As the fishermen steer their boat along the mangrove-lined banks, they know they must move fast so they can load their catch onto a light plane bound for the Darwin Fish Market by the afternoon.
asserted
they → steer → afternoon
For Theo Dooling, these waters feel familiar.
asserted
waters → feel → Dooling
He has fond memories of catching crabs from mud holes with his family as a child.
asserted
He → have → child
"You can put in a stick and just take the crab out," he says.
asserted
he → put → crab
Back then, the biggest challenge was avoiding a pinch on the finger.
asserted
challenge → avoid → finger
Now, the sea farmers compete with crocodiles for their bounty.
asserted
farmers → compete → bounty
Mr Dooling says the reptiles have crushed five of his crab pots in their jaws, desperately trying to poach the fleshy crustaceans.
asserted
reptiles → say → crustaceans
As the pots are hauled in, it is easy to see why.
asserted
it → haul → ?
Nearly all contain mud crabs, with the biggest weighing two kilograms.
asserted
biggest → contain → kilograms
A remote community
Sitting on the west coast of Australia's Top End, Wadeye is one of the NT's most unique Aboriginal communities.
asserted
Wadeye → sit → communities
Traditional culture thrives here through music and dance, and both adults and children speak the Aboriginal language Murrinh-patha fluently.
asserted
adults → thrive → language
Its approximately 2,500 residents are cut off for half the year when the rugged Port Keats Road washes out.
But in recent years, the community has also been one of the NT's most troubled.
asserted
community → cut → NT
It has made headlines for large-scale street fights involving weapons such as spears and crossbows.
asserted
It → make → spears
Standard three-bedroom houses have as many as 20 people living in them, and black-market liquor is widely available but cripplingly expensive.
asserted
liquor → have → them
Yet, nearly everyone in town points to the lack of jobs as the biggest problem.
asserted
everyone → point → problem
At the 2021 census, only about one in five adults had a job.
asserted
adults → have → job
It is against this backdrop that the Thamarrurr Sea Farmers have used Aboriginal coastal licences to grow their modest operation into a larger commercial venture that could change outcomes for the Wadeye community.
uncertain
that → use → community
The acquisition of a full commercial licence means the fishermen can have up to 60 crab pots in the water, and they have expanded their team from three to nine workers within a year.
asserted
they → mean → year
On average, they send 35 to 50 kilograms of mud crabs to Darwin each week.
asserted
they → send → Darwin
"The people we brought on to the team, they are really very good," says Johnson Katuura, the sea farmers coordinator.
asserted
Katuura → bring → team
"They're people who have fished all their lives."
asserted
who → fish → ?
Joel Martin, one of the team's youngest members, said the sea farmers had already inspired local schoolkids.
asserted
farmers → say → schoolkids
"We go out to school sometimes, talk to the students, let them know that they're going to have to graduate, then they can find a good job," Mr Martin says.
asserted
Martin → go → job
"We want more young boys to come in so they can have a good life, good job.
asserted
they → want → life
The NT's largest crab licence holder, the Aboriginal Sea Company, says Wadeye is the only "community-run" commercial fishing operation in the NT.
asserted
Wadeye → say → NT
The operation is getting mentoring and training from Humpty Doo Barramundi, one of Australia's biggest aquaculture players.
asserted
operation → get → players
Elsewhere in the NT, concerns about mud crab numbers led to a pause on commercial licences so stocks could recover.
uncertain
stocks → lead → licences
It came at a bad time for the sea farmers, who were about to begin commercial operations.
asserted
who → come → operations
But once they negotiated with authorities, the licences were temporarily converted back to Aboriginal coastal licences, then returned to commercial when the pause ended.
asserted
pause → negotiate → commercial
Tracey Leo, the deputy CEO of Thamarrurr Development Corporation, backed the way the sea farmers do business.
asserted
farmers → back → business
"We fully support sustainable harvest strategies," Ms Leo says.
asserted
Leo → support → strategies
She says the crew keeps detailed records of where they fish and how many crabs they take, "so that we're not over-harvesting in one … location".
asserted
we → say → location
The corporation is also lobbying for the Territory's fishery management zones to be reviewed, arguing that rules designed for more heavily fished areas don't necessarily make sense in the relatively "un-fished" waters around Wadeye.
Mr Katuura says the industry's sustainability is the top priority.
asserted
sustainability → lobby → Wadeye
"We want it to be long-living," he says.
"
asserted
he → want → ?
We are focused on making a stronger foundation [rather] than rushing to numbers.
asserted
We → focus → numbers
And I believe that will be the game changer."
Slow and steady investment
Ms Leo previously worked with Humpty Doo Barramundi and helped establish a two-way training relationship between the operators.
She believes a fully-fledged seafood industry could emerge in Wadeye within a decade, employing about 100 people across mud crabs, a black-lip oyster farm, and some other fisheries.
"When we first invested in the Sea Farmers, there was a lot of capital infrastructure required, with a big shed and the boats and crab pots and oyster cages, but that's not going to translate to 100 jobs in a short period of time
uncertain
that → believe → time
," Ms Leo says.
asserted
Leo → say → ?
We need government to recognise … those employment outcomes [are] going to take a long time.
asserted
outcomes → need → time
[Humpty Doo] were [running] 14 or 15 years before they were even profitable.
asserted
they → run → ?
And they've been going 30 years or whatever it is now … extremely successful."
asserted
it → go → ?
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia