ACPF IPA: Australian wild caught prawn sector RD&E management and communication
Establishing an industry recovery strategy for the Area 3 zone of the Western Australian Abalone Managed Fishery
Determinates of socially-supported wild-catch and aquaculture fisheries in Australia
In order to secure the future of Australian wild-catch and aquaculture fisheries, it is increasingly clear that, alongside effective and responsible management and production, building and maintaining societal support is vital.
There are a number of recent examples in Australia where wild-catch and aquaculture fisheries have been threatened, even shut down, as a result of not having a ‘social license to operate’. This is despite having good ecological, economic and management credentials. Examples include: the 2016 closure of the Victorian small scale Port Phillip Bay net fishery as a result of pressure from the recreational fishing sector; the environmental controversy over mid-water trawling (‘super trawlers’) for small pelagic species despite scientifically-determined healthy stock status; and environmental non-governmental organisations (eNGOs) campaigns against Tassal’s proposed fish farm operations in Okehampton Bay on Tasmania’s east coast.
The wild-catch and aquaculture industries are increasingly and acutely aware of the need to garner societal support. But, they are unsure of how to address poor societal support at its root, who needs to be involved to address the problem, and effective pathways to improving societal support. From an industry perspective, there are gaps in knowledge in terms of 1) identifying the determinants of poor/high societal support; 2) identifying stakeholder groups to target who determine societal support and outcomes for wild-catch and aquaculture fisheries (e.g. other resource user groups, eNGOs, decision-makers and government, consumers, other publics); and 3) appropriate, effective and innovative pathways to improve societal support through engagement strategies and interventions.
However, there is a wealth of information available that is not directly or easily transferable currently. It requires collation and synthesis to address the knowledge gaps, including learnings from other industries, international wild-catch and aquaculture fisheries, as well as historical case studies of successes and failures within Australia. This project will draw together knowledge from existing literature and documentation and also use key informant interviews to address the above gaps.
Final report
Improving performance of ITQ fisheries - Project activity paused
Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) and Individual Transferable Effort (ITE) systems have been introduced to a wide range of Australian fisheries (FRDC 2017-159). Since 1985, forty-six ITQs have been introduced to a range of fisheries and can be found across all jurisdictions in Australia; six ITEs have also been introduced, mainly in prawn trawl fisheries. Such systems allocate shares or portions of a total allowable catch (TAC), or total allowable effort (TAE), between fishers, vessels, communities, or others with an interest in the fishery.
Experience shows that ITQs as generally designed and implemented have not always fully delivered promised outcomes, have had outcomes that were unintended and unwanted, and in some instances have resulted in outcomes that make it difficult for fisheries managers to deliver against other, in many cases non-economic, objectives of fisheries management. In some instances, these unintended and unwanted consequences may also have been inappropriately attributed to the ITQs/ITEs and may more be down to other drivers such as globalisation or changes in stock abundance.
Building on industry and management’s growing interest in improving ITQ-fishery outcomes (SRL Corporatisation Workshop, Melbourne Airport, October 2019) and on the findings of 2017-159, this work will aim to provide evidence-based advice to managers and industry on options to address any performance gaps or unintended and unwanted consequences, and the potential effects of any proposed interventions on the economic, social and environmental outcomes of ITQs as generally implemented in Australian fisheries. The scope of options will include industry-led private sector initiatives, as well as Government-led changes to management.