Interview with Nick Polgeest regarding the history of the Australian fishing industry
Date1989 - 1990
Object numberANMS0871[034]
NameInterview
MediumCompact disk and tape
Copyright© Murdoch University
ClassificationsBorn digital media
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Murdoch University
DescriptionA recorded interview with Nick Polgeest in Apollo Bay, Victoria, as part of a series titled 'History of the Australian Fishing Industry'. It contains information on Nick Polgeest's early years and education, entry into fishing, barracouta fishing, barracouta boats and catches, method of fishing, disappearance of barracouta, export of orange roughy, decline of catches, crayfishing, changes in boats, marketing, the users pay principle, profitability of crayfish, effects of technology, overfishing, need to reduce effort, intensive fishing pressure, danger to the industry, lack of research, undersized fish, recreational fishing, closed season, state comparisons, need for cooperation, increase in costs, shark fishing, involvement in management, changing fisheries, fishermen's associations, lack of political influences, pollution, inflow of overseas capital, future prospects, need for government intervention and aquaculture of crayfish.HistoryThis recorded interview with Nick Polgeest is part of a larger series produced as result of an oral history research project conducted by the Economics Department of Murdoch University and coordinated by Malcolm Tull. The project commissioned researchers in every Australian state to interview fishermen and others involved in catching, processing and marketing fish. Their research involved questions about daily work, personal memories of life in the Australian fishing industry as well as questions about the economics of the industry.SignificanceThis collection of 150 recorded interviews is significant in providing a comprehensive record of commercial fishing from the 1950s to the 1990s across Australia.
