Project number: 2008-316
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $75,000.00
Principal Investigator: Simon A. Boag
Organisation: South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association (SETFIA)
Project start/end date: 27 Jul 2008 - 14 Dec 2008
Contact:
FRDC

Need

From a global perspective, demersal trawling is seen as an uncontrolled, non-selective fishing methods which destroys the benthic environment and is ecologically unsustainable. It is a different story in Australia's Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery, where improvements in the management of trawling, through extensive fishery closures, Marine Protected Areas, limited entry, reduced fleet numbers, modified gear and strict TACs have have enable the fishery to demonstrate its ecological sustainability. Despite this, the SESSF trawl industry still has enourmous difficulty in stepping out from the shadow of perceived unsustainable and bad practices and this is reflected in poor stakeholder and consumer perceptions. This project is needed to begin the process of changing these perceptions. The benefits will be in the development of a pilot communications strategy that will be tested and subject to any necessary modifications can then, subsequent to this project, be rolled out at an appropriate scale by SETFIA and the SFM.

Objectives

1. To build on the 2004 BRS report of community attitudes and perceptions of commercial fisheries, by developing an understanding of stakeholder attitudes, perceptions towards trawling and the reasons for these.
2. Provide a draft communications strategy for the SEF industry and SFM to address negative attitudes and perceptions towards trawling in these bodies, and further support the work being undertaken by the SFM on consumer attitudes and perceptions.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-646-52466-5
Author: Gail Richey

Related research

Environment
People
Environment