Wild-catch Sector

The commercial wild-catch sector is extremely diverse. Enterprises range from single low technology owner operators for whom the lifestyle is important to large companies that use technology very efficiently. The sector provides important economic and social benefits within coastal communities.

The commercial sector of the fishing industry is Australia’s sixth most valuable food based primary industry. In 2007-08 it produced about 178 400 tonnes of produce worth $1.3 billion.

Regardless of the size of the operator, the sector produces excellent quality seafood that is highly regarded internationally. Advances and adoption of best-practices have resulted in high-quality live, fresh and frozen Australian seafood reaching markets around the world such as Hong Kong, Japan, USA and China.

The most popular species are rocklobster, finfish, prawns, abalone, tuna and crab.

For the latest information on fisheries statistics refer to Australian Fisheries Statistics 2008.

Representative Organisation

The representative body is the Commonwealth Fisheries Association (CFA). Formed in April 2002 it was established as a forum for consideration of issues relating to Commonwealth fisheries and to represent the views of Commonwealth fishers with government agencies.