|
|
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Northern Prawn FisheryNorthern Prawn Fishery Management Advisory Committee (NORMAC)NORMAC 52 Chair's summary20 February 2002 Dear SFR Holder, It is my pleasure to provide you with a report from the 52nd meeting of NORMAC which took place in Cairns on 14 February 2002. This meeting was held in conjunction with a workshop to discuss options for the proposed fishery independent survey in the NPF, which was agreed to at the last meeting of NORMAC, the NORMAC Annual Public meeting and also a hands-on workshop on bycatch reduction devices. The following is a summary of the key outcomes from NORMAC 52. FAG BudgetsNORMAC noted advice that the AFMA Board has determined that, commencing in June 2002, industry will be required to contribute 25% of the cost of fishery assessments through the levy base. AFMA Management advised this decision was consistent with the Government's cost recovery policy and that AFMA is in the process of preparing a policy paper on FAG operations. NORMAC noted that the Board will be consulting the MACs on the new process and agreed that, in accordance with the 'user pays' principle, there should be an opportunity for the MACs to have input into the membership and budgets of the FAGs. As a result NORMAC has asked the Board to provide advice on the new relationship between MAC and FAG and how FAG memberships and budgets are going to be determined in the future. NORMAC has also sought clarification as to whether levies collected to fund stock assessment will be classified as research levies or as management levies as it considers moneys collected to fund assessment and research should not attract overheads. Northern Squid FisheryAFMA Management provided advice on discussions between AFMA and the State and Territory agencies on the northern squid fishery, and in particular, concerns expressed about the potential take of squid by NPF trawlers. AFMA Management's view, and the view of industry, is that squid is not a bycatch species as NPF operators are entitled to take squid as a target species under the existing MOU, although this was being questioned by NT . Industry members of NORMAC expressed concern that changes were being discussed to alter existing arrangements which had been put in place as a result of intensive consultation between NORMAC, AFMA and the States/Territory, particularly given that squid catches by NPF trawlers have not exceeded the limits in place and that to date efforts to develop a squid fishery using other fishing methods had not been successful. Concerns were also raised in relation to any reallocation or diminution of the rights of NPF operators to take squid in the NPF and the potential legal implications this could have for AFMA and NPF industry. NORMAC agreed that the sustainability of the squid fishery was the common objective and noted that Malcolm Dunning, a noted squid biologist, had offered to provide a discussion paper to the fisheries management agencies for consideration at a forthcoming meeting. NORMAC supported the development of the Dunning paper and suggested it includes a description of the northern squid resource, life history information, a summary of the available data and its quality, a brief review of management approaches used in similar squid fisheries and an assessment of whether the appropriate information is available to estimate the squid resources and provide useful advice to managers. NORMAC has requested the AFMA Board to ensure AFMA management consults with NORMAC prior to any decisions being made in relation to squid resources in the NPF. Data confidentialityNORMAC received a report on data confidentiality issues noting that under the current agreed rules for the release/display of NPF commercial catch and effort data, it is required that information representing less than 5 vessels or 10 days not be displayed or published. The rules do not cover release of Vessel Monitoring Data (VMS) for which there are no guidelines at present other than AFMA discretion. The main purpose of the rules is to prevent the release of information on the catch of individual boats to third parties. The current rules are impeding the exchange of information necessary for management purposes eg strategic assessment. AFMA is constrained by both the Fisheries Management Act 1991 and the Fisheries Act 1952 from publishing data that could possibly enable access to individual logbook data except in certain situations (eg by court order). NORMAC was advised that the requirement to only publish data which is the amalgamation of the data of at least 5 boats or 10 fishing days is a policy implemented by AFMA and as such, it is possible for AFMA to vary this policy in respect of the NPF, as long as whatever standard is applied does not enable others to acquire information from an individual fisher's logbook. The application of this varied policy to data to be collected from the 2002 season onwards would be fairly straight forward, but the issue is somewhat clouded with respect to data that has already been collected. NORMAC noted that when dealing with the data that has already been collected, the principal of "legitimate expectation" needs to be dealt with. That is, those people who provided data previously would have a "legitimate expectation" that the 5 boat rule would apply to that data. Before departing from that policy, AFMA must write to them, explain the proposed new policy and give them an opportunity to comment. AFMA must also advertise the proposed change of policy in major newspapers at an estimated cost of up to $20,000.) NORMAC supported a change to the current rules for the release/display of NPF commercial catch and effort data (logbook and VMS) subject to the following provisions: - Logbook and VMS data collected from the previous calendar year could be released in the year following collection. The full spatial extent of the fishery may be displayed but the temporal scale must be limited to summaries of at least one week or more.
