Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism - Admin Office

Australia's Smoked Eel Puts Unagi Everywhere to Shame

"An ancient, extensive Indigenous aquaculture landscape built on volcanic lava flows that were engineered into channels, weirs and holding ponds to trap and fatten kooyang (short-finned eel) for harvesting; this system has been used by the Gunditjmara for at least 6,600 years and is recognized on the UNESCO World Heritage list for its cultural significance. Visitors can tour lava flows and functioning eel traps with Indigenous guides and learn traditional ecological knowledge—such as seasonal cues for the eel run and the use of holding ponds as makeshift refrigerators—while the community balances living cultural practice with heritage protection. The site faces modern conservation challenges, including declining eel numbers and debates over restoring and using traps versus preserving them untouched, and is the focus of long-term monitoring and land-return efforts led by the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners corporation in partnership with researchers." - Alexandra Owens