New Reports of Australia's Fish Stocks

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11 December 2012

DAFF12/438L

Australia’s key wild fish species are well managed according to the first ever national snapshot of fish stocks, released today by Fisheries Minister, Senator Joe Ludwig.

Over 80 of the country’s leading fisheries researchers from Australian, state and territory government research agencies collaborated to produce the reports, which assessed 49 species representing over 80 per cent of the value and 70 percent of the volume of Australian wild catch fisheries.

Minister Ludwig, who launched the final product in Mackay, said the Status of key Australian fish stocks reports provide an important summary of the sustainability of the country’s fish stocks.

“Fishing is a big part of Australian culture and an important local industry for many communities around our coastline†Minister Ludwig said.

“These reports show that consumers can be confident that locally-caught seafood comes from fisheries that effectively manage the sustainability of the wild fish stock.

“Australia has a great record for when it comes to the sustainability of our fisheries, and these reports are a fantastic information base for governments, researchers, fishers, industry and the community to work from to make sure that remains the case.â€

Of the 49 key wild capture fish species selected, 150 stocks were assessed and 98 were classified as ‘sustainable stocks’. Only two stocks were classified as ‘overfished stocks’, and these have management plans in place for their recovery.

Minister Ludwig said in addition to stock status the reports also provide information on catch trends, fishing methods and management as well as summaries of environmental issues and references for further information.

“This snapshot is the first of its kind. It took a lot of hard work and collaboration from government and industry and will go a long way in increasing transparency throughout the different fishing jurisdictions,†he said.

“The assessments show that seafood favourites such as banana prawns, Queensland and Northern Territory barramundi, blue grenadier, flathead and eastern school whiting are being managed to ensure the stocks are sustainable.â€

“Today’s reports open the door for future editions that may look at even more species and broader issues such as ecological impacts, economic performance, management performance, and social good.â€

The reports were initiated by the FRDC and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). They have been produced in collaboration with government fisheries research agencies in all Australian jurisdictions and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

To access or download the report go to:
/>http://www.fish.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

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ACCORDING to the Status of Key Australian Fish Stocks report officially released last week, almost 90 per cent of Australian fish stocks are sustainable...

Taken from Fishing World email Newsletter 17-12-12

17 Dec 2012

By John Newbery

THE FRDC's Status Of Key Australian Fish Stocks Reports 2012 has been a massive effort by over 80 independent scientists, funded by the FRDC and coordinated by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES).

While coming to grips with the full document (400 plus pages) will take some time, looking at the summaries and key findings indicates that there's lots here which should be positive news for the rec sector.

Firstly, this is a collection of independent reviews, something we've always advocated for.

Despite the commercial sector being happy with the findings, they didn't fund it. Nor did the green groups or the various state and territory fisheries management authorities, although they cooperated as required. This was independent research which, importantly, was peer reviewed by other national and international scientists before being signed off.

So findings shouldn't be biased towards any particular sector ... commercial, recreational or green. The report is about the stock status of 49 of our most prominent and important species, based on 150 stocks of those species around the country. It's not about the sustainability of fishing methods, it's about how fish stocks are coping with the current level of pressure put on them by both commercial and recreational fishers. It's not about recommending which fish to buy or not buy, or by-catch, or super trawlers.

The good news is that of 49 species studied, only two were classified as overfished ... southern bluefin tuna and school sharks, right across their respective ranges, which translates to 7 of the 150 stocks examined. Overfished means that the biomass is too low and fishing pressure is too high or recovery is not yet detected. That doesn't mean that all forms of fishing for SBTs and school sharks has to stop, it gives a "red light" status to these species meaning that protective measures will need to be monitored and assessed with whatever fine tuning is necessary to move them into one of the "yellow light" categories, transitional-recovering stock, where the biomass may be still too low but fishing is restricted and the stock is recovering.

Now sorry about all the numbers and definitions, but they are important. None of the other finfish species or stocks particularly valued by anglers got red light status. Australian salmon, barramundi, coral trout, Spanish mackerel, dusky and tiger flathead, tropical snappers, yellowfin tuna, swordfish, king george whiting and sand whiting all scored green lights, that is the biomass is healthy and the stock is fished at sustainable levels. So did "bait fish" such as the sardine and the sea mullet. Having said that, there were some locational stocks within this species list where there just wasn't enough data ... a future challenge for fisheries management authorities.

The one species of some concern is our much loved pink snapper, which scored some yellow lights. Of the 13 snapper stocks examined, four got green lights, but five got yellow. Three of the yellows are in WA (transitional-recovering), where they've already taken tough measures to support recovery, and two in South Australia (transitional-depleting), where action has also recently started. Worryingly, the east coast stock status is undefined, presumably because NSW, Victoria and Queensland can't agree on a coordinated approach to stock management and data keeping.

This is just a taste of the reports, which can be accessed or downloaded, chapter by chapter, at www.fish.gov.au. More studies are being proposed to plug knowledge gaps, which will hopefully stimulate the various fisheries management authorities (and their political masters who are ultimately their funders) to lift their games where necessary.