Public lecture to explore how commercial fishers’ knowledge of WA oceans can inform science

Albany commercial fishers have shared their insights into the south coast and what lies beneath in a study aiming to capture the deep knowledge within the industry.

Some of the findings of “Fishing for Knowledge: Exploring commercial fishers’ knowledge of marine environments in WA” will be shared at a public lecture at the University of WA Albany Campus on July 27, delivered by marine scientist Rob Hoschke.

The Perth-based UWA PhD student has spent the past two years in a research team speaking with 34 commercial fishers from Esperance to Karratha to better understand their intimate knowledge of the ocean and how it can be used to ensure ocean sustainability.

Mr Hoschke’s ongoing research explores how fishers’ lived experience and observations can fill gaps in scientific knowledge, with little known about the extent of their diverse understanding of the WA coast.

“We just wanted to try and understand a bit more about what professional fishers know about marine environments in WA and whether this knowledge might be useful alongside scientific knowledge to inform ocean management,” he said.

Mr Hoschke said the project has uncovered many ecological topics that have not been formally studied by scientists, but were well understood among fishers.

“We were really excited about the diversity of knowledge which extended far beyond what these fishers are catching,” he said.

“We documented knowledge on 31 different ocean topics and these ranged from things like habitat, species migration, distribution changes over time and drivers of catch.

“It was also really interesting understanding a bit more about how fishermen get their knowledge.

“A lot of them have lots of fishing in the family, so there is intergenerational knowledge.

“Others have a lot of interaction with science and then some are also just really experimental and sort of learnt everything from themselves.”

The lecture starts at 5.30pm on July 27 at the UWA Albany Campus function room.

To register call 9842 0850 or go to uwa-albany@uwa.edu.au.