Section 4: Discussion and
Recommendations
4.1 Discussion on main issues and findings
In the introduction we asked a number of questions relevant to the appropriateness of
Recfish’s Code of Practice (COP) and its successful implementation in relation to
communities of Indo-Chinese background. These included consideration of the following
factors:
â the relevance of the COP in terms of both content and implementation
â the community’s perception of environmental values and its definition of
recreational fishing
â the community’s comprehension of rules and regulations about recreational
fishing
â the need to foster ‘ownership’ of the COP in different communities of fishers
This Project has highlighted a number of issues which have a direct bearing on the
appropriateness of Recfish’s Code of Practice and the possibilities for the dissemination of
its information.
The concept of environmental issues Indo-Chinese bring with them to Australia
While Indo-Chinese migrants in Australia do not engage in fishing for survival (other than
commercial fishers for whom fishing is a livelihood), the marine environment is viewed as
a ‘free’ resource which is capable of replenishing itself. As one interviewee said, If you
can catch it, you can eat it. In this context, all fishing activities are naturally geared to the
catching of food. Further, the type of fishing activities engaged in are a reflection of the
food preferences of this group, which include the collection of seafood, undersize fish and
other intertidal organisms for use in cooking as well as for bait. While the recreational
fishing practices of the Indo-Chinese are not linked to survival in Australia, they are
culturally entrenched and continue to persist. There is consequently a conceptual difficulty
in separating what practices are acceptable and what are not in the Australian context and
as a result the concept that certain practices are illegal have little legitimacy in this
community.
While many in the community do know that certain fishing practices are illegal under
Fisheries rules and regulations there is generally little comprehension, and therefore little
acceptance, of why this is so. This together with the fact that the benefits of illegal fishing
practices are seen as outweighing the risks involved result in many of these practices
persisting.
There is consequently a need for information about rules and regulations surrounding
recreational fishing broadening to include education as to why Fisheries are managed the
way they are. This includes looking at the marine environment as an eco-system which
needs protection and comparisons with South East Asia to drive home the message of
Australia’s unique and fragile marine environment.
The implications of culture and language: diversity and inclusivity
In addition to the conceptual clash of cultures ie. the way the environment is perceived,
there are other barriers to a collective ‘ownership’ and acceptance of the principles and
practices in the Code of Practice. These include the following:
i. Communication
Lack of English proficiency in particular, and illiteracy in the vernacular are widespread in
the Indo-Chinese community. These language barriers pose significant impediments to the
community’s accessing and absorbing information circulating in the wider community. This
has implications for the content, format and style of information that is appropriate.
Firstly, written and spoken means of communication have to be distinguished. Secondly,
the use of local phrases as opposed to professional jargon has to be considered; Thirdly,
material has to be translated according to its correct contextual meaning. Fourthly, format
and presentation of material ideally need to be kept simple by avoiding too much
information provided at any one time, be practical by relating to the community’s
lifestyle, needs and values, and rely on graphics as an explanatory tool. Finally, face-toface
communication may be most effective in communicating information.
ii. Participation and Consultation
Due to cultural and language barriers, communities such as the Indo-Chinese are often
excluded from mainstream involvement in policy making. This has the unfortunate effect of
further marginalising these communities, thus entrenching cultural and language divisions.
These communities - despite common misconceptions - do wish to participate and feel
involved in the wider community22.
This process however, involves establishing good links with community organisations
and leaders, developing trust and respect as the basis for meaningful dialogue, and
enabling participation on a variety of different levels including, local community projects,
community based consultations and representation on advisory boards and committees.
It should be borne in mind however, that each community has its own unique values,
networks and structures and that these need to be acknowledged for
effective communication. For communities such as the Indo-Chinese, where the ‘cultural
distance’ from the mainstream - in terms of language, culture, education and
lifestyle - is fairly substantial, the time and process needed to establish trust and good
communication precludes any short term approach. A longer term perspective however,
which encourages an inclusive approach, is conducive to the development of shared
values around the marine environment.
iii. Community Relations
Recreational fishing on a mass scale, and in particular, the practices of certain groups of
migrants to Australia have aroused substantially strong feelings in the wider community
amongst those concerned with the survival and viability of the marine environment. While
this view is completely understandable, one of the difficulties surrounding this issue is that
it has tapped into the racist sentiments amongst some in the wider community. This has
had the unfortunate result of clouding both the fact that damaging practices, whilst
particularly widespread in certain communities, are by no means unique to them, and, that
‘scapegoating’ a particular community is not going to go very far in assisting to change or
modify recreational fishing practices amongst this group. It should also be pointed out that
the findings of this Project, and the Victorian research amongst Vietnamese recreational
fishers, indicates considerable support for increased policing and heavier penalties to
drive home the point that the risks of certain activities do not outweigh the benefits - the
reverse of the situation as it is perceived today.
