Recognising the importance of shellfish to First Nations peoples, Indigenous and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in aquaculture and coastal management in Australia

Introduction

First Nations peoples possess important and valuable Indigenous and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) on shellfish aquaculture and coastal management (Reeder-Myers et al. 2022). It is now increasingly recognised that Indigenous knowledge and TEK combined with Western Science may provide the best solution to sustain, improve and restore shellfish populations, and importantly, give respect to First Nations custodianship of Sea Country (Kutay et al. 2021). Since Australia’s colonisation, the management of Sea Country resources have predominantly been based on Western Science and an exploitative mindset (Gibbs et al. 2023; Stelling-Wood et al. 2023). Only in the last decade has the essential need to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and TEK with Western Science been gaining momentum (Bartlett et al. 2012).

The aims of this perspectives piece are to firstly describe the importance of shellfish to First Nations peoples of Australia and the value of TEK in shellfish aquaculture and management, and secondly to highlight the opportunity to incorporate First Nations TEK in shellfish restoration and aquaculture in Australia. We also provide examples whereby incorporating First Nations TEK of shellfish and coastal management in Aotearoa (New Zealand) has led to more sustainable outcomes. Recognising TEK of shellfish is important given the challenges for shellfish at a time where less than 1% of shellfish reefs remain nationally and globally and there are multiple anthropogenic impacts on coastal management (Beck et al. 2011; Clark and Johnston 2017; Bolotov et al. 2018). If we are to improve our aquatic ecosystems, we need to restore iconic shellfish reefs that are in crisis and understand and respect traditional Sea Country management strategies of First Nations peoples of Australia, then we need to incorporate TEK with Western Science approaches.

The importance of shellfish to First Nations peoples of Australia

Shellfish have been an important source of food, trade and culture to First Nations people around the globe for thousands of years (Reeder-Myers et al. 2022). Archaeological evidence suggests that pre-colonial shellfish ecosystems were not ‘wild’, but rather a cultivated resource successfully managed by First Nations peoples over millennia (Fletcher et al. 2021; Reeder-Myers et al. 2022). The management and consumption of shellfish was part of a broader socio-ecological system that was disrupted by colonialism (Reeder-Myers et al. 2022). For First Nations peoples of Australia, shellfish provide an unbroken cultural connection to Sea Country. Evidence of the importance of shellfish as a sustainable food source for First Nations peoples of Australia has been found in studies of middens around Australia (Gillespie and Temple 1977; Cann et al. 1991; Frankel 1991; Clune and Harrison 2009; Tables 1 and 2).

Middens provide a wealth of archaeological knowledge on the age, species and quantities of shellfish present (Table 1). Such knowledge provides insights into the diet of First Nations peoples of Australia, how it changed with the environment over time and how the abundance of shellfish varied among locations and timeframes. For example, Cann et al. (1991) found the lower levels of middens in the Robe Range within Little Dip Conservation Park in South Australia consisted of cockle (Katelysia) shells with radiocarbon dates of ~7910 years old and the upper levels consisted of Turbo shells with a radiocarbon date of 470 years old. Godfrey (1988, 1989) also used oxygen isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating of middens and found that pipis (Donax deltoides) had been fished for over 10 000 years in Discovery Bay, south-western Victoria, Australia, and were harvested at certain times of the year, particularly late winter. Middens also provide knowledge on how dietary patterns have changed over millennia (Luebbers 1978; Godfrey 1988, 1989; Cann et al. 1991). A midden site in South Australia identified two horizons. The first horizon being between 10 000 and 6000 years old and containing shellfish that were collected from the intertidal habitats indicated consumption largely of intertidal gastropods. The second horizon indicated that pipis and mussels were taken at that time, from the inter- and subtidal habitats (Luebbers 1978).

Other middens have been found to contain mostly oysters. In Great Oyster Bay, Tasmania, Australia, the middens were dominated by flat oysters (Ostrea angasi) and mussels (Mytilus planulatus) (Lourandos 1968). However, dietary patterns were not consistent even within locations in close proximity. Just ~130 km from Great Oyster Bay in Eddystone Point the dominant species in the middens were abalone (Haliotis rubra) and turbo snails (Lunella undulata) (Lourandos 1968).

