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Indigenous
Aboriginal Australian Fishing
60,000+ years of Aboriginal fishing traditions - including the world's oldest fish traps at Brewarrina, still functional after 40,000 years.
Era: Ancient Region: Australia
📖 Overview
Aboriginal Australians developed sophisticated aquaculture and fishing systems tens of thousands of years before European contact. The Brewarrina fish traps in New South Wales - a network of stone weirs channeling Darling River water - are among the oldest human-made structures on Earth, still functional and estimated at 40,000 years old. Coastal fishing used bark canoes, shell fishhooks, and cooperative techniques. Sacred sites and traditional knowledge inform modern Indigenous fishing rights and co-management.