[Previous entry: "AUSTRALIAN SPEAR FISHING in 1960's ..... two pictures"] [Next entry: "AUSTRALIAN ABALONE DIVING (1968) .... magazine pictures"]
20/10/2006: "PRO ABALONE DIVERS ....."
An Australian Spearfishing Champion who competed in the World Championships, Cuba (1967). Former president of Sans Souci Dolphins spear fishing club in Sydney.
Johnny Black (above) is one of the first abalone divers to be based at Mallacoota, Victoria in the mid 1960's. He acquired a license in the early days when the town was wild and the abalone diving a tough way to make a living.
Value of the former free license's is today about $7 million which guarantees a gross income of $700K per year.
Licensed divers are permitted to take about 20 tonnes of abalone per year, each. With the value being about $50 per kilo whole weight.
Some Mallacoota locals say a new, better system would be to share a quota amongst, say, more people with each given a three tonne allocation, thereby distributing Australia's natural resource amongst more people. Such a system would distribute the wealth better and may even benefit the town more.
A diver can harvest one tonne of abalone in a single day with good weather, which will earn $70 thousand.
A lottery to decide who the new additional license holders will be, much the same as taxi licenses have been given out, was suggested.
Regulating and watching many more new divers (to ensure any part of their catch is not sold on the black market) would make policing of any new system hard work for state fisheries inspectors.
"A greater sharing of what is really a natural resource owned by all Australians would help and is long overdue" said an un-named Mallacoota resident.
