Apart from the border sea battles, the industry is leant an aura of excitement and romance by its very nature. At Mallacoota the divers gun their high powered shark cats across the surf of the treacherous en­trance to the harbour. The boats leap across the waves, often metres clear of the water and then they continue to pound their way down the coast to the abalone beds.

The divers fish amongst the weed of the reefs and are linked to their boat by a line which delivers air under pressure from a small motor on board. The abalone are hauled aboard by the sheller who grades, cleans and packs the abalone as the small boats are tossed about in the swell close to the rocky reefs.