Australia Pays Indigenous Divers to Fight Sea Urchin Plague

John Carriage thought he was heading to prison for doing what his ancestors did for thousands of years. Instead, the Australian government just hired him to save the ocean.

The Walbunja man faced his fourth court case for free diving for abalone and lobster off the New South Wales coast. But prosecutors dropped the charges, and state officials reversed course entirely. Now they need the diving skills they once tried to outlaw.

Long-spined sea urchins are devouring southern Australia's kelp forests and seagrass beds at an alarming rate. Overfishing and warming waters removed the predators that kept urchin populations in check. The result is underwater deserts where thriving reefs once stood.

Enter the solution that was there all along. The Walbunja community is launching the first Aboriginal-led fishing industry in New South Wales, targeting the very urchins destroying their sea country. The government backing the initiative with a $1.48 million grant is the same one that recently prosecuted these fishermen.

John and his brother Denzel are training through the Joonga Land and Water Aboriginal Corporation to harvest thousands of urchins annually. They're learning to pilot boats, dive with supplied oxygen, and select prime urchins for the booming Australasian seafood market. Every urchin removed gives vegetation a chance to regrow.

"We should be able to have more fish, more lobster, more abalone, and better quality sea urchins," Carriage told ABC News. Marine biologist Cayne Layton confirmed that urchin harvesting creates measurable improvements in marine vegetation.

The Ripple Effect

This program does more than clear urchins from the seafloor. Community elders say reconnecting youth with their sea country is essential to healing the land, even the parts underwater. Traditional knowledge that authorities once criminalized is now recognized as the key to restoring ecosystem balance.

The urchin industry remains relatively new in Australia, creating rare ground-floor opportunity. For once, Indigenous Australians can lead a fishing industry from its inception rather than being pushed to the margins.

Young Walbunja divers are turning prosecution into profession, transforming an ecological crisis into cultural renewal and economic opportunity while healing the reefs their ancestors knew.