Today, Australia’s most popular choice of oyster is the Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata). The Sydney rock oysters’ popularity extends back to First Nations peoples of Australia, far longer in time than European modern oyster aquacultural practices. For example, Sydney rock oysters have been found extensively in middens such as those on the Richmond River (New South Wales, Australia) where 98% of all molluscan shells were Sydney rock oysters (Bailey 1975). An in-depth study of middens along the central coast of New South Wales, Australia, also provides evidence of the importance of the Sydney rock oyster (S. glomerata), the flat oyster (O. angasi) and 28 other molluscs for First Nations peoples of Australia (Stockton 1977). Further, in south-east Queensland, investigations into the Toulkerrie midden resulted in the identification of 6 species of molluscs, including the Sydney rock oyster, and 10 species of fish (Hall and Bowen 1989). Overall, these archaeological studies of middens have a wealth of knowledge regarding the type and quantities of shellfish harvested and the importance of shellfish to First Nations peoples of Australia (Table 1). Table 1 provides a snapshot of archaeological studies that have identified an enormous range of edible molluscs, shellfish and invertebrates consumed by First Nations peoples of Australia across thousands of years, including prominently the Sydney rock oyster.

Middens also had an important role in communicating to other clans who travelled as part of seasonal practices, through the record of recently eaten species, the available shellfish resources and other marine animals, ensuring overharvesting did not occur and sustaining shellfish availability (Rowland 1994; Korff 2021; Table 2). Further, middens were a site of spiritual and sacred places for teaching and learning for First Nations peoples containing human remains and artefacts. Middens were also places where the next generation were taught how to read the seasons, how to understand which organisms to harvest and what practices were need to help the environment remain in balance.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and First Nations knowledge

Archaeological research from middens has highlighted the importance of shellfish to First Nations peoples of Australia. Shellfish reefs were also essential in building colonial settlements. Shellfish are also important today with oyster farming alone in Australia forming a A$138 000 000 year⁻¹ industry (cf. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, see https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares). Despite the importance of shellfish to all Australians, very few studies have attempted to describe the TEK of shellfish aquaculture and coastal management of marine resources (Bowdler 1976; Attenbrow 2010). TEK is a subset of Indigenous knowledge and is defined as ‘a cumulative body of knowledge, practice and belief evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment’ (Berkes et al. 2000, p. 1252). TEK has advantages over Western Science because it can provide local, long-term information on species, including their spatial and temporal distributions, life-history stages, behaviours, trends and responses to disturbances (both natural and human-induced). TEK also gives insight into the customary tools, practices and management systems used to cultivate, harvest and sustain species (Berkes et al. 1995; Johannes et al. 2000; Dulvy and Polunin 2004; Haggan et al. 2007; Johannes and Neis 2007; Moreira Moura and Sant’Ana Diegues 2009). Combined, Indigenous knowledge and Western Science has been described as ‘two-eyed seeing’ (Bartlett et al. 2012). Two-eyed seeing, first described in Canada, is a metaphor for when a person is familiar with both Indigenous knowledge and Western knowledge systems (McAllister et al. 2020) and is more ably prepared to meet a challenge or task at hand.

The recognition of the importance and incorporation of TEK in shellfish aquaculture and coastal management is particularly well developed in Canada (Treseder and Krogman 1999; Mascarenhas 2007; Beckford et al. 2010; Tsuji et al. 2020; Chan et al. 2021), Aotearoa–New Zealand (Wehi et al. 2013; Paul-Burke et al. 2018; Whaanga et al. 2018; Maxwell et al. 2020) and to a lesser extent in Kenya, Peru, Colombia, and Panama (Zimmerer 2012; Ulloa 2017; Weber and Tascón 2020). In Australia; however, TEK of shellfish aquaculture and coastal management is under studied and under incorporated. The lack of understanding and incorporation of TEK in shellfish aquaculture and coastal management is surprising given that First Nations peoples of Australia are the world’s oldest living culture, encompassing knowledge over 65 000 years and inhabiting a land with 34 000 km of mainland coastline. Among other reasons discussed later in this article, the lack of the incorporation of TEK in shellfish aquaculture and coastal management in Australia maybe because Western Science privileges written knowledge, and Indigenous knowledge was and is predominantly oral and lived, communicated intergenerationally through cultural stories, songs and dance (Benjamin et al. 2020; Veth et al. 2020; Hale et al. 2021; Wiseman et al. 2021). There are also examples of stories on social media platforms, including even YouTube.