More serious enforcement is seen by the community as a complementary strategy to
increased and more meaningful education as a necessary part of encouraging attitudinal
change.
Individuals have expressed the view that they see little point at the moment, in modifying
their behaviour in view of how widespread these practices are in the community and the
fact that it is possible most of the time to get away with them.
Further, advertising and education campaigns can use the reality of ‘racism’ and the
concept of ‘shame’ - both factors experienced by communities of Indo-Chinese origin - as
messages to encourage the community to replace damaging recreational fishing practices
with legitimate ones in the interests of good community relations and responsible
Australian citizenship.
The perception of who and what is a ‘recreational’ fisher in the Indo-Chinese
community
The group consultations for this project were conducted mainly with ‘older’ groups of
Vietnamese and Indo-Chinese men and women, that is those 45 years and older, and with
a number of recreational fishers in WA, who were male and comprised a range of ages.
Other data from Victoria and WA however, tells us that recreational fishers are most likely
to be male and between the ages of 20 - 44. Not surprisingly, some of the information
gained from these different groups reveal differences in perceptions of fishing activities in
the community and consequent strategies for dealing with them. There are also
differences expressed by recreational fishers themselves, others in the community and
community workers speaking on behalf of their community. It is therefore useful, to see
these different sources of information as complementary and providing a total picture
rather than being viewed in isolation. There are also some differences in fishing practices
across States in this community that, in addition to common features, require a targeted
approach in dealing with them.
The community consultations undertaken for this project present a picture of a dichotomy
in the community between regular fishers who consistently engage in illegal activities with
little regard for the environment, and those who are ‘innocent’, that is occasional visitors to
the coast who are unaware of rules and regulations and are therefore surprised when
caught by Fisheries infringement officers. In reality however, and piecing together all the
available information, the picture is more complex and more varied than this dichotomy
suggests.
It appears that the community has a small percentage of poachers who engage in illicit
activity for profit and that this is a highly organised activity that demands very specific
strategies to combat it; that there are regular fishers who are aware of the existence of
rules and regulations and who indulge in covert activities to avoid detection; that there are
occasional fishers, some of whom are aware that certain activities are illegal, but who
believe the benefits outweigh the risks involved; and that there are other members of the
community who are genuinely not aware of the rules and regulations around fishing. There
appears also to be a sizeable percentage of the community, who while they may have a
vague awareness of what is illegal, lack specific information on rules and regulations as
well as any insight into the damaging impact of their individual actions on the environment.
These distinctions suggest that a range of different strategies are required to change
many of the traditional fishing practices that persist at different levels in this community.
What has emerged consistently during consultations has been that education and
information must address the development of a conservation ethic in this community, by
focusing on the nature of the marine environment in Australia and comparisons with
that of South East Asian countries. Rules and regulations will lack legitimacy until the
community understands the reasons behind them. The other finding to emerge, is that
there is support amongst the community themselves (more so than expressed by
community representatives) for enforcement to be stepped up as the other side of the
coin of a targeted education and advertising campaign.
The reasons given for this, are that individuals persist with activities they know are
damaging to the environment because their individual activities are seen as insignificant in
the context of how widespread the practices are in the community as a whole; and that this
is so, because the risks of being caught and the penalties imposed are not greater than
the benefits of continuing with the activities. The implication is that education and
information will not succeed if not followed up by sufficient penalties.
The question of what constitutes ‘recreational’ fishing practices in the Vietnamese and
Indo-Chinese community is also relevant to the type of education provided. Available
evidence suggests that foraging and collecting of shellfish and other intertidal organisms
are the recreational activities mostly practiced by this community. Angling and netting are
also practiced with consequent implications for the size and numbers of fish caught, the
survival of species and the impact of overfishing and overcollecting on the marine
ecosystem as a whole.
It has been suggested that foraging and collecting activities need to have a separate focus
from angling activities because they are so widely practiced in this community. The
challenge of education and local project work is to assist the community to replace
damaging and illegal practices with more acceptable recreational fishing practices that
they can still enjoy.
