Fishing and diving activities in Jervis Bay: past and present usages.

Abstract

The popularity of Jervis Bay as a recreation area is, in large part, due to the diversity of abundance there of marine life of interest to those involved in fishing and diving activities. The fish life of the Bay provided food for the Aborigines over a period of many thousands of years, but white settlement brought with it a dramatic change in the types and levels of fishing activities. This article provides a brief outline of some of the history of fishing activities in the Bay and then describes the main present-day recreational and commercial fisheries of the area. A brief consideration of diving activities is included to give some appreciation of the importance of SCUBA diving to the economy of the Jervis Bay area.