Seeing Change: A photographic story from Abrolhos fishers

Temporary Exhibition | Updated 1 decade ago

Image courtesy Leonie Noble
Island reflection: Abrolhos Islands
Photograph by Leonie Noble

A fishing community’s experience of environment and social change seen through the camera lens.

The Houtman Abrolhos Islands are better known as the ‘Abrolhos’. They are a group of over 120 islands about 60  kilometres off the coast of Geraldton, Western Australia. They are part of the most southerly located coral reef in the Indian Ocean which is also one of the highest latitude coral reefs in the world.

The rock lobster fishery is the main fishery at the Abrolhos and started at the islands in the 1880s. Many of the families have fished at the Abrolhos for generations. Fishers have a very strong sense of identity with the industry and a strong sense of place at the Abrolhos. This exhibition focuses on the many environmental and social changes that have occurred over the last five to ten years in the rock lobster industry and the island communities.