Fisher’s friend

One of Community activist Leonie Noble’s many achievements has been backing the fishers of the Houtman Abrolhos, WA.

Story By Kerry Faulkner

When crayfisher Leonie Noble opened a letter from the government telling her of another restriction on the fishers on the Houtman Abrolhos Islands off Western Australia’s Mid West coast, it flicked a switch inside her.
Standing on the jetty at Little Rat Island, letter in hand, she remembers saying to herself, “I’m sick of this,” and marching straight around the isle (it takes 12 minutes to walk its perimeter) gathering the other wives, about six in total, for a meeting that would give birth to the Friends of the Abrolhos.
That little group grew to have a huge membership of fishers right across the Abrolhos group of islands. Before too long, ministers and government regulators were eager to consult with it. “Finally we got to have a say,” Leonie says proudly. “We didn’t always have a win, but we got to have a say.”