Sustainable fishing is typically used to imply sound use of a sustainable resource. Australian fisheries are recognized as world leading with regard to research and management, yet that message is still not being heard by many Australians, potentially eroding support for this industry. Recent events have shown that information about fishery performance with regard to target species is no longer sufficient for many Australians. Increasing attention in media and society-at-large is now given to a range of other fishery issues, including bycatch, economic performance, stock status and social/societal issues. Thus, for Australian fisheries, it is no longer just about catching fish - it is about a sustainable industry and management of a range of other issues. We lack a framework for transparently, independently and comprehensively reporting on these issues.
We will continue the development of a reporting framework for the status of Australian fisheries across a range of issues, as a companion to the ABARES-led stock status report (SAFS). This assessment template and the associated case studies will provide a holistic picture of the sustainability (biological, social and economic) of key Australian fish fisheries to inform the broader seafood sustainability debate. This will provide fisheries managers and other stakeholders with a clear view of successes, strengths, and challenges. We expect this template to form the basis for performance reporting on fisheries for use in other efforts such as State of Environment Reports. This work is needed to see Australian fisheries recognized more widely amongst the general public for the strong sustainability focus, and the strengths compared to other nations. This assessment will draw on a wide range of existing research and management outputs, be accessible, and through an inclusive development and consultative process, be trusted by the fishing sector and the Australian public.
Final report
The first Healthcheck project (FRDC 2014-008) developed an approach to provide information on the performance of Australian commercial fisheries in four categories (biological, economic, governance and social) using a total of 32 indicators. The first phase also developed the mechanics to support a data repository and a draft web-portal providing the indicator data for Australian fisheries. The approach was tested on three fishery case studies which revealed some difficulty with obtaining data on all indicators, and a need for more work on the coverage of categories and indicators.
- Objective 1. In consultation with fisheries stakeholders refine a broad range of criteria and
indicators for reporting the status of Australian fisheries. - Objective 2. (revised) Complete case studies for Australian fisheries drawn from alljurisdictions and upload to web-based repository.
- Objective 3. Refine the pathway for linking these fishery-level reports with the stockstatus reports (SAFS) and handing over methods to appropriate jurisdictions for updatingthe reports into the future.
- Objective 4. With the expert group provide input into sustainability discussions relating tothis project and broader national initiatives.
Community awareness and recognition of fisheries was perceived to be low based on the perceptions of the interviewed stakeholders. The Healthcheck can contribute to a broader understanding of sustainability, and illustrate the range of issues that are being addressed by fisheries and fisheries management agencies.
The remaining issues to address if the Healthcheck system were to be operational are related to Objective 3, the alignment and linking to existing data management and access.
