To help promote Crayfest, tie in with wonderful marine flavours and learn how indigenous people gathered and cooked local marine life, our Year 7/8 Native Foods Plant Science students welcomed into their classroom, abalone diver AJ Quarrell and eel fisherman Zac Taylor. AJ explained that he always loved the ocean and is fortunate to work in his own business, Great Ocean Abalone, that prides itself on harvesting fresh produce for regional consumption and also exports product overseas, mainly to Asia. Students learnt how AJ prises abalone from rocks and reefs and has to follow his license conditions to ensure the sustainability of local abalone. He explained that early indigenous people living in coastal areas used to forage in rockpools and that abalone and seafood was part of their diet. AJ described abalone as having a sweet / salty flavour and it is often part of a multi course meal as consumed by other nationalities. Zac, from Paaratte Eel Company, usually sets his eel nets in the Gellibrand and Curdies Rivers and is most successful when there is a high tide as the eels migrate out to sea. He used to smoke and produce his own eel products but now he supplies a mainly domestic market with 18 other registered eel fishermen. Showcasing the eel nets that he makes himself, and describing the oily taste of eels, Zac outlined how eels are caught and students watched a Landline story on ‘Eel Tagging’ introduced by Zac that traced the story of the eel traps at Budj Bim which is one of the world’s finest examples of early aquaculture and engineering. Students also watched a clip featuring crayfisherman Simon Nash from Port Campbell Lobster called, 'The life of a fisherman'. AJ described how Crayfest was created to raise awareness of how fortunate we are to live in this part of the world and be able to harvest such local, healthy marine life in a sustainable manner right in our backyard. Thanks AJ and Zac, a great session! Comments are closed.
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April 2024
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