Tactical Research Fund: improved line weighting method for tuna longline fishing using live-baiting to mitigate sea bird bycatch and improve worker safety
The Commonwealth has listed the incidental capture of seabirds in oceanic longlining as a key threatening process.
Australia has a Threat Abatement Plan for the incidental catch (of bycatch) of seabirds during oceanic longline fishing operations (TAP). The TAP sets out actions that must be followed to mitigate seabird bycatch, including line weighting, catch rate triggers and management responses.
AFMA requires all Commonwealth longline fisheries to implement line weighting and other seabird bycatch mitigation measures. Despite these, in previous years there has been protracted daylight setting bans in key sub-areas of the ETBF, where live bait is used (and large economic impact), because of seabird bycatch incidents. This demonstrates that the current measures are not fully effective. Live bait increases seabird bycatch risk but are used to maintain target species catch rates.
AFMA is aware of four ‘flyback’ incidents where a crew member was hit by a line weight and hospitalised. An AFMA observer was also recently injured by a ‘flyback’ and is subject to a Comcare claim.
New line weighting regimes trialled in Australia using dead bait in 2010 showed that a ‘sliding’ 40g weight at or near the hook is potentially safer for crew, cheaper, improves sink rates and reduces risks of seabird bycatch, while maintaining fish catch rates. However, a significant proportion of fishers use live baits for which the 40g line weighting regime is insufficient.
Moving the weight to be at or near the hook dramatically increases the sink rate. However, the effects on the life status of live bait (and fish catch rates) have not yet been tested and fishers continue to prefer not to move weights nearer to the hook. This trial will investigate the impact of 60g weights within 1 meter of the hook on bait life status and catch rates.
Final report
SESSF Monitoring and Assessment – Strategic Review
Southern Bluefin Tuna: Changing The Trajectory
Evaluating the use of onboard cameras in the Shark Gillnet Fishery in South Australia
Australian Sea Lions (ASL) have been known to interact with the gillnet sector of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) for some time but the nature and extent of these interactions have been poorly understood. On 30 June 2010 AFMA implemented the Australian Sea Lion Management Strategy. A component of this strategy requires that observer coverage in the fishery be increased from approx 2.6% to at least 11% in the South Australian gillnet sector of the SESSF. This increased level of monitoring is designed to detect interactions with Australian sea lions and provide an indication of accuracy of predicted level of interactions suggested in the report by Goldsworthy et al (2010). Given the rare nature of the interactions, significant increases in human observation at or above this level are unlikely to be economically sustainable in the longer term and digital monitoring including cameras have been proposed as a viable alternative. Onboard camera monitoring has the potential to improve fishery management outcomes cost effectively.
AFMA is currently undertaking e-monitoring trial featuring onboard cameras in the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery and the Northern Prawn Fishery to assess the capacity of onboard cameras to collect data cost effectively. Early indications from these trials are positive. This project differs from the ETBF as it focuses on an investigation of the equipment to collect a significant proportion of the data currently collected as part of the Independent Scientific Monitoring Program (ISMP) including protected species. In addition the capacity of onboard cameras to capture interactions between fishing operations and Australian sea lions in the Shark gillnet fishery is unknown. The proposed project will be designed to enable a detailed cost benefit analysis of onboard camera monitoring in gillnet and fish trawl fisheries to test this hypothesis.