Industry have enthusiastically participated in the data collection program by collecting otoliths and length measurements from the fish they catch.

Fishers from the Great Australian Bight Trawl Fishery have been collecting valuable ageing structures and length measurements from the fish they catch to support Great Australian Bight Fishing Industry Association’s (GABIA) program to improve stock assessments and increase knowledge about fish stocks.

GABIA initiated a program to improve the scientific data available to the Great Australian Bight Resource Assessment Group (GABRAG). GABIA asked fishers to collect otoliths and length measurements from the fish they catch. Otolith are fish ear bones and when looked at under a microscope they have rings similar to growth rings on trees and aid scientists in determining the age of fish. Length measurements are also used in determining the age of fish that are being caught.

Industry have enthusiastically supported the program and GABIA have been directly funding the data collection. The fishery is on target to collect 500 otoliths and 1000 length measurements for this year for three species caught in the Great Australian Bight, Western Gemfish, Blue Grenadier and Pink Ling.

Crew based length frequency sampling for the two key target species has been operating for a number of years now.  Length frequency sample numbers have increased substantially since this program commenced.

The GAB Trawl fishing industry is to be commended for their proactive approach.

For further details please contact Josh van Limbeek on 02 6225 5418 or Josh.vanlimbeek@afma.gov.au

SE Asian countries meet to combat illegal fishing - Photo provided courtesy of the FAO Rome

AFMA participated in the first of a global series of workshops on the Port State Measures Agreement held by the Rome based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Bangkok during April.

The FAO invited AFMA to come along and share its experience with combating illegal fishing at the international level, especially on the current “in port” work with countries like Malaysia and Singapore as well as the historical work with the multi country apprehensions, led by Australia of illegal Southern Ocean vessels such as the South Tomi and Viarsa.

Mr Arni M. Mathiesen, Assistant Director-General from the FAO said that the contributions made by AFMA Senior Compliance Manager, Mr John Davis were highly valued by delegates.

“All participants appreciated Mr Davis’s contributions, especially his hands-on experience with the operational aspects of port State measures which contributed significantly to the workshop’s success” said Mr Mathiesen.

This first workshop focused on countries in the South East Asian sphere of influence with thirty-four participants from nine SE Asian countries attending together with representatives of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.

The Port State Measures Agreement is designed to prevent illegal unregulated and unreported vessels from landing fish or resupplying their vessels in ports at the global level which will reduce profits from illegal fishing and help eliminate these vessels from the world’s fisheries.

Australia is a signatory to the Port State Measures Agreement and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is coordinating Australia’s ratification of the agreement. 

The Port State Measures Agreement requires 25 countries to sign on before it comes into force, at this time there are 23 signatories with several counties expected to sign in the near future.

Meanwhile many counties have already implemented “in port” arrangements and are cooperating to block port access to illegal vessels in anticipation of the agreement coming into effect.

For further information please contact John Davis on 08 8943 0354 or john.davis@afma.gov.au

• Our strategies and actions are making a discernable and positive difference to the fishing industry
• We conduct business in a professional manner
• We appropriately balance the different priorities of industry, Government and non-government groups, and
• We focus on strategies that produce high quality outcomes for Australians.

Thank you to all those people who participated in the survey, your feedback has provided an indication of how we are tracking against the areas above.

The survey indicated that;

• The information we are providing to you  is relevant to your needs
• Our letters, emails and reports sent to you are easy to understand
• Our publications contain useful and relevant information

The common themes emerging are that all stakeholder groups (industry Government, Non Government Organisations) would like us to work more collaboratively. Recently we have held a number of focused meetings on key issues such as gulper shark management arrangements, quota administration policy, Northern Prawn Fishery management arrangements, bycatch and discards and the cost efficiency working group with industry and non government organisations to better improve information exchange between the parties.

We will continue work to improve our existing consultative structures and support mechanisms to ensure that we provide high quality advice and services that can be relied upon.

For further information please contact Ryan Murphy at ryan.murphy@afma.gov.au

The crew of one of the Indonesian vessels retrieving a shark that was caught on the vessel’s long lines.

During March and April, three Indonesian foreign vessels were detected fishing in Australian waters. All crews were detained by authorities pending investigation by AFMA.

The first vessel was located by an Australian Border Protection Command surveillance aircraft 175 nautical miles inside the Gulf of Carpentaria using gillnets to catch shark. Officers from the patrol vessel were unable to board the vessel due to rough seas. The foreign vessel was in distress and the crew were winched to safety by helicopter and flown to Weipa. They were later transferred to Darwin for investigation by AFMA. The vessel could not be relocated and was presumed to have sunk.

