There is an urgent need to reflect on the current state of fisheries resource sharing in Australia and how it can meet future demands. Over the past 20 years individual Australian jurisdictions have developed and implemented resource sharing arrangements. These generally apply to commercial and recreational fisheries, and in some cases indigenous cultural fishers. The resource sharing arrangements stem from the objectives of fisheries legislation in Australia which is based on the principles of ESD that include consideration of all fishery resource users in the management of fisheries. Understandably when management resources are limited the focus is on those having the greatest impact on fish stock which for most species is the commercial sector, and sometimes the recreational sector. The use of OCS provisions in fisheries legislation was both an effort to simplify commercial fisheries management and reduce the need to have resource sharing arrangements. While this was largely successful it has run its course due to the value of commercial rights ($billions) that have now accrued under current OCS agreements making it almost impossible to make further significant changes. Alongside these developments a component of the recreational fishing sector has been increasing its range and capacity to catch fish using larger boats and technology similar to that employed by some commercial fishers. This has led to traditionally commercial species being accessed by recreational fishers with growing concerns from the former sector about their fishing future. Various policies and statutes have been implemented by the states/NT in an effort to allocate the shares of a fish stock. This has become easier as a growing number of fish stocks are subject to TACs with the commercial fishers subject to ITQs and recreational fishers to increasingly stock-specific possession limits. Despite this those states/NT who have implemented resource sharing have experienced its contentious, costly and drawn out nature, and are only starting to confront stocks which cross both jurisdictions and fishing sectors. It is time to reflect on experience to date and find the best way to manage fisheries resource sharing in the future.

Yellowtail Kingfish is a high priority species for recreational fishers and the basis of an important commercial fishery in NSW. The biological stock structure is reasonably well understood, with genetic analyses showing that the population in Western Australia is genetically distinct from the population along the eastern and southern Australian coasts (Commonwealth, Queensland, New South Wales, Victorian, Tasmanian and South Australian waters) and New Zealand. Tagging studies have confirmed movements between Australia and New Zealand and South Australia to NSW. Therefore Yellowtail Kingfish are assessed through the Status of Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS) initiative at the biological stock level, being two stocks - Eastern Australia and Western Australia.

The most recent (2018) SAFS assessment for the Eastern Australian biological stock of Yellowtail Kingfish was ‘Undefined’, due mainly to knowledge gaps around the degree of mixing throughout this stock which spans more than 3,000 km of coastline. Reasonable data for assessment exists only within NSW, and uncertainty around whether an assessment of that component of the stock reflected the entire stock resulted in an ‘Undefined’ status, with a recommendation that this uncertainty be resolved.

Yellowtail Kingfish within NSW has been assessed as ‘Growth Overfished’ (2003/04 to 2013/14), and current evidence indicates a Depleted stock. There are ongoing discussions within NSW about appropriate management changes that may assist recovery; however these are hampered by the ‘Undefined’ status in SAFS.

The FRDC National Priority 1 aims to reduce the percentage of ‘Undefined’ stocks within SAFS, which also has an objective of providing a roadmap to recovery for ‘Depleted’ stocks. To address both of these and to promote better and more collaborative monitoring, assessment and management across all relevant jurisdictions, there is a clear need to review existing knowledge across the entire stock and to identify areas of uncertainty that require addressing.