The challenge for Recfish - as the peak lobby group representing Australia’s Recreational
and Sport Fishers - is how to engage its own constituency in working together with other
relevant stakeholders towards assisting members of Indo-Chinese communities to replace
damaging and illegal fishing practices with legitimate recreational ones. Firstly, local
fishing clubs who are members of Recfish can educate their own membership on the
linguistic and cultural barriers experienced by members of Australia’s Indo-Chinese
communities, including their lack of conceptual familiarity with an appropriate
environmental and conservation ethic. Secondly, members of local fishing clubs can begin
a process of working together with local Indo-Chinese communities to educate and assist
them to adopt enjoyable and legal recreational practices and to understand the reasons
why this is important.
4.2 The Relevance of the Code of Practice to the Indo-
Chinese in Australia
The problem with the Code of Practice as it currently exists is that it takes as its
starting point certain assumptions that have little relevance to the lifestyle or
values of the Indo-Chinese community. It is a document that in its current form is
limited to the angling activities of organised groups of fishers in the community.
While the overriding principles of the Code of Practice are basically sound, there
are aspects of the message that need to be ‘sold’ to the Indo-Chinese community
as well as aspects of the message that have little cultural translation. Currently,
the document is a very broad one and there are specific circumstances in each
State as well as in different communities that are not covered.
As far as the Vietnamese and other Indo-Chinese communities are concerned
there are essentially two major areas of information that are currently missing
from a Code of Practice that would have relevance to their situation. The one area
deals with the recreational practices of the Vietnamese and Indo-Chinese
communities, while the other, deals with their cultural perceptions of the resource
ie. the marine environment itself.
As the Code of Practice currently stands the following sections have little
relevance to the fishing practices or general lifestyle of those of Indo-Chinese
background. These include:
Section 5: We Use Established Roads and Tracks
Wherever Possible
Section 6: We take Care When Boating & Anchoring to
Avoid Damaging Sensitive Areas
Section 10: We Practice Courtesy Toward All Who Use
Inland And Coastal Waters
Section 11: We obtain Permission From Landholders And
Traditional Owners Before Entering Land
Sections 2 & 7: Reporting of Illegal Fishing Activities and
Environmental Damage and Pollution to the
Relevant Authorities
The last two sections would be practically impossible given the community’s lack
of English proficiency and confidence in negotiating the system. Specific
instructions to call an information line where there is someone who speaks the
relevant language would be the only way to begin to make these two sections
practicable.
Regarding the recreational fishing practices of this community, it is important to
target the actual practices that are most widespread, namely the collection and
foraging of shellfish and other intertidal organisms for bait, food, for sale, or for
‘hobby collection’. This does not preclude dealing with angling or netting which
are also commonly practiced, but rather adding sections that focus on intertidal
and marine protected areas. This information is new information for the
community.
The second area that needs to be incorporated into a Code of Practice is to
address the entrenched cultural practices of this community and the notion that
the ‘resource replenishes itself’. One of the issues that has emerged during this
project is that there is little acceptance of the rules and regulations around
recreational fishing or any real understanding of the rationale for them. Sound
principles for responsible recreational fishing need to address the fragility of the
marine environment in Australia and provide comparisons with that of the Asia
Pacific Basin. The community needs to be given a sound explanation for fisheries
regulations and what it means to be a ‘responsible Australian citizen’. The
emphasis needs to shift therefore to include information about the ecosystem and
the importance of developing a conservation ethic by comparing the marine
environment in Australia with that of the region where people have migrated from.
It would also be useful to include a section which addresses the recreational
practices that the community can legitimately engage in and provide information
to facilitate this.
4.3 The Most Appropriate Methods for Disseminating the
Code of Practice
In addition to addressing the content of the Code of Practice, there is the question
of its dissemination and how to best bring the information, and in what format, to
the community.
The use of a comprehensive media campaign using ethnic radio, ethnic
newspapers and community newsletters is one approach to spreading a message
to the general community. But this approach is not likely to result in any practical
change unless it is complemented by other strategies such as, presenting the
information in a variety of different settings, preferably working with community
liaison workers or volunteers and community organisations. These settings could
include information seminars or presentations, recreational site visits or focus
groups run by community members themselves. The document is also more likely
to have legitimacy if there is a sense of ownership of it by the communities
concerned.
Reply With Quote
