Application to the Department of Environment on the Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery
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APPLICATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT ON THE TASMANIAN GIANT CRAB FISHERY Against the Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries (2007) June 2019 DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRIES, PARKS, WATER AND ENVIRONMENT, TASMANIA 1. Background The purpose of this submission is to update the Department of Environment on the current status and management changes in the Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery to enable its reassessment against the Guidelines for Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries. The Tasmanian Giant Crab fishery was initially assessed by the then Environment Australia against the guidelines for the ecological sustainable management of fisheries in 2003 and the fishery was declared an approved Wildlife Trade Operation (WTO), under Part 13A of the EPBC Act. This declaration would allow the export of product from the fishery under permits for the next three years. The Fishery has since been re-assessed against the guidelines by the Department of Water and Environment in 2006, 2009 and 2014, where the fishery was given an exemption for export approval for a further five years. The current approval expires in July 2019. This report should be read in conjunction with: Previous assessments of the Giant Crab fishery under part 13A of the EPBC Act which can be found at http://www.environment.gov.au/marine/fisheries/tas/giant-crab The current Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery Management plan (Fisheries (Giant Crab) Rules 2013) which can be found at http://www.thelaw.tas.gov.au/tocview/index.w3p;cond=ALL;doc_id=%2B2%2B2013%2BAT%40EN %2B20140522150000;histon=;prompt=;rec=;term=Giant%20Crab%20Rules%202013 Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery 2. Fishery Overview The table below is a summary overview of the Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery: Publicly available information relevant to Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995 the fishery Fisheries Giant Crab Rules 2013 (Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery Management Plan) Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) giant crab assessment and research reports Application to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts for the re-assessment of the Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery 2014 (2014 Submission) Application to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts for the re-assessment of the Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery 2009 (2009 Submission) Department of the Environment and Heritage, Assessment of the Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery 2006 (2006 Assessment) Assessing the Ecological Sustainability of the Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery (2006 Submission) Department of the Environment and Heritage, Assessment of the, Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery 2003 (2003 Assessment) Area Figure 1: Map of the TGCF (Source, IMAS) The area of the fishery includes waters surrounding the state of Tasmania generally south of 39º12′ and out to the outer edge of the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone. The vast majority of the TCGF is in Commonwealth waters; however the entire fishery is managed by Prepared by Wild Fisheries Management Branch, DPIPWE, MAY 2019 Page 3 Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery Tasmania under an Offshore Constitutional Settlement (OCS) between the Australian Government and the Government of Tasmania. Fishery status The 2019 Status of Australian Fish Stocks Report reported the Tasmanian part of the giant crab fishery as depleted. Where the report states: This level of egg production is considered to be inadequate relative to benchmarks in most crustacean fisheries [Fogarty and Gendron 2004]. Since the 2013–14 assessment the model has not been updated due to a lack of data, and analyses have focused instead on CPUE trends. CPUE has decreased almost continually since the inception of the Tasmanian fishery. Due to its slow growth and longevity, Giant Crab is particularly susceptible to becoming recruitment overfished. The above evidence indicates that the stock is likely to be depleted. In an effort to increase biomass and reverse declining CPUE trends the total allowable catch for the fishery has been reduced since the last assessment from 38.3t to 20.7 t, a TAC reduction of 46%. Target Species Giant Crab (Pseudocarcinus gigas) Byproduct Species As of the 1 June 2007, giant crab byproduct has been reported in the Giant Crab Catch Record Book. This procedure has made for effective recording of byproduct as now fishers only have to fill in a single log book for their giant crab fishing operations. An audit of Giant Crab Catch returns for the 2016/17 season and 2018/19 season for fishers who caught more than one tonne indicated that no byproduct had been retained. Gear Giant crab from the TGCF are harvested using a heavy steel trap (modified rock lobster pot) usually set in strings of 10-20. There are