Law Commons^™

Up The Creek And Out At Sea: The Resurfacing Of The Public Right To Fish, Warwick Gullett

Warwick Gullett

The ancient common law public right to fish has had increasing resonance since 2001 when the High Court in Yarmirr denied the existence of asserted exclusive offshore native title rights in large part because of the “fundamental inconsistency” between them and the public right to fish. The Yarmirr decision also established that non-exclusive offshore native title rights must be consistent with the public right. This creates the potential for litigation where it is asserted that actions of native title holders have infringed the public right or where recreational anglers purportedly exercising the public right in an area subject to a …