During the past three years there has been an increasing interest in and understanding among licensee Associations of the role that environmental performance is playing in the future viability of wild catch fisheries in the Northern Territory.

There are now 8 Associations/Licencee Groups that want to develop Codes of Practice for their fisheries and at least 3 wish to progress to full environmental management systems at this stage, with more considering this.

With the predominantly negative media coverage of the fishing industry in the Northern Territory, the realization of these initiatives by industry will go a significant way towards changing its image within major sections of the community. At the same time, it will facilitate industry’s wish to ensure that it continues to sustainably harvest product as the industry further develops. The initiatives are in line with the strategic management directions of the NT Government.

The difficulty facing industry is that the Seafood Council, which administers all the Associations, does not have the staff to adequately assist these developments. The Seafood Council strongly believes that the relatively small investments over two years to fund a dedicated person to drive the developments at a detailed practical level will pay dividends worth many times the investments for industry, the Northern Territory community and the aquatic resources and ecosystems in waters adjacent to the Northern Territory.

The ‘Blue Mud Bay’ Court decision found that waters over Aboriginal land are the same as ‘land’ under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (ALRA) with similar access requirements. This means that ownership of the intertidal zone (including the waters) rests with the indigenous land trusts. This is significant as land granted under the ALRA encompasses over 80% of the NT coastline.

As a result of the decision, existing Fisheries legislation was ruled invalid in the area. Awaiting the High Court appeal, permits under the ARLA have been issued by the NLC to allow fishing to continue in line with previous conditions under the Fisheries legislation.

Traditional owners, commercial and recreational fishers are now actively discussing long-term options and solutions to this situation. If the appeal fails, the NLC offered a 12-month transition period whilst a satisfactory resolution is reached.

This is a unique situation in Australian fisheries and there is significant opportunities to discuss how best to progress the issues at Industry level. It was considered prudent to make contact with people who have extensive experience in incorporating indigenous fishing rights into the fabric of the day to day operations and management of fishing activities and to discuss possible implications arising from future proposals by NT Industry groups. A fact-finding trip, with a view to meeting and discussing issues with a range of groups in NZ, was considered the best course of action.

The trip will enable stakeholders to become aware of best practice resource management use that takes into account indigenous participation in commercial operations, along with recreational use of fish stocks.

The timing of the trip is critical to allow the delegation’s findings to be considered during the decision-making period immediately following the High Court ruling.