Fishing
We, the Maningrida homelands fishermen, are all saltwater people. We have caught fish to sustain ourselves forever, using the knowledge our ancestors have cultivated over thousands of years.
We harvest fish in the pristine waters on our ancestral country. We are proud to be working directly on our sea country around Maningrida, catching fish sustainably and looking after our country.
As a social enterprise, our goal is to create a positive impact on our community, both in Maningrida and on the homelands. We do this by creating a sustainable commercial enterprise through which we can achieve economic self-determination through culturally valued practices.
We started fishing with Aboriginal Coastal Licences in late 2016 with gillnets from the beach, catching mullet, queenfish and salmon sold weekly in Maningrida and beyond. We also acquired a boat and are leasing a small barramundi licence allowing us to sell barramundi and threadfin salmon. We have been supported by the Community Development Programme and NT Fisheries.
Our seafood is popular when it is sold in our community and our enterprise helps us promote health and wellbeing. We are proud to be providing our families and community members with fresh, healthy food, which is quite rare in remote communities.
We are proud of our produce and look forward to giving you a taste of the native food that we’ve enjoyed for generations. We ship all over Australia, so please contact us for a quote for the delivery of fish for your business.
One day in 2015, I was sitting on the cliff drinking tea on my land at Nardilmok, watching a big mob of mullet go by, and I thought to myself ‘I’ve got to go find out what we can do to start something with all this seafood.’
I started just me and a 25-metre fishing net. I made an esky from a big tub and some ice and just went around the town selling it myself.
Don Wilton, Traditional Owner