limits on the number; dimensions and structure of giant crab traps that can be deployed form each licensed vessel. Each trap must have one or two escape gaps of defined minimum dimensions. Season The quota year commences on 1 March and concludes on the last day of February the following year. Fishing for male giant crabs is permitted year round. A spawning closure for females applies between 1 June and 14 November inclusive. Highest catches occur in the months of summer and autumn. Prepared by Wild Fisheries Management Branch, DPIPWE, MAY 2019 Page 4 Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery Commercial harvest Below is the harvest of giant crab since the 2014 assessment Quota year Total catch (tonnes) % of TAC (March – Feb) 2014/15 TAC 38.3t 23.14 60.4 2015/16 TAC 38.3t 20.5 53.5 2016/17 TAC 38.3t 29.6 77.4 2017/18 TAC 20.7t 16.5 80.4 2018/19 TAC 20.7t 19.8 96.3 Since the 2014 assessment there has been a steady rise in the giant crab beach price, which has seen the beach price generally maintained at greater than $90/kg often peaking at greater than $100/kg. This has resulted in a greater proportion of the TAC being taken in recent years along with the reduced TAC, as the remaining participants in the fishery look to maximise their catch by seeking out all available quota. A higher quota lease price (as a result of the higher beach price) is making it attractive for quota owners to lease out or sell giant crab quota. Value of commercial harvest For 2018/19 $1.89 million Take by other sectors Due to the nature of the TGCF, operating in deep water off the continental shelf (120 – 250 metres), Indigenous and recreational fishing catch are negligible. Recreational fishers are permitted to a possession limit of one giant crab. The Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishery has historically taken giant crab where bycatch limits have been in place, no more than 10 giant crab could be taken on a fishing trip or no more than 50kg in a season by a rock lobster fisher. The provisions for the take of giant crab as bycatch in the rock lobster fishery have been suspended for three years commencing in the 2018/19 season. Take of giant crab has also been reported by the Commonwealth South East Trawl Fishery (SETF). The available data suggests that the crab catch landed by the SE Trawl Fishery is low. Commercial licences issued A total of 78 licences are currently issued in the TGCF and some fishers may hold more than one giant crab licence. The TGCF is linked to the Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishery through the requirement to hold a rock lobster licence as well as a giant crab licence to target giant crab. Prepared by Wild Fisheries Management Branch, DPIPWE, MAY 2019 Page 5 Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery 42 giant crab licence are listed with a vessel. 18 vessels reported a catch of giant crab during the 2018/19 season of which six recorded catch of greater than 1t and three took greater than 50% of the landed catch for the 2018/19 season. Management arrangements The TGCF is managed under the Tasmanian Fisheries (Giant Crab) Rules 2013, which obtains its authority from the Tasmanian Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995. Input Controls: Limited entry Limited trap numbers Seasonal spawning closure Output Controls: Quota management including individual transferable quotas (ITQs) for giant crab. Annually set TAC Minimum size limits Catch limits for recreational fishers. Prohibition on the take of egg-bearing female Export As best can be determined, no giant crab from the TGCF has been exported during the period of the 2014 assessment due to quota reductions resulting in reduced supply (in Tasmania and other jurisdictions) and the crackdown on Chinese Government extravagance under President Xi Jinping. Bycatch Low – bycatch in the TGCF is considered negligible and assessed as low risk to other species due to the small amount of trapping effort. The majority of bycatch consists of species that can be returned to the sea unharmed, with the most abundant species being Hermit Crab (Trizopagarus strigimanus), and Draughtboard Shark (Cephaloscyllium laticeps). Interaction with Protected Species In the 2003 Assessment, the then Department of the Environment and Heritage (DEH) noted that the TGCF had no interactions with protected species. Since this time, reporting procedures have shifted slightly and now the TGCF records all protected species interactions directly in the giant crab logbook. No protected species interactions were reported by fishers targeting giant crab in 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 which is expected given that the fishery operates in deep water away from coastal areas. Prepared by Wild Fisheries Management Branch, DPIPWE, MAY 2019 Page 6 Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery Under sections 199, 214, 232 and 256 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), persons who interact with a protected species must report that interaction within seven days of the incident occurring to DEWHA. Ecosystem Impacts The TGCF is based mainly on habitat found along the edge of the continental shelf; on bryzoan turf growing on sand and mud sediments.