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Establishing a national end of life fishing/aquaculture gear recovery system for Australia

Project number: 2023-124
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $273,080.00
Principal Investigator: Anissa Lawrence
Organisation: TierraMar Ltd trading as Ocean Earth Foundation
Project start/end date: 29 Sep 2024 - 29 Jun 2026
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Wild Catch
Recreational Fishing
Rac Wa
Marine Plastics
Environmental Impact

Need

Building on the circularity discussions and work being undertaken by FRDC and the industry, this project seeks to undertake the legwork required to establish a nationwide on-demand End of life (EOL) fishing gear recovery system for Australia and pilot it in key locations. The materials that many nets and ropes are made of are highly valuable and recyclable and in fact in many other countries, is already being recycled or remanufactured. Until now, having a national system has been cost prohibitive due to the large distances and need for economies of scale and limited local buyer interest. As a part of the national targets set by the Australian Government relating to plastics use and recycling, commercial fishing and aquaculture sectors have been exploring how to move to a circular economy model and reduce plastic inputs through a variety of projects run by FRDC and others. However, with fishing gear the biggest plastic polymer input, and contamination challenges, there has yet to be a suitable system established.

This project seeks to enable the opportunities that addressing EOL gear provides in Australia to the commercial fishing and aquaculture sector through the establishment of an effective EOL fishing gear recovery system for the country to reduce the landfill costs to industry. It seeks to build on the learnings from previous projects as well as the ten years of experience of our partner Bureo has in in operating an EOL fishing gear recovery program. Bureo currently have an EOL gear recovery system active in 9 countries.

The key objectives are:
● By the end of 2026 there is an effective end-of-life fishing/aquaculture gear recovery system implemented across key fishing ports, and key aquaculture centres benefiting regional communities and fisheries conservation and assisting the Australian Government to address plastic recovery/recycling targets.
● By the end of 2024, the enabling environment for an effective and fit for purpose EOL fishing/aquaculture gear recovery system is in place within Australia, with commencement of recycling underway in key pilot locations.

Objectives

1. By March 2025 the feasibility of and logistical requirements are understood to establish a national end of life recovery system for commercial fishing and aquaculture gear in Australia and an enabling pathway for roll out created.
2. By the end of 2026 there is an effective end-of-life fishing/aquaculture gear recovery system for Australia implemented across at least 5 key fishing ports, with measurable benefits being delivered to regional communities, industry, conservation, while contributing towards the Australian Government’s recycling targets.
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2014-004
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Mitigation measures to reduce entanglements of migrating whales with commercial fishing gear

This project provided a robust assessment that gear modifications introduced into the WCRLMF and octopus fisheries have reduced the number of reported entanglements. The management arrangements around the implementation of these modifications are appropriate in light on the new spatial and temporal...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) WA
TAGS
Remote Sensing
Rac Wa
Migration
Health And Safety
Fishing Gear
SPECIES
Western Rock Lobster
Octopuses
Environment
Environment
Environment
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 1978-044
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Underwater measurement of trawl gear in operation

The objective of this report was to measure trawling gear with the Trawl Instrumentation System (TIS). The method was similar to that described in Cruise Report no. 76. Each net and door combination was towed at various log speeds, and was maintained at each log speed for about 20 minutes while...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW)
TAGS
Fishing Technology
Fishing Gear
Environment

Whale entanglement mitigation program – understanding whale population dynamics, entanglement dynamics and gear modifications to reduce entanglements in WRL gear

Project number: 2021-091
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $750,000.00
Principal Investigator: Jason How
Organisation: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Hillarys
Project start/end date: 31 Mar 2022 - 31 Mar 2025
Contact:
FRDC
SPECIES
Western Rock Lobster

Need

Whale entanglement in fishing gear has posed a major threat to the Western Rock Lobster (WRL) industry over the last decade. Adverse media attention has to date been avoided, but 2020 saw the first entangled whale appear dead on a WA beach entangled with gear from the state's fisheries. Similarly, several "public" rescues were undertaken of entangled whales which is extremely dangerous. Attempts to disentangle whales has led to the death of responders previously in both Canada and New Zealand. Such events have the capacity to provide a significant threat to the activities of the WRL industry through erosion of their social license.
A program to direct entanglement mitigation research over the next four years will increase the strategic focus of research and increase the efficiency of the application and granting process, thus leading to a more rapid implementation of outcomes into the management of the fishery. Critically, broad dissemination of the outcomes of these project will assist in creating a more resilient social license. This will be important when adverse media attention is focused on the industry as the result of either the death of a whale or responder attempting to disentangle the whale.

Objectives

1. Understand the inter-annual shifts in the humpback whale migration along the WA coast
2. Determine the dynamics and WRL gear involved in humpback whale entanglements
3. Determine the population size of the Western Australian (Stock D) humpback whale population.
4. Investigate novel mitigation measures to minimise entanglements in WRL gear.
5. Support WRL gear disentanglement operators through provision of equipment and new technologies.

Gear interaction of non-targeted species in the Lakes and Coorong commercial and recreational fisheries of South Australia

Project number: 2005-061
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $164,087.98
Principal Investigator: Greg Ferguson
Organisation: SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
Project start/end date: 29 Jun 2005 - 30 May 2008
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Sustainability
Stock Assessment
Recreational Fishing
Fishing Gear
Fisheries Management

Need

There is a need for reference data on by-catch by the commercial and recreational fisheries that operate in the Coorong Lagoons. These data will be used to identify management issues, prioritise management actions, and enable targets/solutions to be established in accordance with principles of Ecological Sustainable Development. The project is especially relevant to the LCF, which is a small-scale community fishery seeking accreditation with the Marine Stewardship Council sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund.

