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Danish Seine Sub-Fishery Seafood Risk Assessment Commonwealth Trawl Sector – Danish Seine Sub-fishery Prepared for the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Assessment Summary Units of Assessment: Commonwealth Product Names: Eastern School Whiting Species: Sillago flindersi Trawl Sector – Stocks: South Eastern Australia Danish Seine Gear types: Danish seine Year of Assessment: 2017 Fishery Overview This summary has been adapted from Helidoniotis et al (2017a): The Commonwealth Trawl Sector (CTS) of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) stretches from Sydney southwards around Tasmania to Cape Jervis in South Australia. The CTS and Scalefish Hook Sector (SHS) are major domestic sources of fresh scalefish for the Sydney and Melbourne markets, and there is minimal international export from these fisheries. The SESSF is a multisector, multigear and multispecies fishery, targeting a variety of fish and shark stocks using different gear types in different areas or depth ranges. Effort in the SESSF is distributed across all fishery areas, but since about 2005 has become increasingly concentrated on the shelf rather than in slope or deeper waters. The CTS predominantly uses otter trawl and Danish-seine methods. Figure 1: Relative fishing intensity in the CTS Danish Seine fishery in the 2016-17 fishing season. (Source: Helidoniotis et al, 2017a). Danish seine vessels fish along the seabed using a herding principle to catch fish mainly on the continental shelf. The net is similar to a trawl net but has wings and is attached halfway along a seine rope (AFMA, 2002). The majority of Danish seiners operate out of Lakes Entrance and nearby ports (Figure 1). These vessels operate on the continental shelf in shallower waters than trawlers and typically target school whiting and flathead over sandy and muddy substrates. Danish-seine effort decreased from 10,876 shots in 2015–16 to 10,034 shots in 2016–17, and the number of vessels remained constant at 16 in 2015–16 and 2016–1. Page 2 Commonwealth Trawl Sector – Danish Seine Sub-fishery Report 2017 Scoring Performance Eastern School Whiting – Indicator Danish seine COMPONENT 1 1A: Stock Status LOW 1B: Harvest Strategy MEDIUM 1C: Information and LOW Assessment OVERALL LOW COMPONENT 2 2A: Non-target Species LOW 2B: ETP Species LOW 2C: Habitats LOW 2D: Ecosystems LOW OVERALL LOW COMPONENT 3 3A: Governance and Policy LOW 3B: Fishery-spec. Man. System LOW OVERALL LOW Summary of main issues • The most recent stock assessment of Eastern School Whiting was completed in 2017 and estimates spawning stock biomass to be 47%B0. This is close to the BMEY-based management target of B48, and above the default BMSY level of B40. • Substantial catches of Eastern School Whiting are also taken in the NSW Ocean Trawl Fishery (OTF). Although there are no well- defined harvest control rules to reduce exploitation as the point of recruitment impairment is approached in the OTF, State catches are taken into account in the calculation of Commonwealth TACs. Substantial latent effort also exists in the OTF which is being addressed through the introduction of a combined Eastern School Whiting/Stout Whiting TAC by end 2018. • The fishery is relatively well placed against Component 2 and 3 performance indicators. Outlook Eastern School Whiting – Danish Seine Component Outlook Comments Target species Improving In the NSW OTF, the NSW Government is currently implementing a Commercial Fisheries Business Adjustment Program which will include the introduction of a combined total allowable catch (TAC) and individual transferable quotas (ITQs) for Eastern School Whiting and Stout Whiting. The catch quota is expected to commence by end 2018. The new quota system should offer the opportunity to introduce well-defined harvest control rules (HCRs) which are complementary to the existing SESSF HCR. Environmental impact of fishing Stable No major changes are expected to Component 2 PIs. Management system Stable No major changes are expected to Component 3 PIs. Page 3 Commonwealth Trawl Sector – Danish Seine Sub-fishery Report 2017 Contents Assessment Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 Fishery Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Scoring ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Summary of main issues ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 Outlook ................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Contents ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Disclaimer ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Background ....................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Risk Assessment ................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Outlook ................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Information sources ............................................................................................................................................................. 5 Assessment Results........................................................................................................................................................... 6 COMPONENT 1: Target fish stocks .................................................................................................................................... 6 1A: Stock Status ................................................................................................................................................................... 6 1B: Harvest Strategy ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 1C: Information and Assessment ....................................................................................................................................... 10 COMPONENT 2: Environmental impact of fishing ........................................................................................................... 11 2A: Other Species ............................................................................................................................................................... 11 2B: Endangered Threatened and/or Protected (ETP) Species ............................................................................................ 13 2C: Habitats ....................................................................................................................................................................... 15 2D: Ecosystems .................................................................................................................................................................. 17 COMPONENT 3: Management system ............................................................................................................................ 19 3A: Governance and Policy ................................................................................................................................................ 19 3B: Fishery Specific Management System .......................................................................................................................... 20 References ...................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Disclaimer This assessment has been undertaken in a limited timeframe based on publicly available information. Although all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the quality of the report, neither this company nor the assessment' s authors warrant that the information contained in this assessment is free from errors or omissions. To the maximum extent permitted by law, equity or statute, neither this company nor the authors accept any form of liability, be it contractual, tortious or otherwise, for the contents of this report or for any consequences arising from misuse or any reliance placed on it. Page 4 Commonwealth Trawl Sector – Danish Seine Sub-fishery Report 2017 Background This report sets out the results of an assessment against a seafood risk assessment procedure, originally developed for Coles Supermarkets Australia by MRAG Asia Pacific. FRDC is grateful for Coles’
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