Features

The South East Trawl Fishery (SETF) was established in 1915 and is one of Australia’s oldest commercial fisheries. With the inclusion of the East Coast Deepwater Zone in 1999, the fishery co-operative now operates in an area of the Australian Fishing Zone that extends southward from Sandy Cape in Southern Queensland, around the New South Wales, Victorian and Tasmanian coastlines to Cape Jervis in South Australia (Australian Fisheries Management Authority 2001). This equates to a management area of 1.27 million km2, though much of this area is in deep water and is less frequently fished (Larcombe et al 2001).

The Eastern gemfish (Rexea solandri).
Scientists and Managers are still in
disagreement about what is needed
to rebuild this collapsed stock

The SETF employs demersal trawlers, Danish seine trawlers and mid-water trawlers to exploit a variety of finfish species and deepwater crustaceans on the continental shelf, slope, offshore sea mounts and in the open water column. Of the total catch, about 90 species have commercial value and are either always retained or sometimes retained (Australian Fisheries Management Authority 2001).

The sustainability of the SETF is questionable. The commercial extinction of Eastern gemfish (Rexea solandri), the significant fishing down of some fish stocks (e.g. blue warehou, orange roughy) and the inability of fishers to catch more than half of the allowable catch for a number of quota-managed species are not positive indicators for the long-term survival of the species caught, or the fishery as a whole.

There are, however, efforts being made to improve the sustainability of quota-managed species. For species such as Eastern gemfish, blue warehou and some orange roughy stocks, these improvements may not be soon enough.

Discarding of commercial and bycatch species features prominently in the SETF. According to the South East Fishery Assessment Report for 2000, between 37 and 58 per cent of the total catch (by weight) is discarded.

Most discarded species are unlikely to survive and will end up at the bottom of the ocean.

The impact of trawling on the biomass of demersal sharks and rays (called chondrichyans) is particularly profound. Researchers report that sustained trawling over the past 20 years has fished the chondrichyans down to very low levels in south eastern Australia (Graham et al 2001). There are currently no management measures in place for any chondrichyans caught by trawling in the SETF (Graham et al 2001).

The Marine Coastal Community Network (MCCN) recognises that there is progress being made on resolving some environmental issues in the SETF and other

A school of pomfreds going about their business
PHOTO COURTESY OF GEORGE EVATT

The Marine Coastal Community Network (MCCN) recognises that there is progress being made on resolving some environmental issues in the SETF and other Commonwealth-managed fisheries, and that action is being taken to address the bycatch of seabirds and seals for example. However, the Australian community expects the SETF, as with other fisheries, to be managed in a manner which reflects ‘world’s best practice’ — where the most streamlined and cooperative institutional arrangements are in place and operating effectively, and sound environmental policies are being translated into on-ground fisheries management practices.

• explicitly managing both target and incidentally captured (byproduct) species

• reviewing the area of the SETF and identifying opportunities to establish ‘no-take’ fishing re serves as a precautionary measure to conserve and enhance fish stocks

• identifying and protecting marine ecosystems for the prime purpose of conserving marine biodiversity.

• ensuring that the take by recreational, charter boat and indigenous interests is fully integrated into the management framework;.

• integrating the needs of fishers and fisheries managers with those of other sectors in the south east e.g. oil and gas, shipping and tour ism. The SETF therefore needs to be managed as part of the overall marine environment and not as an isolated sector.

As part of the management equation, communities, including stakeholder groups, also expect to have the capacity to engage in fisheries' management processes at all appropriate levels.

Communities need resources to enable them to engage in committee processes, to develop meaningful submissions, to attend workshops and training, to meet and work with fisheries' managers and industry, and to communicate with the broader community about fisheries' management issues and initiatives.

Governments and managers should realise that without the necessary level of support, community interests will not be able to engage effectively. Conservation non-government organisations (NGOs) and indigenous communities, for example, are particularly hindered by a resource-poor working environment.

Australia’s legal fraternity also has a role to play in supporting those wishing to engage in fisheries' management. International, national and state/territory maritime laws are complex, particularly as they are applied to large fisheries like the SETF.

Australia’s Oceans Policy and enactment of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 have had additional and significant legal implications for the management of Australian fisheries.

Currently there are few legal advisors working with or on behalf of community interests and who have a specific interest in fisheries' management.

The Marine and Coastal Community Network strongly encourages Australia’s legal fraternity to increase its engagement in the management of Australia’s fisheries. Legal support is vital if the community is to effectively engage in the management of our fisheries, particularly those as large and complex as the SETF.

These species are managed under quota — Orange Roughy, Blue Grenadier, Ling, Spotted Warehou, several species of Flatheads, Jackass Morwong, Redfish, Silver Trevally, Ocean Perch, Royal Red Prawns, Blue Warehou, John Dory, Mirror Dory, School Whiting, Blue-Eye Trevalla and Gemfish.

Byproduct species are not managed by quota and are sometimes targeted or incidentally caught, are always retained, and have some commercial value. They include squid, cuttlefish, leatherjackets, gurnards, Black oreos, Warty oreos, Black shark, Alfonsin, Smooth dories, Greenspur shark and Gummy shark (plus many other species of sharks).

Bycatch and habitat interactions are addressed on a case by case basis and, in more recent times, in line with the fishery-specific South East Trawl Bycatch Action Plan. Bycatch species include Draftboard shark, Whiptails, small gurnards, Barracouta, dogfish, skates, Swellshark, Jack mackerel, Frostfish, Spiny

flathead, seals, and a variety of invertebrates such as crabs, sponges and starfish.

Australian Fisheries Management Authority (2001). South East Trawl Bycatch Action Plan 2001–Background Paper:

Graham, K.J., Andrew, N.L., and Hodgson, K.E. (2001). Changes in relative abundance of sharks and rays on Australian South East Fishery trawl grounds after twenty years of fishing. Marine and Freshwater Research. 52, 549-61.

Larcombe, J.W.P., McLoughlin, K.J., and Tilzey, D.J. (2001). Trawl operations in the South East Fishery, Australia: spatial distribution and intensity. Marine and Freshwater Research. 52, 419-30.

Smith, D., and Wayte, S.E. (2000). The South East Fishery 2000. Fisheries Assessment Report compiled by the South East Fishery Assessment Group. (Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Canberra.)