The need to investigate mechanisms for reducing recreational by-catch in the Lakes and Coorong fishery is emphasized by the high percentage (71%) of mulloway that are caught in this fishery and released (National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey 2000/01).

The information gained from this project will guide management decisions about fisheries resources, and address industry, conservation and public concern about the impact of commercial and recreational fishing on the ecological sustainability of the LCF.

This project addresses several targeted priorities stated in Program 1 of the SAFRAB 5-Year R&D Strategy, aimed at ensuring sustainability of natural resources. Outputs from this project will inform stock assessment and management of the resource and contribute to sustainability. Outputs from this project will also contribute to development of environmental best-practice and complements a qualitative review of by-catch mitgation procedures undertaken by SAFIC and SeaNet (Anon. 2002).

This project also addresses key strategies identified in Goal 3 of the Draft Management Plan for the South Australian Lakes and Coorong Fishery (Sloan 2005). This concerns minimising fishery impacts on by-catch species by (i) quantification of the impact of fishing operations on by-catch species, (ii) improved recording of data on by-catch interactions and by-catch species composition and (iii) risk analysis to assess the vulnerability of by-catch species. Additionally, there is a need for baseline data on by-catch to set the levels for reference points and triggers outlined in the management plan.

There is also a need for a preliminary assessment of the survival of discards of key species from key recreational and commercial gear in the Coorong lagoons as emphasised by an independent reviewer.

Other projects where the need for quantitative data was justified by demonstrating that changes in gear and/or practices reduced by-catch or minimised mortality of discards were:

1. In N.S.W. estuarine fisheries, incorporation of strategically placed transparent netting in the bunts of haul nets significantly reduces the retention of unwanted by-catch (Gray & Kennelly, 2001).

2. In Victorian estuarine fisheries, changes in tow speed, tow duration, operating depths, sorting strategy, and mesh material have all been shown to improve the survival of released fish (Knuckey et al., 2002).

Although the results of any by-catch study is specific to the component species, fishing gears and practices, and the location of the fishery, the proposed project will, nevertheless, benefit from these completed projects by the general directions taken to develop new and innovative ideas to reduce by-catch.

This project will also address the needs of the ‘National Strategy for Conservation of Australia’s Biological Biodiversity’ of: (a) improving the knowledge base of commercial and recreational fisheries; (b) improving fisheries management in recreational and commercial sectors; and (c) assessing and minimising the impact of commercial fishery practices on non-target and by-catch species, ecosystem and genetic diversity.

Anon. (2002). Lakes and Coorong Fishery: Best practices to minimise interaction of juvenile mulloway, crabs and birds with fishing gear. Adelaide, Southern Fishermen’s Association, SEANET: 1-9.

Gray, C. A. & Kennelly, S. J. (2001). Development of discard-reducing gears and practices in the estuarine prawn and fish haul fisheries of NSW. FRDC Project No. 97/207.

Knuckey, I. A., Morison, A. K. & Ryan, D. K. (2002). The effects of haul seining in Victorian bays and inlets. FRDC Project No. 97/210.

Sloan (2005) Draft Management Plan for the South Australian Lakes and Coorong Fishery, The South Australian Fisheries Management Series, PIRSA (Fisheries Policy), Adelaide.

Objectives

1. Assess the survival of key species (e.g. mulloway, yellow-eye mullet) discarded for each of the main gear types employed by the commercial (large mesh gill net, haul net) and recreational sectors (line, small mesh gill net).
2. Identify mechanisms for reducing by-catch in the main fishing gear used in the Coorong lagoons and provide extension of these ideas to industry.
3. Develop potential performance indicators and reference points related to by-catch of the main fishing gear used in the Coorong lagoons.
4. Assess the (i) composition and magnitude of retained and discarded catches and (ii) rates of capture of retained and discarded species in the main types of gear used by commercial and recreational fishers in the Coorong lagoons in order to establish a risk assessment framework for by-catch management.

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-921563-28-7
Author: Greg Ferguson
Final Report • 2010-05-21 • 731.91 KB
2005-061-DLD.pdf

Summary

This project was developed by SARDI, in consultation with PIRSA, Lakes and Coorong Fishery (LCF) licence holders and relevant stakeholders, over several years.  Proposals to investigate interactions with non-target species and discarding from the LCF in the Murray River estuary and Coorong lagoons were submitted to South Australian Fisheries Advisory Board (SA FRAB) and FRDC in 2002 and SA FRAB in 2003 but failed to gain industry support.  In 2004 the Southern Fishermen’s Association expressed support for a study of non-target species to support their application for accreditation with the Marine Stewardship Council. 

During the study the lower Murray River system was in drought, and high salinities and generally poor environmental conditions occurred in the Coorong lagoons.  Consequently, the approaches to addressing objectives three and four (below) were changed.  It was originally intended to estimate discard survival (Objective 3) from discards that had been held in sea cages over 5 days. Instead, discard survival was estimated from numbers of fish that were alive at net retrieval.  The original approach to identify methods for mitigating levels of discarding (Objective 4) was to conduct experimental fishing. This objective was met using information available from the observer based monitoring program, from the peer reviewed literature and from several previous FRDC funded projects.

The main outcome of the project is the provision of information on catch species composition, quantified levels of discarding, and ongoing collection of data from the Lakes and Coorong Fishery. This was achieved using an observer based study of catches in the Lakes and Coorong Fishery.  During 2005-06 a total of 53 observer trips were made (973 net shots), with 18 days (173 net shots) surveyed in the Murray River estuary and 35 fishing days (800 net shots) in the Coorong lagoons.  

Keywords: gillnet, bycatch, discard, estuarine fish, observer program, Australia

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