Aquaculture in Indigenous Australia: History, Innovation, and Revival
Long before European colonisation, Indigenous peoples across Australia developed complex aquaculture systems that sustained communities for tens of thousands of years.
In Victoria, the most famous example is the Budj Bim aquaculture system of the Gunditjmara, a vast network of stone channels and ponds used to trap and farm eels.
Far from being “hunter-gatherers” alone, Indigenous Australians engineered landscapes, managed aquatic ecosystems, and embedded aquaculture within cultural law, spirituality, and ceremony (Pascoe, 2014; McNiven & Bell, 2010).
Colonisation disrupted these practices, dismantling ancient food systems and erasing Indigenous authority over waterways. Today, Traditional Owners are reviving this knowledge in partnership with science, restoring both ecosystems and cultural heritage.
Deep History of Indigenous Aquaculture
National Context
Across Australia, Indigenous aquaculture reflected diverse environments and regional adaptation (Gammage, 2011; McNiven, 2015):
Northern Australia: Stone and brush weirs built in tidal estuaries and rivers to catch mullet, barramundi, and shellfish (Allen, 1972).
Murray-Darling Basin: Woven brush weirs and nets directed fish into traps during seasonal floods (Balme, 2017).
Coastal regions: Shell middens, fish traps, and oyster reefs reveal large-scale harvesting and sustainable management of marine life (Allen, 1996).
Archaeological evidence indicates that Australian aquaculture dates back over 10,000 years, ranking among the oldest known systems in the world (McNiven & Bell, 2010).
Victoria — Budj Bim and Beyond
The Budj Bim System (Gunditjmara Country)
The Gunditjmara people engineered an intricate aquaculture system across the basalt lava plains of south-west Victoria.
Using volcanic rock, they constructed channels, weirs, and holding ponds to trap and farm kooyang (short-finned eel, Anguilla australis).
Covering more than 100 square kilometres, Budj Bim is among the world’s largest and oldest aquaculture enterprises (UNESCO, 2019; McNiven & Bell, 2010).
Eels were smoked and preserved for trade with neighbouring nations, forming the basis of complex economic networks across Victoria (Gerritsen, 1994).
Global Significance
In 2019, Budj Bim was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its outstanding testimony to Indigenous innovation and sustainable engineering.
It demonstrates that Indigenous peoples in Australia were landscape architects and agriculturalists, not merely foragers (UNESCO, 2019; Pascoe, 2014).
Wadawurrung Aquaculture Traditions
The Wadawurrung people, whose Country includes Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, Ballarat, and the Barwon and Moorabool Rivers, practised aquaculture that linked rivers, wetlands, and coastal zones (Clark, 1990; Wadawurrung TOAC, 2022).
Fish Traps and Weirs
Along the Barwon River (Parwan) and Moorabool, Wadawurrung families built brush and stone traps to direct fish such as bream, eels, and blackfish into pools.
Traps were seasonally rebuilt, showing precise knowledge of flow dynamics and seasonal ecology.
Custodianship of particular waterholes was inherited, reflecting the deep integration of kinship and aquaculture law (Wadawurrung TOAC, 2022).
Eel Harvesting and Wetlands
Wetlands near Lake Connewarre and Reedy Lake were prime eel-harvesting grounds, maintained through controlled burning and water observation.
Smaller-scale systems mirrored Gunditjmara techniques, demonstrating regional adaptation and ecological sophistication (Gammage, 2011).
Cultural Significance
Fishing and eel harvesting were governed by tanderrum ceremonies, defining rights of access to waterways.
Celestial markers — such as the appearance of certain stars — indicated the timing of eel migration.
Totemic systems prevented overharvesting by linking species to spiritual and ecological responsibilities (Pascoe, 2014).
Archaeological Evidence
Shell middens along Corio Bay and the Barwon estuary contain fish, shellfish, and eel remains, confirming large-scale aquatic food use.
Combined with scarred trees and canoe remnants, they illustrate how Wadawurrung aquaculture was part of a broader sustainable land–water management system (Clark, 1990; Broome, 2005).
Cultural and Ecological Dimensions
Totemic and Spiritual Ties
Aquaculture was both spiritual practice and ecological management:
Only authorised clans could harvest fish or eels at certain times.
Harvests followed seasonal calendars linked to stars and flowering cycles.
Overharvesting was taboo, seen as a violation of both Law (Lore) and the balance of nature (Rose, 1996).
Sustainability and Science
Modern ecological research validates the sustainability of Indigenous aquaculture:
Fish traps and eel channels enhanced wetland biodiversity.
They stabilised water flow, improved nutrient cycling, and buffered ecosystems against drought (McNiven & Bell, 2010).
These systems combined engineering, ecology, and spirituality, forming one of the earliest models of sustainable aquaculture in human history.
