The regulation has been in the making since the NSW Parl-iament passed changes to the Fisheries Management Act in 2009 that recognised cultural fishing access.

A Department of Primary Industries (DPI) spokeswoman said a meeting last month with traditional owners in Wollongong was a chance to understand the needs regarding access.

“Work with the Aboriginal Fishing Advisory Council (AFAC) and broader community, in the development of cultural fishing regulations, has progressed significantly, with a view to further consultation later this year, once the current draft regulations are finalised,” she said.

“Cultural fishing regulation, when introduced, will remove the need to rely on the interim access arrangement and, in concert with the other provisions, aim to provide for the cultural needs of Aboriginal people without having to rely on native title legislation.

“Nothing in the management approach impacts on fishing under native title rights.”

The spokeswoman said there was an ongoing commitment under the Act to protect and promote Indigenous cultural fishing access.

“The Department, in consultation with other agencies, and with involvement from the AFAC and other groups, is developing a non-statutory management plan that brings together the various measures used to accommodate Aboriginal people’s fishing needs,” she said.

“This plan will document the measures and provide a single source of information to direct how fishing needs are addressed.

“All regulation and other policy continue to evolve in line with the needs of managing fisheries resources and providing access for users of the resources, cultural fishing arrangements included.”

The spokeswoman said developing the regulation was complex.

“There are multiple reasons as to the length of this process, including having to first establish the AFAC, which must be consulted with over cultural fishing regulation; providing AFAC appropriate opportunity to input on the regulation; educating other stakeholder groups over the need for cultural fishing arrangements; involving other agencies for whole-of-government considerations; and, most importantly, engaging with Aboriginal people to understand their needs and address how regulation and other measures provide for access,” she said.

A Department of Justice spokesman said his department was consulting the DPI on fisheries’ enforcement and native title.

“The department continues to liaise with DPI in respect of both the native title and cultural fishing matters,” he said.

“As part of its pre-election commitments, the NSW Government announced it would work closely with the AFAC to develop cultural fishing rules to a stage when they are ready for broader Aboriginal community consultation.”