Fishing Paddocks needed as part of $220 million fisheries reforms

Bohm continued, "Fishing in Paddocks summarises a comprehensive proposal the Australian Marine Conservation Society recently made to the Australian Government's 'Alternative Management Strategies project. This project has been considering new ways of managing the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery, Australia's largest fishery."

Alistair Graham from the Tasmanian Conservation Trust said, "Fishing in Paddocks" offers a new and exciting approach to managing the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery. This proposal is based on information from marine scientists and has been found to perform well against agreed economic and sustainability targets set for this fishery by the Government's Alternative Management Strategies project."

Bohm concluded, "The Australian Government can use its generous $220 million fisheries package to implement significant fisheries reforms if it chooses. Controlling fishing in fishing paddocks - where it belongs, simply makes good economic and sustainability sense for the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery. We encourage Senator Ian Macdonald to adopt our fishing paddocks proposal."

Fishing in Paddocks can be viewed here.

Media contacts:
Craig Bohm, AMCS National Fisheries Campaigner Ph: 0427 133 481 and (07) 3393 5811
Alistair Graham, Tasmania Conservation Trust ph: 0439 568376 and (03) 6234 3552

Additional information

• Establish a network of fishing paddocks in which fishing activities are controlled;
• Prevent fishing by SESSF operators inside the 3 nautical mile state limit;
• Prevent unsustainable deep sea fishing (below 500m) and on our fragile offshore seamounts;
• Ensure that fishing paddocks contain fishing effort away from biological recharge areas, spawning and pupping areas, and the habitats of overfished and vulnerable species, in particular, gulper sharks;
• Protect at least 30 per cent of gulper shark habitats, particularly the canyons, between 300-600m in from all forms of fishing; and,
• Establish a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) across the South-east Marine Region. The marine protected area network should consist of 11 multi-zoned marine protected areas. Together, the marine protected areas should cover no less than one third of the South-east Marine Region. As a guide, no less than two thirds of the area within each marine protected area should be fully protected from fishing in 'no-take' zones.

2. The Alternative Management Strategies Project

The Fishing in Paddocks proposal was formulated by the Australian Marine Conservation Society at the request of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) as our contribution to the Australian Government's Alternative Management Strategies project. The project was established two years ago to consider alternative, and more economically and environmentally sustainable ways of managing the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF). The SESSF is responsible for overfishing species such as orange roughy, blue warehou, eastern gemfish, school shark and silver trevally.

Fishing in Paddocks was recently evaluated by the Alternative Management Strategies project and performed very well against all of the Australian Government's economic and sustainability targets set for this fishery.

3. About the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery

In recent years the SESSF has become a disappointing performer - both economically and environmentally.

In particular, the SESSF:

• Is responsible for the decline of several key commercial species. The Bureau of Rural Sciences indicates that of the 17 high value target species in this fishery, 5 are overfished, 3 are being overfished, 2 are not overfished and the status of 7 others is uncertain (BRS 2004). Overfished species include orange roughy, redfish, school shark, blue warehou, silver trevally.
• Is responsible for declining shark populations. Of the 4 key species in the shark sector, BRS indicates that school shark is overfished; gummy shark not overfished, current catch probably sustainable; and the status of saw shark and elephant fish is uncertain.
• Has depleted several species of deepwater gulper and black sharks which are now vulnerable to extinction, some of which are under consideration for threatened species listing under the EPBC Act 1999.
• Interacts with sea lions, syngnathids, killer whales and white sharks.
• Continues to impact on shelf, slope and seamount habitats.
• Suffers from overcapacity, effort creep and declining fishing returns.
• Is failing to meet the economic targets required to build a viable industry future.
• Continues to expand its active fishing grounds into new areas, particularly into deep water and into the west of the fishery on the shelf and slope.