It's being called the "unfinished business" of the landmark Mabo case.
Three decades on from the landmark decision that paved the way for Indigenous people to reclaim their land, many First Nations people say the next step is simple: to claim full rights to their waterways and seas.
Yuin man Kevin Mason has been fishing in his ancestral waters since he was a boy, providing much needed food for his community on the New South Wales South Coast.
"How to feed [mob], that's been handed down to me and I'll hand it down to my next generation."
But the 75-year-old has restrictions on where he can fish, as well as how much fish he can take — and has had confrontations with fisheries officers over the issue.
Now, the Yuin Nation — the group Mr Mason is a part of — is hoping for change.
Theirs is one of the country's most ambitious native title claims over land — and water.
Lodged in 2017, it covers 450 kilometres of coastline, including an area three nautical miles out to sea.
Yuin man Wally Stewart said in the early days of native title his people were led by their lawyers, who told them "don't worry about the water".
"So it was left out of a lot of claims," he said.
"Our claim was straightforward. Our people are sea people and that's who they are."
Mabo and the sea
Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo abolished the notion of 'terra nullius' when he launched a High Court challenge 30 years ago to recognise the ownership of the Meriam People over their ancestral lands on the island of Mer in the Torres Strait.
His fight continues to inspire First Nations people, like Kevin Mason.
"He was the bloke that started it all and we're here to carry that on," Mr Mason said.
The initial Mabo case included an area of sea around Mer Island, but, for legal reasons, the final case didn't pursue a claim to the ocean.
For Kevin Smith, a Torres Strait Ugar and Erub man, it was the "the right strategy at that particular point in time".
"We had to get rid of that horrible, horrible legal fiction, terra nullius," he said.
The first time the Federal Court recognised native title over sea was for Traditional Owners of Croker Island in Arnhem Land in 1998.
Whilst the claim was successful, the community also wanted exclusive control of who could enter and use their waterways, but that request was denied.
"You cannot divide land country and sea country, traditionally it doesn't make sense," Mr Smith said.
"The unfinished business of Mabo is to get recognition of all country, whether it's land or sea."
According to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, about 84 per cent of the Northern Territory's coastline has been recognised as owned by Aboriginal communities through native title.
Economic benefits
If the group wins its claim, Yuin elders hope to regain autonomy over the ocean and waterways of their country.
Solicitor Kathryn Ridge, who specialises in cultural heritage and Aboriginal law, said if the Yuin's application was successful, native title holders across the country could have a right to take fish for any purpose, including commercial purposes.
"It could mean anything from a requirement for people to come and seek the permission of the South Coast [traditional owners] to access a resource, or it could mean the current regime can continue," she said.
Traditional Owners across the country hope to use the claim to set up their own Indigenous fishing industries.
Yuin man Wally Stewart believed that prior to colonisation, the bulk of the Yuin people's food came from the ocean.
He said fishing was still an integral part of his culture. But on the South Coast, he said too many Aboriginal people lived in poverty.
Mr Stewart hoped having a greater right to the ocean could lead to new employment opportunities for young Yuin people.
"We want our water rights back and [to] recognise our resources that they've taken away from us, and we want to be compensated for that."
Thirty years after Mabo, native title experts expect future land and sea rights claims will likely seek compensation to traditional owners for the loss of rights and culture.
Kevin Smith said it could be difficult to calculate what kind of economic and cultural loss they have experienced
"It's a complex question because compensation [happens] only once, you can't come back."
But he hoped those claims wouldn't take another 30 years.
"That's compensation for your future and economic development."
