Traditional Owners of Buckingham Bay, NT, are limiting the amount of commercial barramundi activity in their intertidal waters and ending the waiver allowing commercial fisheries to operate without formal agreement.

The limit was imposed Wednesday after months of trying to have concerns about sustainability addressed, the Northern Land Council said.

The Council originally received a letter in March from the Member for Mulka, Yingiya Mark Guyula, relaying "significant fisheries management concerns" on behalf of families in the Buckingham Bay area of the East Arnhem region.

The MP relayed that Yolngu families are worried about the amounts of fish that are being caught and wasted, and the vulnerable marine life that get caught in the gillnets.

The decision to limit commercial barramundi activity in the Bay area and to end the waiver on formal agreements came "in response to inaction from the NT Government" in addressing Traditional Owner concerns relating to gillnetting and sustainable fishing practices in the region.

Commercial barramundi fishing operators will no longer be able to fish the intertidal waters of Buckingham Bay and agreements relating to barramundi fishing will not be processed until Traditional Owners are satisfied their concerns have been addressed by the Territory government, the Council said on Wednesday.

The change in access to the commercial barramundi fishery will not affect access for commercial fishing operators from other fisheries.

The Northern Land Council said it has been calling on the Territory government "for years" to actively listen to Traditional Owner concerns relating to fisheries management.

The Council said that the 2022 amendment to the NT Fisheries Act 1988 ostensibly to reflect the rights and interests that Aboriginal people hold in relation to the fishing industry is "now perceived to have been symbolic" with the government "giving limited opportunities for Aboriginal people to provide input into fisheries management and decision-making practices where it concerns their sea country".

Despite assurances from the government that fish stocks are sustainable at a broad level, Traditional Owners are "deeply concerned" about the impacts of gillnetting and a decline in barramundi fish stocks in localised remote locations.

The NLC noted that there is currently no quota for the commercial barramundi fishery.

"The indiscriminate nature of gillnetting means that all types of fish are caught in large numbers, as well as other marine life including turtles, dugongs and dolphins, with the unwanted 'bycatch' being disposed of at sea," the Council said.

"Traditional Owners have witnessed concerning amounts of bycatch washing up on their coastlines, attracting crocodile activity and creating safety concerns for communities."

Northern Land Council chairman Dr Samuel Bush Blanasi said Traditional Owners "have been sustainably managing the seas for tens of thousands of years".

"These resources need to be managed in the right way so we can all benefit. Traditional Owners have been raising concerns for a long time, but the NT Government doesn't want to listen," he said.

"We want to work together, but the Government needs to demonstrate they are serious in engaging with, and listening to Aboriginal people."

Dr Bush-Blanasi said he hopes the changed access arrangement in Buckingham Bay will act as a wakeup call to the Territory government, and "a catalyst to include Aboriginal people in fisheries management decisions that affect their land".

Since the 2008 Blue Mud Bay decision, Traditional Owners have been afforded legal rights to the intertidal zone of Aboriginal land. In the 15 years since, they have allowed access to their waters through a series of waivers, allowing commercial operators to access areas without formal agreements or regulated compensation for the landowners.

While the Traditional Owners of Buckingham Bay said they appreciate that the fisheries management framework

impedes the industry from addressing these concerns directly, cultural responsibility to manage Country takes precedence to ensure resource sustainability - forcing their hand.

Traditional Owner Guyulen/Helen Guyula said: "We want our environment to be safe because we need the food. We hunt sustainably, we hunt according to the seasons."

"We don't like current commercial practice - they throw the little ones or the ones they don't want back. We've found heaps of turtle, dolphin, crocodile and small barramundi washed up on the beach. Why get them all and then throw them away?" she said.

Dr Bush-Blanasi said that with the change of access arrangements in Buckingham Bay, Traditional Owners are exerting rights that "have been compromised since the Blue Mud Bay Decision".

"Their decision is in line with Australian law and cultural responsibilities, and will give the Country time to heal from years of commercial impact", said Dr Bush-Blanasi.

"It's important that people understand this change in access isn't permanent. We want the NT Government to come to the table and address the concerns of Traditional Owners. If TOs can see that their interests are being respected, they will be able to respect other interests in return", said Dr Bush-Blanasi.

Traditional owners have advised there are no concerns with other fishing sectors within the Buckingham Bay area.

Recreational fishing access in Buckingham Bay will continue. Permits will now be processed through a Traditional Owner delegate permit system rather than automatic issue. Access for the guided fishing industry remains the same.

NT Minister for Agribusiness and Fisheries Paul Kirby told National Indigenous Times that the government "values and respects the rights and decisions of Aboriginal landowners" and "will continue to work with the Northern Land Council and Traditional Owners to address the concerns raised, to work towards formal section 19 agreements and to complete the review of the Barramundi Fishery".

"The Barramundi fishery, which is highly sustainable, is currently undergoing a comprehensive review by the Barramundi Fishery Management Advisory Committee and a contemporary fishery harvest strategy has been developed which proactively manages risk to target, byproduct and bycatch species," he said.

"We are passionate about facilitating on country economic participation opportunities for Aboriginal Territorians, and have invested $10 million into the establishment of the Aboriginal Sea Company that will also operate in this space. Our government has also funded a new fisheries compliance unit that will be operational by the end of the year to work closely with marine rangers to ensure fishing activity is being monitored.We are conscious of the impact on the commercial barramundi fishing industry due to the end of the waiver allowing commercial fishers to operate without formal agreement, and will work closely with the industry body and operators to seek a resolution."