Independent review of Abrolhos Islands land use aims to settle conflict

The Abrolhos Islands are one of Geraldton’s most treasured natural resources, with competing users fighting for their share of the booty. Fishing, tourism or a billionaire’s retreat away from the corporate life — a review has begun this month which will soon clarify how the land should be used. “The main issue is that there are so many users of the islands,” Abrolhos Island body corporate committee chair, Greg Finlay, said. “We need to find a way to make everyone happy.” Representing leaseholders of the Abrolhos Islands Reserve, Mr Finlay said there was no uniform opinion among fishers and aquaculture farmers as to what the islands’ future should look like. But he believed respecting the privacy of leaseholders and recognition of their century-long use of the islands would be among the key concerns raised during the review. “No one wants to lock it up from the outside world. The best outcome would be seeing tourism facilities built outside of the body corporate land,” Mr Finlay said. He said this would allow leaseholders and tourists to use the islands separately, and in ways which “don’t fit so well together”. “The reserve only makes up about 3 per cent of the islands and you wouldn’t want a tourist walking around your home, would you?” he said. According to Mr Finlay, most of the leaseholders are rock lobster fishermen with generations of experience fishing at the Abrolhos. “There’s very few that aren’t based out of Geraldton, Dongara and Kalbarri,” he said. Power over the Abrolhos Island Reserve sits in the hands of the presidents of the four islands groups which control the use of body corporate land. Three of these presidents, Leonie Noble of Easter Group, Andrew Basile of Southern Group and Ricki Mouchemore of the North Island body corporate, have lived and worked on the islands for decades. The fourth is Perth’s Multiplex heir and billionaire Tim Roberts, who has steadily bought up fishing leases and now owns the majority of the camps on Little Pigeon Island, which The Geraldton Guardian understands is used as a private island getaway. Mr Roberts serves as the body corporate president of the Wallabi Group and it’s understood he uses the 12 camps on Little Pigeon as a holiday destination for family and friends. Contention between the leaseholders and tourism operators has been heating up in recent years as interest in the tourism potential of the islands has seen more players enter the market. The debate boiled over into the public sphere last month when a medical emergency forced tourism operator Jay Cox to flout rules to get a sick man flown to hospital. Mr Cox said he was relieved the State Government had started the process of developing a new management plan, saying it was long overdue. “I’ve been trying for more than a decade to work with the fishermen out there to build a sustainable tourism operation,” he said. “It’s been an uphill battle the whole time.” He said the “biggest hurdle” was he was unable to have a permanent base on the islands which he said severely limited his ability to deliver a tourism experience. Most of the islands now fall under the Abrolhos Islands National Park, but Mr Cox has tried in the past to buy leases to establish a base — he says this has met with fierce resistance from the locals. The review of the Abrolhos Islands Reserve and Fish Habitat Protection Area was commissioned by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. An independent consultant has begun meeting the relevant parties this month with the intention of providing local feedback into new management plans. A department spokesperson said recommendations from the consultation process were expected to be delivered early next year. “All arrangements relevant to the Abrolhos Islands Reserve and Fish Habitat Protection Area will be considered,” the spokesperson said. “Final plans are due to be completed by the end of 2021.”