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The conservation status of seabirds means that any level of interaction is of serious concern. The only known mitigation strategy known to reduce interactions to almost zero is to not discard biological material (discards and offal) while fishing gear is in the water.
In late March AFMA advised industry that vessels fishing south of 38.00 (the Victorian southern coast) would not be able to discard biological material while fishing. This regulation is to be rolled out in two phases starting executed in July and September 2019.
AFMA contend that this will reduce catches on impacted (southern) trawlers by 20% but SETFIA believes that this might be up to 40%. AFMA and SETFIA agree that the SETF's revenue will reduce by $6-12m from $40m to $28-34m in its current form. Additional AFMA management costs associated with seabird mitigation will bring 2019/20 levies to $3m which will be 9-11% of revenue.
SETFIA and AFMA have agreed that in principle exemptions can be granted IF vessels can prove that seabirds are no longer attracted to the area where trawl warps enter the water (the "danger" zone).
The purpose of this urgent application is to seek emergency funding to fund innovation around how trawl vessels might stop birds from entering this danger zone. Without a solution it is likely that given the increase in levies of $0.5-1.0m and decrease in revenue, many southern trawl vessel operations will cease to be profitable and leave the fishery. Further, small New Zealand trawlers are not subject to any seabird mitigations; this fleet is the main competitor to SETF sales. As vessels exit the fishery the levy base will be spread across remaining vessels and the fishery may be reach a tipping point in which it collapses. The SETF is the major supplier of local finfish to the Sydney and Melbourne fish markets and it the largest Commonwealth managed finfish fishery in Australia.

Objectives

1. Development of strategies to remove seabirds from the danger zone (between trawl warps and the water), i.e. achieve exemptions from the "no biological material discharge while fishing" rule

2. When successful distribute these strategies to other trawl fishers allowing them to duplicate them where possible

PROJECT NUMBER • 2021-107

PROJECT STATUS:

CURRENT

Two-Eyed Seeing – a framework for cultural fishery assessments supporting equitable and sustainable access to shared resources in NSW Inland Rivers

ORGANISATION:

NSW Department Of Primary Industries Port Stephens

TAGS

PROJECT NUMBER • 2023-060

PROJECT STATUS:

CURRENT

Pursuing Marine Stewardship Council Certification for the Australian Southern Rock Lobster fisheries

ORGANISATION:

Southern Rocklobster Ltd (SRL)

TAGS

Social Acceptability

Market Opportunities

Fisheries Management

SPECIES

Southern Rock Lobster

Artificial Reefs: Suitability of recycled materials for integration into purpose built artificial reefs for enhancing marine productivity, biodiversity and social outcomes

Project number: 2021-055

Project Status:

Current

Budget expenditure: $280,505.20

Principal Investigator: Andrew Rowland

Organisation: Recfishwest

Project start/end date: 14 Jun 2022 - 14 Feb 2024

Contact:

FRDC

TAGS

Rac Wa

Habitat

Need

Traditionally, reef projects around Australia have been funded by public money through government agencies, in particular regional development, research or fisheries grants. More recently in WA, new reefs such as Exmouth’s King Reef, have been brought to life through funding partnerships between government, not for profit & other private/industry sectors. Creating new pathways & processes to unlock & utilise alternative materials to create habitat enhancement structures is critical in ensuring the benefits artificial reefs create for our oceans & communities are maximised. Integrating appropriate recycled materials into reef developments provides opportunities from a scalability & financially sustainable perspective for all sectors of the Australian seafood industry, paving the way for more reefs to be deployed for social, economic and environmental benefit.

Playing a leading role in artificial reef development, Recfishwest often receives offers of materials for new reef projects. Examples include concrete in the form of railway sleepers, roadway culverts & bridge beams or steel in the form of storage tanks, structural frameworks & pipelines. Understanding what structures are suitable & acceptable for repurposing into reefs needs to be determined before these opportunities (current & future) are lost. This will unlock new reef options with alternative partners & funders to build more productive marine habitats for the benefit of local communities & the environment. This project is an extension to the previously FRDC funded habitat enhancement project: https://www.frdc.com.au/Archived-Reports/FRDC%20Projects/2014-005-DLD.pdf

Current Commonwealth & State legislation & policies limit the exploration of new reefing opportunities and there is a need to support change within these regulatory agencies.

We regularly consult with stakeholders who also have a need to understand the outcomes of this project including: DPIRD, NERA, WAFIC, NOPSEMA, DAWE, other Regulators, Resources Sector (including operators), Research agencies and the WA fishing community as end users. NERA and DAWE have also provided Letters of Support for this project as critical project partners to help achieve the outcomes and desired benefits.

Objectives

1. Explore existing literature on structures and materials that have been successfully repurposed into artificial reefs globally

2. Create a framework to assess the habitat and fishing suitability of structures for use in artificial reef projects

3. Create a guidelines and a substantial list of structures available for potential use in integrated artificial reefs from multiple industries

4. Develop a pathway with targeted regulators to assist in the development of a better regulatory environment that supports science-based habitat enhancement projects

PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-072

PROJECT STATUS:

CURRENT

Multiple - Before After Control Impact analysis of the effect of a 3D marine seismic survey on Danish Seine catch rates

The project is a four phase research program being conducted in the Danish seine commercial fishery off Lakes Entrance that looks to: 1. Examine effect of seismic testing on Danish seine catch rates of Tiger Flathead 2. Examine effect of seismic testing on Danish seine catch rates...

ORGANISATION:

Fishwell Consulting Pty Ltd

TAGS

SPECIES