Tuesday, September 12

One Easter, around 1980, we were camping on Bruny Island and came across groups of people harvesting mutton-birds.  We knew this went on because we had seen the salted and dried birds in butcher shops and and heard the old-timers describe the fishy taste of this so-called delicacy.  But, nothing prepared us for the reality of the business of bringing these creatures to market.

The Short-Tailed Shearwater makes an annual migration from the Arctic Ocean, down the coast of California and across the Pacific Ocean to breed in Australian waters in our Autumn, laying their eggs in burrows.  For many generations, Aboriginal people exploited this food source.  Of course, late-comers have got into the act and the government has had to put on some limitations.  But, in 1980, it seemed there were no rules.  

The mutton-birder camps we saw on the island were appalling.  It's dirty work, killing birds, and the feathers get into everything.  The smell takes your breath away and the debris left behind makes your heart sink - particularly discarded blankets and clothing which no amount of washing could bring back to life.  

Watching a TV show today about islands in the North Sea, there was a story about a 600 year-old cultural tradition of harvesting gannet chicks from a rock called Sula Sgeir, in the middle of the ocean.  Only inhabitants of the town of Ness on the island of Lewis are allowed to take part and no more than 2000 chicks can be taken.  And, of course, a harvest of 2000 is more than enough.  The taste of the baby gannets is so awful, no one wants to buy them.

After 600 years of harvesting, the gannet is still thriving in the North Sea and, after several thousand years of harvesting on Tasmanian islands, the Short-Tailed Shearwater is the most abundant species in our water.

Dragging baby chicks from their burrows with a hooked stick is clearly a terrible thing to do, but it doesn't seem to be having any effect on the mutton-bird population.  But, it might just be time for two more out-dated cultural traditions to fade into obscurity.