Although limited, there is some information available on the TEK surrounding cultivation, harvest and management of shellfish from the Quandamooka people in Moreton Bay, Southern Queensland, Australia (Ross 1996). Shellfish were described as a key resource to the Quandamooka oyster farmers who created artificial oyster reefs within the bay, identifying natural high points in the water as a location to place dead shells for oyster spat to recruit. These artificial reefs were found on the west coast of North Stradbroke Island and played a fundamental role in maintaining water quality in the region (Ross 1996; Thurstan et al. 2019). To ensure that oysters were available throughout the year and that overharvesting did not occur, oyster beds were continuously monitored and in the event of a depletion of oysters in one bed, oysters from another bed were transferred to replace oysters that had died. Prior to European colonisation, the coastline of Morton Bay on Quandamooka Country was abundantly populated with reef-forming shellfish species (O’Rourke 2013). Over the last 125 years, however, overharvesting, hyposalinity and disease have led to a severe decline of shellfish populations (Diggles 2013). In response to this, the Moreton Bay region is now a site of shellfish reef restoration. The incorporation of some TEK of shellfish culture, harvest and management from the Quandamooka people (e.g. which substrate to use), the appropriate selection of restoration sites, and how to best monitor and manage restored reefs into the future has improved the outcomes of shellfish reef restoration projects. However, the continual monitoring and management practices of shellfish restoration of First Nations peoples have not been as well incorporated. Instead Western management models of shellfish restoration, primarily being to ‘lock away’ and ‘keep people out’, have been used. Debates continue today about which type of management practices should be used in the future. In other areas such as fire management, co-led design of projects with the Quandamooka people and stakeholders is creating respect, recognition, relatedness and reciprocity, which is actively bringing Quandamooka culture to the forefront of restoration (Fischer et al. 2019).

In contrast to the lack of recognition of TEK on shellfish and coastal management of First Nations peoples of Australia, there is a long history of recognition for their highly developed fishing skills. Examples of fishing skills include strategies used to attract dolphins, which in turn would scare fish into the shallow waters to be speared or caught in nets (Hall 1984). Other examples of fishing include poison on bark to stun fish, the use of lines and hooks (Bowdler 1976) and fire to attract fish at night that were then speared or caught in a net. There was even the mimicking of seagulls to scare fish into traps (Mountford 1939). These fishing skills were admired by early European settlers and records indicate a vibrant industry trading in shellfish and fish between European settlers and First Nations peoples of Australia (Kerkhove 2013, 2018).

The importance of First Nations knowledge of shellfish in Aotearoa

The lack of incorporation of First Nations TEK in Australia contrasts with the considerable incorporation of shellfish and coastal management TEK of the First Nations peoples of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Over the last decade, the Māori TEK on shellfish and shellfish cultivation, information on historical abundance, contemporary ecology and conservation of species in Aotearoa has been incorporated into management of coastal ecosystems (Geary et al. 2019).

For example, First Nations Aotearoa knowledge and practices have been used to revitalise fisheries, such as scampi (Metanephrops challengeri) (Ogilvie et al. 2018) and Koura (freshwater crayfish, Paranephrops planifrons or P. zealandicus) (Kusabs et al. 2018). One example from Aotearoa demonstrates the transition from ‘how to catch more’ to ‘how to reduce the impact of fishing on the environment’ by understanding First Nation knowledges regarding scampi that is grounded in First Nations TEK frameworks (Ogilvie et al. 2018). Kusabs et al. (2015) and Kusabs and Quinn (2009) also highlighted effective methods for harvesting Koura, a freshwater crayfish that is endemic to Aotearoa. There are two species of Koura: P. planifrons found on the North Island and in the north-west of the South Island, and P. zealandicus that is distributed along the eastern side of the South Island and on Stewart Island. Kusabs et al. (2018) explored First Nations methods of harvesting and cultivating Koura and showed that the method of using whakaweku (artificial habitats made from fronds of bracken ferns) resulted in higher catch rates of Koura and lower catch rates of bycatch compared to other techniques.

