasive willows, as well as undertaking habitat mapping and water quality monitoring.
Kamilaroi Country – Gwydir River
OzFish are working alongside Miyay Birray Youth Services by assisting in the running of family fishing days and building fish hotels through Miyay Birray’s Aboriginal Father Program. OzFish has also been involved with the installation of fish hotels into Whittaker’s Lagoon and provided access to youth for cultural events, including artwork events and storytelling/star gazing nights.
Ngarabal Country – Fish hotels and fire science
OzFish has worked with students from Ashford High School to build fish hotels with local Elders and participated in science monitoring with Moombahlene LALC.
Gomeroi Country – Macintyre River
OzFish worked in collaboration with Bank Art Museum Moree and MultiLit, to help Boggabilla Central School students paint stories of the Macintyre River at Toomelah. At this event we discussed the importance of habitat and water quality and the students’ studied macroinvertebrates in detail, before returning to the classroom to paint and write stories about the day’s events.
Donate to OzFish today to help projects like this one across Australia.