Impacts of Colonisation
Dispossession and Disruption
From the 1830s onward, Gunditjmara and Wadawurrung aquaculture sites were seized under squatter occupation (Broome, 2005).
Colonists drained wetlands and filled eel channels for grazing and farming.
Fishing and eel harvesting were restricted under European law, severing communities from ancestral food systems (Critchett, 1990).
Ecological Consequences
Wetland destruction caused the collapse of eel and fish populations.
Damming and pollution disrupted river connectivity and migration routes.
Introduced species such as carp altered aquatic ecosystems (Gammage, 2011).
Revival and Restoration
Cultural Revival
Gunditjmara leadership: The Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation manages Budj Bim, integrating aquaculture revival with cultural education and sustainable tourism (UNESCO, 2019; GMTOAC, 2023).
Wadawurrung leadership: The Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation works to protect the Lake Connewarre wetlands and Barwon estuary, reviving eel-harvesting traditions and teaching youth cultural science (Wadawurrung TOAC, 2022).
Scientific Partnerships
Archaeological studies confirm eel farming at Budj Bim for at least 6,600 years (McNiven & Bell, 2010).
Ecological monitoring of eel migration and wetland restoration demonstrates ecosystem recovery when Indigenous management resumes (Atkinson, 2002; McNiven, 2015).
Climate adaptation programs use Indigenous aquaculture models to strengthen resilience to drought and water scarcity (CSIRO, 2020).
Global Analogies
Indigenous Australian aquaculture resonates with ancient systems worldwide:
Polynesia: Hawaiian fishponds (loko i‘a) sustained reef fisheries for centuries.
North America: Pacific Northwest nations built clam gardens and salmon weirs.
Africa: Stone fish traps in Zimbabwe and South Africa show convergent innovation (Allen, 1996).
These comparisons highlight how Indigenous Australians were part of a global network of traditional aquatic engineers, with the Budj Bim system among the oldest continuous examples.
Conclusion
Aquaculture in Indigenous Victoria and across Australia reveals a deep history of innovation, sustainability, and cultural law.
From Gunditjmara eel farms at Budj Bim to Wadawurrung fish traps on the Barwon, Indigenous peoples designed systems that nourished both ecosystems and communities.
Colonisation disrupted these ancient water economies, but their revival today reaffirms the living connection between people, water, and Country.
Aquaculture is more than food production — it is a story of belonging, technology, and resilience.
As Victoria progresses through truth-telling and treaty, the restoration of these ancient systems reminds us that Indigenous Australians were — and remain — among the world’s first engineers and custodians of water.
References
Allen, H. (1972). Fish Traps in Australia: Environmental Adaptation and Cultural Continuity. Archaeology and Physical Anthropology in Oceania, 7(2), pp. 86–99.
Allen, H. (1996). Fish Traps and Stone Structures in the Southwest Pacific. Antiquity, 70(270), pp. 629–638.
Atkinson, W. (2002). Not One Iota: The Yorta Yorta Struggle for Land Justice. Melbourne: Aboriginal Studies Press.
Balme, J. (2017). Aboriginal Fisheries and Wetland Management in Southeastern Australia. Australian Archaeology, 83(2), pp. 168–182.
Broome, R. (2005). Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Clark, I. D. (1990). Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An Historical Atlas of Western and Central Victoria, 1800–1900. Melbourne: Monash Publications in Geography.
Critchett, J. (1990). A Distant Field of Murder: Western District Frontiers, 1834–1848. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
CSIRO. (2020). Indigenous Water Management and Climate Adaptation. Canberra: CSIRO Publishing.
Gammage, B. (2011). The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Gerritsen, R. (1994). The Economic Basis of Aboriginal Society in South Eastern Australia. Oxford: Tempus.
GMTOAC. (2023). Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Projects. Hamilton: Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.
McNiven, I. (2015). The Archaeology of Maritime Society in Southeastern Australia. Journal of Maritime Archaeology, 10(3), pp. 243–265.
McNiven, I. & Bell, D. (2010). Fishers and Farmers: Historicising Aboriginal Aquaculture and Agriculture in Victoria. Aboriginal History, 34, pp. 131–157.
Pascoe, B. (2014). Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and the Birth of Agriculture. Broome: Magabala Books.
Rose, D. B. (1996). Nourishing Terrains: Australian Aboriginal Views of Landscape and Wilderness. Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission.
UNESCO. (2019). Budj Bim Cultural Landscape World Heritage Listing. Paris: UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC). (2022). Caring for Wadawurrung Country: Waterways and Wetlands. Geelong: WTOAC.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 16/09/2025
Magic Lands Alliance
Sharing the truth of Indigenous and colonial history through film, education, land and community.
Copyright of MLA – 2025
Magic Lands Alliance acknowledge the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of communities.