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people are using the lagoon. Because it‟s shallow later in the year, it makes them easier to
get, but they‟ve got to beat the birds. It‟s a race against [the birds], because the pelicans
will move in and if they move in that‟s the end of the story, you don‟t get any crayfish for
that year. There‟s enough [crayfish] there to seed for next year. But that seasonal activity, if
you could get enough information from people and they give you some idea of the water
levels, and also quality - if it‟s clear or if it‟s dirty. There‟s not many clear ones.
Marcus Barber: The crayfish we are talking about, do they like muddy water or clear water?
Philip Yam: Doesn‟t matter.
Viv Sinnamon: I haven‟t worked out the crayfish versus the prawns. There‟ll be some
places particularly in Kowanyama and some other places close to Crocodile where you‟ve
got more prawns than crayfish, and sometimes you get no crayfish at all, and sometimes
the mix will change, like you‟ll sometimes get a handful of prawns and a bunch of crayfish,
or other places, loads of big prawns. And it must be a water quality thing.
Marcus Barber: Does that change? Do the places change with prawns and crayfish?
Philip Yam: Yeah. Sometimes it happens like that.
Marcus Barber: So the animals can change?
Viv Sinnamon: Yes. But there are target ones where people know they will get a feed of
prawns, and there crayfish.
Philip Yam: Like this waterhole up near Horseshoe.
Marcus Barber: Not Horseshoe itself?
Philip Yam: No. Tiny little waterhole, just on the top. Maybe a kilometre out from there. And
we go there too for crayfish. Sometimes when we drag that, we get prawns in it. Prawns
and crayfish mixed.
Marcus Barber: You go there for crayfish, and there is sometimes prawns in there?
Philip Yam: Prawns stay in that water. Because you got little ones and all in there. But
when you go to T-Bone waterhole you don‟t get those prawns in there, it‟s all crayfish.
Louie Native: Redclaw.
The relationship between the crayfish and the pelicans is considered further in the next
section, which reviews comments about birds at Oriners. In general terms, aquatic animals
are a major focus of contemporary people‟s attention when hunting and fishing in the Oriners
area. This may be partly because aquatic species are easier to obtain there than in water
bodies closer to Kowanyama which receive higher hunting and fishing pressure, 22 but also
reflects the general orientation of life at the station after the cattle era. Working cattlemen
had little time for fishing, but nevertheless knew about important species available in the
area. The role of wet season flows in generating connectivity between major water bodies
and the subsequent effects on the distribution of aquatic species could be one important
avenue for future research at the station.
2.3.2 Birds
Birds were not a strong focus of the questioning and research for this project. However the
following comments represent some useful points in relation to birds in the area. This
includes the presence of different kinds of birds such as fish hawks and cranes (both of
22 KALNRMO has entered into a partnership with CSIRO to quantify indigenous aquatic resource use
by those resident at Kowanyama. This is motivated by a desire to demonstrate the economic value of
wild foods to the local economy and to develop a baseline for monitoring of harvesting. It is therefore
further evidence of the growing capacity of the people to undertake sophisticated management
activities, often in partnership.
Working Knowledge at Oriners Station, Cape York
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