Abalone Wars

The stage is set for the start of the thirty-five million dollar South Australian abalone season. Introductions to the two - three person crews based out of Port Lincoln highlight the treacherous ocean conditions, unpredictable weather and the growing risk of shark attacks that plague their working lives. But there's big money to be made for the quota owners and these hired crews if they can strike abalone. If they don't - it can mean big losses and more days battling the dangerous conditions. There's trouble from day one for hired guns, Dominic Henderson, aka "the Dominator" & his crewmate 'Skin'. Desperate to get a jump on the other crews, their planned early morning departure falls flat as one of their boat engines fail. Staring down the barrel of a big loss for the day, they pull out all stops to get on the water. Their first dive sees 'the Dominator' battle a surging underwater sandstorm in an attempt to fill their catch target. Howard Rodd and his diver Peter Clarkson, head out to an old abalone bed hoping to see growth since they were last there two years earlier. After a disappointing start to their first dive, Peter strikes abalone 'gold' and pulls a massive haul from the ocean bed before heading out to another stretch of ocean hoping to replicate their previous catch. David Buckland, aka "Bucky" and his sheller Damon are no strangers to the abalone game. But Bucky's recent investment into an expensive quota licence to fish abalone, has left him financially exposed after the global financial crash. He's a fighter, however having the weight of a huge loan and the death of his brother to a Great White Shark hanging over his head he's under huge pressure to bag a big catch on every dive.

Winter winds and waves storming from the Southern Ocean have battered the South Australian coast for weeks, forcing frustrated abalone divers to weather the storms with the mundane world of home chores, hobbies, footy, music and the pub. A rare fine day sees the divers up with the dawn, to make the most of the opportunity to fill their quotas. The abalone game has always been a man's world... except for the Bichard Girls; Nicole and Amanda. They use the money earned shelling for their father Rex, to get them through accounting and architecture schools respectively. Keeping it in the family their Uncle Darryl is the diver for the Bichard crew. Despite the huge risks they know the rewards at a prime habitat for abalone can be massive. They decide to take a gamble on an old abalone bed despite Daryl coming face to face with a Great White shark in the same spot only weeks earlier. At 73-years-old, Neil Williams is a legend in the abalone game. He still dives a quota and his hair-raising stories of narrow escapes and near death experiences are a caution to all rookie divers, only if they take his advice. But with experience comes calculated risk as he hunts abalone in some of the most treacherous rocky coastlines, and tight crevices where other divers wouldn't venture. It can mean fat abalone with even fatter rewards but it means his crewmate Chewy struggles to keep the boat and Neil's airline off the rocks. Meanwhile, the boss' son Jay, who now shares the diving - and the pay - with Dom, has joined Skin and the Dominator! The Dominator feels the pressure on his pay packet and his young family. Skin's caught in the middle and attempts to keep this crew from falling apart. Worst still, it looks like poachers have ravaged one of their secret abalone beds. Episode Three In the world of the professional abalone diver, it's an unceasing battle with the elements and as the Winter cease-fire ends, the Spring offensive begins. Howard Rodd's, young sons are ste

In the world of the professional abalone diver, it's an unceasing battle with the elements and as the Winter cease-fire ends, the Spring offensive begins. Howard Rodd's, young sons are stepping up: Dene makes his first professional abalone dive, trained by his excitable older brother Neil. The very real risks that saw their father lose two crew members over his career are in the forefront of these young minds as they dive together into the precarious depths of the abalone beds. Further up the coast the Craig boys also keep it in the family. Twins Tobias and Tyrone shell for big brother Ben, also recovering from the shock of a recent shark encounter. Desperate to make a better go of it, Dominic "the Dominator" has ruffled a few feathers by joining a new team with better prospects... but his engine blows up. With the pressure on to fill a giant order of live abalone in just a few days he borrows a boat once belonging to a fallen friend, and it's a move that will make or break him. Meanwhile shady characters connected to the world of organised crime are still illegally depleting the stocks of abalone and the local fisheries patrol officers continue their year-long war with unscrupulous abalone poachers.