Victoria's Great Lobster Fishers. Part I

Garry Ryan, Southern Rock Lobster Fisher. Photography by Richard Cornish.

Garry Ryan, Warrnambool.

The Elusive II lobster boat cuts a white swathe through the steely grey waters off Warrnambool in Victoria’s West. Fifty-five-year-old Garry Ryan powers down the boat and sidles her next to the breakwater. Onboard is deckhand Ryan Bell and their catch of just over 100 southern rock lobsters. They are Victorian southern rock lobster fishers, part of an 80 strong fleet who work the waters off the coast and part of a tradition spanning over a century and a half. During the lobster fishing season, they will head out four or five days a week, leaving at 4 am in the morning and returning early afternoon with their catch. 

“They are amazing creatures,” says Garry. “They live on the bottom of the water, hiding in rocky crevices, then hunting small prey and eating algae. They can survive the pressure at a depth of 80 fathoms (150m) and then be bought up to the surface and still be in perfect nick. If they lose a limb, they can grow it back.” But Garry and Ryan’s objective is to get the lobsters to the market in perfect condition. Lobsters hate stress and will drop a leg when under duress. Garry opens a hatch on the deck to reveal baskets of lobsters submerged in clear seawater. They were caught off the coast near the 12 Apostles at a depth of 16 fathoms (30 metres). The lobsters are caught in metal cages covered in mesh or cane, also known as ‘pots. These pots are baited with fish heads, a by-product of fish processing, they dropped off the side of the boat, and a buoy on a rope tied to the pot floats on the surface of the water. Curious lobsters crawl into the pots, and the following day the fishers haul them back on board. Onshore, they are weighed, the numbers sent through to the fishing authority who keep a tab on the numbers, and then sent to the local fish processor. 

“It is tough work both physically and mentally,” says Garry. He has only been fishing for two decades. He was formerly a tailor at Fletcher Jones, once a large employer in Warrnambool. Twenty-one years ago, he started his career as a fisher. “I love it. I am a hunter-gatherer.  On a good day, it is the best job on earth. But when the weather is wild, it is dangerous. The sea is mother nature’s ultimate force. It is something that demands to be respected.”