Further, Paul-Burke et al. (2018) illustrated the power of First Nations knowledge as a foundation for improving, enhancing and safeguarding mussel (Perna canaliculus) populations in Ōhiwa harbour. The outcome of this has become an incorporation of local Iwi (tribe) and government partnering in the creation of a Mussel Management Action Plan (MMAP), which has been grounded in the principles of First Nations ecological knowledge practices and their cultural relationships with the area. This plan also established a monitoring regime and a restoration plan for the mussel population in the Ōhiwa harbour area. In 2016, before the implementation of this action plan there had been a significant decline in the abundance of mussels; however, since 2018, there has been a steady increase in the abundance of mussels based on First Nations ecological practices (Radio New Zealand 2021). Interestingly, in an interview, Paul-Burke et al. (2018) stated that because of First Nations knowledge and practices of the local Iwi (tribe), shellfish beds were located using cultural landmarks that had previously been missed. Another benefit of the use of First Nations practices is based on natural substrata rather than plastics used commonly used in Western aquaculture. The use of TEK has led to the revitalisation of culture and also both reduced plastic pollution and increased the densities of mussel populations (Paul-Burke et al. 2018).

Like First Nations peoples of Australia, the importance of shellfish for First Nations Māori is also found in cultural oral traditions including the ancestral sayings or whakataukī described by Wehi et al. (2013) and Whaanga et al. (2018). Whakataukī provides an example of shellfish in everyday life. Ancestral sayings were used to describe the many physical features of fish and shellfish and the location of these species and how these changed over time. Wehi et al. (2009, 2013) described both the complexity of oral traditions of whakataukī (ancestral sayings) and separated these from pūrākau and kōrero (myths and stories), karakia (prayer), and waiata (song) about shellfish, and these were incorporated into understanding time and culture. Wehi et al. (2009, 2013) also explained that the names of organisms can be misunderstood using Western labels. In contrast to Western names, the name of shellfish in the language of First Nations peoples of Aotearoa is related to culture and creates meaning about the way it moves, or the way it eats, what it eats, where it lives and what it looks like. Understanding the shellfish name provides much more information than the name used in the western world. For example, Ngā kai a Tamatāhei ki a koe! Ehara tēnā, kei tua o Kapenga e haere ana, translates to ‘See the food of Tamatāhei for you!’, to which the reply would be ‘Never! It has passed on the other side of Kapenga.’ Within these phrases are references to Tamatāhei, which is the name of a place that is famous for the Manuka trees, which have traditionally been used for tool making, and Kapenga, the name of a large flax swamp tree from which is the flax of the garment has come from. This illustrates three very important features: (1) locations of importance; (2) the resources associated with specific locations; and (3) the use of the resources from these locations.

The incorporation of First Nations Aotearoa TEK has led to a reinvigoration of practices with embedded cultural values, highlighting the in-depth knowledge held by First Nations knowledge holders. Moller (2009), Moller et al. (2009a) and Taiepa et al. (1997) described the value of First Nations TEK or mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) as extensive and in-depth. Moller (2009) and Moller et al. (2000, 2004, 2009b, 2009c) also highlighted the importance of TEK for the sustainability and cultural practices and improved health of ecosystems. Clapcott et al. (2018) too argued for the importance of First Nation practices to assess aquatic environments, a notion that has now been supported by other studies (Crow et al. 2018; Hikuroa et al. 2018; Hopkins 2018). Crow et al. (2018) stated that Māori TEK can better inform the assessment of natural waterways and TEK combined with Western technology can be of great benefit to new fisheries practices.

Differences between First Nations knowledge in Australia and Aotearoa

Reasons for the differences between the more developed incorporation of TEK on shellfish in Aotearoa compared to the lack of incorporation of TEK in Australia in part may reflect the importance of shellfish to Māori culture and perhaps also stem from the signing of the treaty of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840 and the dual absence of a treaty and voice for First Nations peoples of Australia. The Te Tiriti o Waitangi treaty demonstrated respect for the Māori people and the treaty symbolised and described the relationship between two cultures and two systems of law and morality. Te Tiriti affirmed and promised to uphold the mana (customary authority), tino rangatiratanga (leadership) and tikanga (law) of Māori, and commits to a relationship of equal partnership between Māori chiefs and the British Crown (Armstrong et al. 2019; Taylor et al. 2020).

