In the light of the moon, a small crew wade out in the tide where the Coorong lagoon meets the sea to perform a dance as old as time.
The pipi shuffle has been used by Ngarrindjeri people for centuries to harvest pipi or kuti, small clams that live just under the sand.
“Kuti or pipis sit just below the surface of the sand. To get them up, you need to push your feet into the sand and do the shuffle," said Ngarrindjeri man Derek Walker.
"It turns the area you’re doing it in into more of a liquid, and the water flow pushes the pipis into the basket."
'Danger and risk'
From September to June the crew heads out into the sea, sometimes harvesting between 500kg to one tonne a night - depending on "tide and movement of water".
Despite being known as a 'dance', the harvest isn’t without risk.
“We have a crew of five with a couple of casuals, young people who are fit and can sustain the physical demands required to harvest kuti," said Mr Walker.
"It’s a difficult place to fish, you can get knocked over in the swells. It can be dangerous, so they are equipped with life jackets and all the safety equipment required to make the job as safe as possible.
"There is a certain amount of danger and risk involved.”
Crew members from Kuti Co harvesting pipis. Source: Jason Thomas/MSC
A protein source for centuries
The crew is employed by Kuti Co, a sustainable fishing business owned by both Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation and Ngopamuldi Aboriginal Corporation.
Mr Walker is Kuti Co’s director, and grew up hearing about the shuffle.
“I remember my mother-in-law telling stories of how everyone from [South Australian Aboriginal community] Raukkan used to go down on the back of the wagons to the Coorong and fish,” he said.
“From a Ngarrindjeri perspective, this is common knowledge in our community.
For centuries, Ngarrindjeri people have used pipis as a protein source, Mr Walker explained.
"If you go into the Coorong there are middens, hundreds of them," he said.
“These middens might be 100 metres wide and just as long and they were big mounds of pipi shells and it’s where our mob would go collect and eat Kuti."
According to Mr Walker, one of the middens had enough protein in the source of pipis, fish and other seafood to “sustain and feed a Ngarrindjeri family every day for 1600 years".
“It shows you the volume of food and effort that would have gone into developing that particular midden,” he said.
“So from that perspective, this was just something that our mob did. It was part of our cultural practice."
While there were large amounts gathered, Mr Walker knows that no Ngarrindjeri cultural practice ensured the wellbeing of Country.
Speaking to NITV News, he referenced the words of late Elder Tom Trevorrow, used to inform the Murray-Darling Basin Authority's Management Plan.
"Our traditional management plan was 'Don't be greedy'. Don't take any more than you need and respect everything around you," said Mr Trevorrow.
"That's the management plan - it's such a simple management plan, but so hard for people to carry out."
Mr Walker thanked Mr Trevorrow's family for the permission to repeat his words, which "carry so much power".
Pipi's being poured into buckets after harvest. Source: Jason Thomas/MSC
'Fishermen since forever'
Mr Walker made moves into the fishing industry through an old acquaintance.
“I’d undertaken a job straight out of [agricultural] school with a bloke by the name of Roger Edwards who turned out to be the future chair of Goolwa Pipi Co," he explained.
"In 2016 he made contact with the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority looking to develop a relationship around the pipi industry."
Mr Walker said the "timing was right" and aligned close with their Native Title directive.
"Ngarrindjeri have always looked to assert rights around fishing. It was part of our cultural economy. Ngarrindjeri have fished the lower lakes and Coorong for millennia and it just fits so we bought in," he said.
In 2016, he purchased "10 quota units". Now, with investment from the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation, he holds 17 per cent of the industry.
A living from culture
For Mr Walker, it was about getting young Aboriginal people connected to Country and practising culture – while also earning a living.
Mr Walker said there’s a “lack of opportunity” for community to have sustainable employment on Country.
“It wasn’t so much about the business, but rather about opportunity to provide our people employment and training," he said.
“I think that’s been a driver for me in this business, it’s about culture."
“We were denied our rights to traditional hunting and fishing for a long time."
Ngarrindjeri man and Kuri Co CEO Derek Walker. Source: MSC
Pipis rebranded
Whilst Ngarrindjeri have used pipi as for centuries, the modern market deemed the clams as bait.
But now, with Kuti Co’s efforts, the pipi is being rebranded.
“Kuti or cockles was seen as bait for the fisherman, but for Ngarrindjeri it’s always been a food source," said Mr Walker.
“Just so happened around the time we got into pipi, some of the major shareholders and people driving the company were keen to explore putting product into high end restaurants.
“It’s grown now to the point where most of the kuti that we harvest go to food products as opposed to bait, which is nice."
For Mr Walker, the business has been built from culture. And it will continue to grow.
“It’s been an amazing journey, we’re still on the journey.”
Anthony Long and Clinton Walker cooking pipis on the beach. Source: Jason Thomas/MSC
