Creating pathways, restoring sovereignty

Culture, Justice & Jobs

The Problem

Eighty percent of oyster leases in Queensland are locked by corporate interests. Indigenous communities, the original custodians of these waters, are largely shut out of the aquaculture industry despite tens of thousands of years of sustainable marine management.

At the same time, marginalised young people and community members in Indigenous communities lack pathways into meaningful work, especially work that connects to country and culture.

Fishers Oysters exists to address both problems at once.

Jobs That Matter

Aquaculture is physical, outdoor, skilled work on country. It's the kind of work that can change someone's trajectory, especially young people who haven't found their place in conventional employment.

Shaun is building Fishers Oysters with a deliberate focus on creating jobs for marginalised young people and community members who need work. Not charity jobs. Real positions in a real enterprise that happens to grow premium oysters and restore reef ecosystems.

As the enterprise grows into a cooperative, the goal is for workers to become owners, sharing in the decisions, the risk, and the returns.

“These young people aren't choosing between traditional knowledge and modern technology. They're weaving them together.”

— Shaun Fisher

Environmental Leadership

Looking after country isn't separate from the business. It is the business. Fishers Oysters takes an Elder-guided approach to environmental management:

Voluntary seasonal closures: resting leases when the ecosystem needs it, even when regulations don't require it.
Reef restoration: oyster farming actively rebuilds reef habitat that supports broader marine biodiversity.
Traditional indicators: reading country the way Quandamooka people always have, alongside modern monitoring methods.

Working on country — aquaculture on Quandamooka sea country

A Model for Others

Fishers Oysters isn't just one enterprise. It's being built as a model, a cooperative template that other coastal Indigenous communities can adapt for their own sea country.

If you're from a coastal Indigenous community interested in aquaculture, or an organisation that supports Indigenous enterprise, Shaun wants to hear from you.

Get Involved

Whether you're a potential partner, a young person looking for a pathway, or a community exploring aquaculture, reach out.