The treaty cemented the intrinsic value of Māori culture in Aotearoa, which has been recognised by the New Zealand government for over 150 years. No such treaty or recognition in the constitution has occurred for First Nations peoples of Australia, although the Uluru Statement from the Heart recognises that ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands and possessed it under our own laws and customs’. The absence of rectification in treaty or through the constitution has led to fragmented government programs designed to assimilate and eliminate First Nations Australian culture and language, and with it, TEK of shellfish and shellfish management (Zuckermann et al. 2014). TEK was replaced with a colonial mindset of resource exploitation that has led Australia to losing 92% of Sydney Rock oyster (S. glomerata) and over 99% of flat oyster (O. angasi) reef systems (Gillies et al. 2018). Such cultural and environmental damage has only recently begun to be repaired. There are lessons to be learned from First Nations peoples of Australia. Concerted effort needs to be made to restore and recover the TEK of shellfish and coastal management that remains.

Recommendations and conclusions

Across the globe, many shellfish, shellfish reefs and coastal ecosystems are in ecological crisis (Beck et al. 2011). Continued anthropogenic pressure from habitat destruction and climate change continue to threaten shellfish and their habitats and create doubt about their resilience to persist (Parker et al. 2013; Scanes et al. 2020; Gibbs et al. 2021; Ross et al. 2023). If we are to appropriately restore shellfish resources including oysters, mussels, pipis, scallops (Pawley and Smith 2012; Howarth et al. 2015; Talman 2017) and abalone (Hobday et al. 2000; Shepherd et al. 2001; Jenkins 2004), and the valuable ecosystem services and aquaculture industries they provide, worth billions of dollars per annum (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2016, 2020), then we need to understand and incorporate TEK of First Nations peoples of Australia before both TEK and shellfish are lost. We have seen the benefits of incorporating traditional TEK for Koura and mussel fisheries in Aotearoa and the use of fire management by the Quandamookas. Moving forward, our strongest option to sustain and restore shellfish and shellfish reefs and ultimately estuarine ecosystem health in Australia is to combine Western Science management and decision-making grounded in TEK. This requires partnerships built on respect, recognition, relatedness and reciprocity where Traditional Owners are the co-designers or lead-designers and where intellectual property rights are understood and protected (Gibbs et al. 2023). First Nations peoples of Australia have a culture that is centred around caring and protecting Land, Sea and Sky Country. This culture has largely been pushed to the background by government and other organisations. TEK and First Nations management practices create an opportunity to strengthen and resurrect connections of First Nations peoples of Australia to Sea Country (Gibbs et al. 2023). For modern society to restore and secure the future, we need to understand the past of the oldest living culture in the world and incorporate it into our future.

Optimistically, there have been changes to legislation that recognise Indigenous knowledge and TEK. For example, amendments were made in 2010 to the New South Wales Fisheries Management Act 1994 (NSW FMA), which highlights the economic and social importance of traditional aquatic resources for First Nations peoples of Australia and their cultural and spiritual significance (Schnierer 2011). The amendments to the NSW FMA in 2010 established the New South Wales Aboriginal Fishing Advisory Council (NSW AFAC) to advise the Minister and New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) of culturally appropriate management protocols. However, it is clear that legislation alone will not lead to the development of culturally appropriate management practices. So far, legislation has made very little difference to the incorporation of Indigenous cultural practices into shellfish restoration projects, and more is required (Gibbs et al. 2023).

We are only just at the beginning of a journey in Australia to understand the importance of shellfish, and to document and incorporate TEK held by First Nations peoples of Australia, to sustain shellfish, restore shellfish reefs, and respect views of First Nations peoples of Australia in shellfish aquaculture and value their coastal and cultural management strategies. If we are to successfully combine Western Science and TEK to appropriately manage and restore our coasts, then we need to create bonds of trust with Nations Australians TEK, identify and understand their viewpoints on restoration, shellfish aquaculture and coastal management, and finally respect and protect their connections to Sea Country.