AFMA’s investigation revealed that the master of the vessel had an existing warrant for unpaid fines from an earlier fisheries conviction. Because of this he was sent to prison for 30 days prior to being charged and convicted for the most recent offence. He was placed on a two year $2,000 good behaviour bond for the more recent offence.

A second vessel detected was also targeting shark and other fish inside the Australian Fishing Zone northwest of Western Australia. Further investigation by AFMA revealed that the master had been apprehended in Australian waters on four previous occasions. He pleaded guilty and was convicted and fined $25,000.  The vessel and fishing equipment were confiscated and destroyed.

The master and a crew member, a repeat offender, of the third vessel were charged and convicted for illegal fishing also off north Western Australia inside the Australian Fishing Zone.  The master was placed on a two year $3,000 good behaviour bond while the crew member was placed on a $4,000 two year good behaviour bond.  The vessel and fishing equipment were confiscated and destroyed.

AFMA General Manager Fisheries Operations Mr Peter Venslovas said that Australia’s border protection program has had significant success in deterring illegal foreign fishing activity in Australia’s northern waters.

“The interception and confiscation of vessels and the prosecution of their crews, coupled with activities to tackle the problem at its source within Indonesia, has led to a dramatic decline in the number of incursions with apprehension rates dropping from a peak of 367 vessels in 2005/06 to 12 since July 2011” Mr Venslovas said.

For further information please contact Gavin Lovelock, Manager National Operations on 08 8943 0380 or gavin.lovelock@afma.gov.au

AFMA will consult with industry on how best to implement this measure.

At the 8th Regular Session of the WCPFC, held in Tumon, Guam, USA, the commission also agreed to extend, with minor amendments, the current longline catch for Bigeye Tuna and Yellowfin Tuna and purse seine effort limits for the remainder of 2012. These limits will be revisited at the next WCPFC meeting in December 2012. 

The WCPFC also agreed to an Australian proposal to ban the intentional setting of purse seine gear on cetaceans (whales and dolphins) but did not agree to a similar proposal to protect whale sharks. Such setting practices are not permitted in Australian purse seine fisheries.

The WCPFC considered a proposal to strengthen the management of Albacore Tuna on the high seas. This proposal was not agreed, but South Pacific Albacore Tuna management will be reconsidered at the December 2012 WCPFC meeting.

For more information please contact Trent Timmiss, Senior Manager Tuna and International Fisheries on 02 6225 5313 or trent.timmiss@afma.gov.au.

Paul Ryan receiving his award for 10 years of service in 2002.

Melanie: So Paul you have been with AFMA for 20 years now, that is a huge achievement! When you joined AFMA in 1992 what was your role?

Paul: Actually AFMA joined me! I was employed by the Fisheries Division, Department of Primary Industry as Research Officer Grade 1, Economic Research and Statistics Section, in April 1975. Fisheries Division became the Australian Fisheries Service and then AFMA. When AFMA commenced in 1992 I was Acting Senior Officer Grade C (EL1), Fishing Operations Section (Licensing and Compliance).

Melanie: 20 years is a long time to stay in one place, what is it that has kept you working at AFMA for so long?

Paul: The opportunity to make a difference. Also, until the last eight years in the Environment Section I have moved around AFMA every three years or so to carry out different roles.

Melanie: What significant changes you have witnessed in AFMA over the past 20 years?

Paul: The role of industry has grown through management advisory committees, resource assessment groups and co-management. We have also become much more involved in environmental issues as part of the move from individual species to a broader ecosystem based fisheries management focus.

Melanie: So you started in the operations area – are there any patrols over the past 20 years that stand out in your memory?

Paul: From my time in Compliance the most memorable patrol was the pursuit, capture and successful prosecution of the South Tomi. That and similar operations have changed the Law of the Sea.

Melanie: There have been quite a few function changes in the compliance area since the beginning of AFMA. What stands out to you?

Paul: From a Compliance perspective, in-sourcing functions previously performed by the states and Northern Territory has led to more direct involvement with fishers but has led to issues about intelligence gathering that are still being worked through. The success of the northern illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing program has meant that alternative activities have to be considered including selling our services to the Northern Territory and the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.

Melanie: What about the observer program?

Paul: The Observer Program has moved from a focus on foreign vessels largely funded through the Japanese access fees to focussing on domestic fisheries with cost recovery. This has led to a number of reviews (seemingly one a year) and market testing exercises. The program has successfully beaten off all other applicants. The new issue to be addressed is how it will operate in concert with electronic monitoring.

