AFMA Update Vol 3, Issue 5, 16 March 2006

Statement of Future Operating Environment for Commonwealth Fisheries

By now all Commonwealth fishing licence holders will have received details of proposed changes to fisheries management arrangements. The new arrangements, outlined in the Statement of Future Operating Environment for Commonwealth Fisheries document describe AFMA’s response to the former Minister for Fisheries direction as issued in December 2005 – part of the Australian Government’s Securing our Fishing Future Package. The statement details the actions AFMA will need to take to implement this direction and include:

• Tighter controls on the number of fish to be taken and the level of fishing activity through new harvest strategies for each species

• Completion of Ecological Risk Assessments for all Commonwealth fisheries during 2006 to help prioritise management needs

• Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) will be compulsory in all Commonwealth fisheries to improve compliance with management arrangements

• Improved data validation will be achieved through greater vessel monitoring using observers and, increasingly, electronic means (such as on-board cameras) in all fisheries

• Making discards of quota and target species illegal

• Measures to significantly reduce bycatch in all Commonwealth fisheries, with the goal to halve bycatch levels by 2008.

The AFMA Board has identified a number of actions that can be started this financial year including assisting with the roll-out of the structural adjustment package and participating in an expert review of the Harvest Strategy Framework.

VMS rolled out to all vessels

Consistent with the November 2005 Minister’s Direction, the AFMA Board has supported the mandatory implementation of vessel monitoring systems across the entire Commonwealth fleet with a target implementation date of 1 July 2007. AFMA will be organising a workshop on options for the VMS roll-out with the Commonwealth Fisheries Association in May this year. For more information please contact Richard Bland, Senior Compliance Officer – VMS and Intelligence.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

Shelf Resource Assessment Group:
20 March, Canberra

Western Tuna Management Advisory Committee:
20-21 March, Fremantle

South East Trawl Management Advisory Committee:
22-23 March, Canberra

Gillnet, Hook and Trap Sectors Management Advisory Committee:
27-28 March, Melbourne

For more details and agenda papers for upcoming MAC meetings, please check our website.

Reducing Bycatch in Commonwealth fisheries

The Guide to Addressing Bycatch in Commonwealth Fisheries has been released and endorsed by the AFMA Board. This guide has been developed in response to the Board’s concerns at the limited success of reducing discards, and bycatch generally, in some Commonwealth fisheries.

MAC’s have been asked to provide advice to the AFMA Environment Committee on measures to eliminate discarding of target and quota species and work to minimise interactions with threatened, endangered and protected species. Key objectives of the Guide are:

• to establish the extent of discarding;

• the discarding of species subject to a total allowable catch limit or
quota management will be illegal in all Commonwealth fisheries by 2007; and

• assess and implement measures to significantly reduce discarding in all Commonwealth fisheries, with the goal to halve it by 2008.

MAC’s will need to demonstrate that mitigation, monitoring and enforcement measures they implement can deliver these outcomes effectively.

Quad gear approved in Northern Prawn Fishery

The AFMA Board has approved the use of quad gear with a 10% penalty on the value of each gear SFR, to help improve economic efficiency for operators. AFMA management will proceed with an amendment to the management plan to allow for other gear configurations.

The Board agreed that if there is a significant uptake in the use of quad gear in the fishery, experimental gear trials will be conducted in 2007 to provide more detailed estimates on relative catch efficiency and fishing power. For more information please contact Wade Whitelaw, Manager - Northern Prawn and Western Trawl Fisheries on (02) 6272 5037 or email wade.whitelaw@afma.gov.au.

A sustainable future for the highly prized Patagonian toothfish

A new management plan has set in place measures to ensure the sustainable harvest of Patagonian toothfish in Australia's Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery. The Minister for Fisheries Senator Eric Abetz recently announced that he had accepted the management plan for the fishery as determined by AFMA.

"This plan, combined with Australia's efforts to stamp out illegal foreign fishing in our southern waters, clearly highlights the Australian Government's commitment to protecting this valuable resource," the Minister said. "The management plan adopts stringent fishery management measures, including setting sustainable catch levels and the use of strict environmental protection measures. Operators are also required to carry two independent observers to monitor fishing operations, and collect data on target and non-target species."

In a first for Australian fisheries, half the available statutory fishing rights will also be sold by a competitive tender process. Statutory fishing rights give fishers greater security than the current annually renewable permits by providing a guaranteed access right for the life of the management plan.

The fishery is divided into two sectors; for 2005/2006, the total allowable catch of Patagonian toothfish is set at 380 tonnes across both sectors.

National refrigeration and air conditioning licensing laws and the maritime sector

Commonwealth fishers should be aware that a new national refrigeration and air conditioning licensing system came into force on 1 July 2005. It affects any person who buys, sells, stores or handles ozone depleting or synthetic greenhouse gas refrigerant – including those in the maritime sector.

The Department of the Environment and Heritage (DEH) has informed AFMA that people who handle these substances in bulk or in equipment, including those in the fishing industry, are required to be licenced. Companies or people who acquire, possess or dispose of these refrigerants are required to hold a refrigerant trading authorisation – refrigerant cannot be purchased in Australia without a valid authorisation.

Recognising the specific nature of work at sea, the challenging operating environment and the lack of access to land-based qualified refrigeration technicians, DEH is working with representatives of the maritime sector, including the Commonwealth Fisheries Association, to develop a restricted refrigerant handling licence (maritime category) for work with refrigerants on vessels. Updates on the development of this restricted licence (maritime) will be posted on DEH’s web site at www.deh.gov.au/atmosphere/ozone/rac/maritime/index.html.

Until a new category of licence is developed, marine engineers and other maritime personnel handling refrigerants must hold a refrigeration handling licence. At a minimum, this will be a 12-month experienced persons (EP) licence. As applications for EP licences will not be accepted beyond 30 June 2006, marine engineers and other maritime personnel who handle refrigerants should apply for one as soon as possible to avoid operating without a licence.