2015-11-10 - P&O Agenda - Item 7, Attach 1 - Historical Ecology of the Noosa Estuary Fisheries

Fish frequently mentioned in the archival records for the Noosa Estuary include
whiting, sea bream, flathead, jewfish, mullet, tailor and prawn. Many of these
common names (e.g., bream, whiting, flathead, prawn) are used to refer to two or
more closely related species, which were rarely distinguished in the historical
records. Oysters (again, rarely distinguished to species but most likely to be rock
oyster, Saccostrea glomerata (Smith 1981)) were mentioned in earlier
documents, and occasional sightings or catches of megafauna (e.g., sharks,
groper, sawfish) were also recorded. Locations mentioned with regards to fish
catches included Lake Cootharaba, Lake Weyba, Munna Point, Tewantin, Gympie
Terrace, Noosa Heads, the river mouth and North Shore. Catches of snapper and
Spanish mackerel on the outside reefs were also occasionally reported.

Commercial fisheries

Prior to European settlement, archaeological evidence and traditional knowledge
document the use of fish and shellfish resources by the indigenous population of
the region, the Kabi Kabi Traditional Owners. Fish were caught by spearing and
netting, and oysters by diving (Tewantin State School project 1957). Fishing
seasons were linked to seasonal cycles, for example, the flowering of particular
plant species (Kabi Kabi Traditional Owners, pers. comm.). Middens along the
Cooloola coast contain shellfish remains, mainly pipi shells (Donax deltoides)
(McNiven 1984), while earlier records hint at the existence of several significant
middens along the Noosa River which contained large numbers of oyster shells
(The Brisbane Courier, 5 Jul 1877; Monks 2000). When the settlers arrived in
Queensland in the early 1800s, indigenous people used their knowledge of
coastal fisheries to catch, trade and sell fish, crustaceans and shellfish to the
growing population, making them the first commercial fishers (Kerkhove 2013).


Trading and selling of fish and oysters by indigenous inhabitants to the Noosa
settlers certainly occurred, and by the 1870s settlers were also harvesting
oysters to sell locally and further afield (Gympie Times, 25 Feb 1871) as they
took advantage of the swelling population that had settled in the Gympie region
as a result of the gold rush (Adams 2004). The timber trade of the 1870s
provided regular and reliable transport to Brisbane for the first time, and it was


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