NORMAC agreed that before incurring any major cost in advertising, AFMA management would write to SFR holders on the register seeking their views on the proposal. NORMAC noted that there would need to be a variation to current Board policy to change the current confidentiality arrangements, and has sought the support of the AFMA Board for this proposal, given that the current policy is impeding the use and release of information as outlined. At Sea Monitoring ProjectNORMAC discussed the issues arising from the workshop on the proposed at-sea monitoring project which was held on Wednesday 13th February. NORMAC agreed the workshop had been successful in stimulating ideas and identifying issues of concern in relation to some components of the proposed project but that attendance by SFR holders was disappointing. I have enclosed a summary of the outcomes of the workshop for your information. NORMAC reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the long term monitoring project in the NPF and agreed that the proposed project design should be reworked taking account of the priorities of species and areas identified by the workshop and the concerns relating to both costs and feasibility of the fishing power part of the project. It was agreed that a new project design and budget would be circulated following the analysis of the working group discussions and that funding options would be identified so that NORMAC can make final recommendations on the project by the end of March 2002. NORMAC will either reconvene or hold a telephone hook in late March to finalise this item so that any necessary funding for the project can be incorporated in the AFMA budget process and the research prioritisation processes. TED/BRD ReportNORMAC convened a 'hands on' workshop to improve the effectiveness of bycatch reduction devices in Cairns on Tuesday 12th February. A key feature of the workshop was a presentation by Dr. Chris Glass, a fish behavioral expert from the Manomet Centre for Conservation Sciences in the United States whose attendance at the workshop was funded out of the NORMAC levy base. The workshop was very successful with good attendance by industry, scientists, gear technologists and NORMAC members. A summary of the outcomes of the meeting will shortly be provided to all SFR holders. ComplianceNORMAC received a report from Alex Fry, AFMA Compliance section on compliance activities undertaken in the NPF during 2001, noting that the majority of the program had been implemented. Industry members indicated that they were aware of breaches in relation to daylight fishing and in-active VMS's and queried why protocols to detect the breaches had broken down. Mr. Fry indicated that additional protocols are being put in place in 2002 to ensure this does not happen again. NORMAC received a draft compliance operational plan for 2002-2003, noting that the proposed budget has not been considered by the Board. Industry members expressed concern that the budget has approximately doubled in the last 3-4 years and continued to reflect what were initially proposed as "one off" increases to cover the introduction of gear units and TEDs. Another area of concern was the increase in AFMA overheads. NORMAC members indicated they are committed to ensuring a high level of compliance in the fishery and have a history of being proactive in increasing surveillance measures where necessary, but were concerned that there was no risk assessment attached to the program on which to gauge whether the level of surveillance proposed in the plan was appropriate. It was agreed that AFMA management would review the draft compliance plan and would provide the NORMAC Management Costs committee with various alternative levels of compliance and costings, together with a risk assessment of the various options and performance measures of the Plan. Change to Minimum Bug SizeIn response to NORMAC concerns about the lack of scientific data on the species of Moreton Bay Bugs captured as byproduct in the Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF), CSIRO in collaboration with industry instigated a catch sampling program to gather information on the relative abundance of the two species of bugs in the NPF the mud bug (Thenus indicus), and the reef bug (Thenus orientalis). In 2001, the catch sampling indicated the area of the Gulf of Carpentaria fished in the NPF was dominated (98%) by the mud bug (Thenus indicus).Although very few of the reef bug (Thenus orientalis) were caught in any of the samples processed, those that were caught were mostly from the more offshore samples. This is consistent with the distribution of the two species on the east coast of Queensland. Based on these results NORMAC gave 'in principle' support to a change in the legal size of the mud bug to 66mm carapace width, subject to verification of the applicability of the East Coast Trawl distribution results to the NPF. However an review of the available data undertaken by Malcolm Haddon has indicated that there are some differences between the bugs taken in the two fisheries. As a result of the Haddon advice, and due to lack of data in relation to the mud bug taken in the NPF, NORMAC has subsequently agreed out of session to amend the minimum carapace width to 75mm. This is a precautionary approach which, coupled with the ban on the taking of berried bugs, should provide for the long term sustainability of the species. NORMAC will be considering whether additional data on mud bugs should be collected and if so, how that should be undertaken. NORMAC TravelNPFIO expressed concern about the increase in MAC travel costs as a result of the AFMA policy to make travel bookings through Carlson Wagonlit which did not appear to result in the booking of any significant discount fares. It was estimated that travel costs for the meeting had increased from $10,000 to $30,000 due to the current policy. It was noted that cheap fares were available through a number of avenues such as the internet and other travel agencies, and that the service provider did not seem to be proactive in identifying these without considerable pressure from members. One member indicated that his fare booked through CW was in the order of $1100 and a discount fare of approximately $550 was still obtainable only a week before the MAC meeting. NORMAC recommended that AFMA raise the concerns in relation to fare costs and service with Carlson Wagonlit. NORMAC has sought agreement from the AFMA Board, that to save costs, MAC members have the option to make their own bookings to achieve the best discounts and seek reimbursement from AFMA. Other items on the agenda included a briefing on MAC operations and declarations of interest, a report from the NORMAC Research & Environment sub-committee and a presentation by a representative of the National Oceans Office on the regional marine planning process due to commence in the North. NORMAC also considered a report from the Closures committee and agreed to some changes to closure lines as proposed by the committee. These will be incorporated in the NPF Information Booklet and distributed to SFR holders and skippers prior to the opening of the season. I have attached a copy of my report to the Annual Public Meeting of NORMAC 2000 for your information. All the best for a successful banana prawn season, Yours sincerely, Page last updated 15 July, 2005 |