Melanie: In your personal opinion what would you say the biggest achievements have been over the past 20 years?

Paul: Still being here. Introducing quotas in the South East Trawl fishery. Stopping the [fishing] boats off Northern Australia. Broadening the scope of fisheries management beyond target species through processes such as ecological risk assessment and ecological risk management.

Melanie: One last question. What is your fondest memory while at AFMA?

Paul: Opportunities such as attending meetings in Bangkok and Bali, and travelling in the Torres Strait developing the strategic assessment for turtle and dugong.

AFMA Fisheries Officers Lydia Woodhouse and Alex Iles examine school sharks during recent compliance inspections at Lakes Entrance, Victoria.

AFMA fisheries officers conduct regular patrols and inspections on fishing vessels and fish receivers to ensure compliance with Commonwealth fisheries management arrangements.

On 10-13 April 2012, AFMA officers conducted inspections in the fishing ports of Eden, New South Wales and Lakes Entrance, Victoria. Inspections were carried out on one Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery vessel and four Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery vessels. They also conducted two inspections on Commonwealth Fish Receiver premises. In all instances compliance levels were found to be excellent with no breaches detected.

For further information please contact Glen Salmon, Manager Compliance Operations, Fisheries Operations Branch on 02 6225 5395 or Glen.Salmon@afma.gov.au

Tara Lyn skipper Jimmy Papas is a great supporter of AFMA’s Observer Program and regularly assists new observers aboard the fishing vessel.

AFMA’s Observer Program has a number of boats and operators who go above and beyond to assist us in the collection of good biological data.  One of these boats is the Tara Lyn which is based in San Remo in Victoria and skippered by Jimmy Papas.

Mr Papas has been particularly helpful in his support of the Observer Program, which places observers on commercial fishing boats to collect information which assists AFMA make management decisions. He welcomes observers on his boat and takes a strong interest in the collection of data.  His crew is equally helpful with assistance around the deck.  The Tara Lyn is great with new observers as Jim and his crew not only work well with AFMA observers, but also provide useful information regarding the fishery to assist with their future work in the program. 

AFMA CEO Dr James Findlay thanked Mr Papas for his support of the AFMA Observer Program. 

“Fishing operators like Jimmy Papas help AFMA a great deal and are an asset to the fishing industry,” Dr Findlay said.

Mr Papas has 30 years fishing experience, mostly in shark fisheries but also in both cray and trawl fisheries. He left the gillnet, hook and trap shark fishery for 12 years when quota was introduced but has been back fishing for the last two years.

During his 12 year absence Mr Papas undertook consulting work in Africa, the Middle East and India where he was involved in the design and building of trawlers and fish processing factories and he also fished for shark in South Africa and Somalia using longlines.

Mr Papas says that the observer program provides “priceless benefits” to the fishery. He believes that for years there has been a separation of industry and management, with the observer program the best way of bridging this gap.

He comments that industry greatly benefits from having “observers do the hard yards with the fishermen on boats,” and that the observers that have accompanied him to sea have been “extremely hard workers who are dedicated to their job.’  Mr Papas has also praised the apparent thoroughness of the observer selection process given the excellent quality of observers.

For more information please contact Mike Yates, Observer Program Manager on 02 6225 5332 or mike.yates@afma.gov.au.

The vast majority of fishing businesses paid their levies on time or entered into a payment arrangement, with only 3.7 per cent having their concessions suspended for non-payment.

These suspensions took effect on 17 April and these concession holders will be unable to operate in Commonwealth fisheries until their levies are paid.

Management and research levy invoices for the financial year starting 1 July 2011 were generated and sent out in early January 2012. This year, as an attempt to ease the financial burden, AFMA introduced the option of paying the levies in three instalments, with the first instalment due on 28 February 2012.

Operators who did not pay their first instalment by the due date were sent reminder notices which warned that if the amounts outstanding were not paid in full within four weeks of the original due date then their fishing concessions would be suspended.

AFMA offers flexible arrangements to those businesses having difficulty paying and encourages them to contact AFMA to discuss the options available. This year AFMA has also allowed the surrender of concessions to clear the levy debt.

Suspensions are lifted as soon as payment is received or the concession holders have entered in to an arrangement to pay.

Levies are collected by AFMA under regulation and represent the direct costs of managing each fishery.

For more information please contact Andrew Powell, A/g Manager Licensing Policy on 02 6225 5561 or andrew.powell@afma.gov.au.