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RST Apology to Tasmanian Aboriginal people 2021.

A history of the Tasmanian scallop industry, diagnosing problems of management

Papers & Reports

Summary

Three distinct phases occur in the history of management of the Tasmanian scallop industry, corresponding with a shift in the industry’s locus, from D’Entrecasteaux Channel to the East Coast, and thence to Bass Strait. Each shift was prompted by crisis in the industry, and though the result on each occasion was to dramatically increase the scale of the industry, the record has been one of ad hoc implementation of ultimately ineffective strategies. Though there are some local factors accounting for this, most are deep-seated and resistant to easy resolution – they have to do with the biology of the scallop, with its status as a common property resource, and with the ongoing failure to develop theoretical models of fisheries management appropriate to the scallop industry. It seems unlikely that the industry’s management problems can be easily and quickly solved.

 

Keywords:

Royal Society of Tasmania, RST, Van Diemens Land, natural history, science, ecology, taxonomy, botany, zoology, geology, geography, papers & proceedings, Australia, UTAS Library

Acknowledgement of Country

The Royal Society of Tasmania acknowledges, with deep respect, the traditional owners of this land, and the ongoing custodianship of the Aboriginal people of Tasmania. The Society pays respect to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge that Tasmanian Aboriginal Peoples have survived severe and unjust impacts resulting from invasion and dispossession of their Country. As an institution dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, the Royal Society of Tasmania recognises Aboriginal cultural knowledge and practices and seeks to respect and honour these traditions and the deep understanding they represent.

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On 15 February 2021, the Royal Society of Tasmania offered a formal Apology to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.