Assessment of the New South Wales Lobster Fishery
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Assessment of the New South Wales Lobster Fishery MARCH, 2012 © Commonwealth of Australia 2012 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth, available from the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to: Assistant Secretary Marine Biodiversity Policy Branch Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities GPO Box 787 Canberra ACT 2601 Disclaimer This document is an assessment carried out by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities of a commercial fishery against the Australian Government Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries – 2nd Edition. It forms part of the advice provided to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities on the fishery in relation to decisions under Parts 13 and 13A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities or the Australian Government. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this report are factually correct, the Australian Government does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this report. You should not rely solely on the information presented in the report when making a commercial or other decision. Contents Table 1: Summary of the New South Wales Lobster Fishery ................................ 1 Table 1 contains a brief overview of the operation of the fishery including the gear used, species targeted, byproduct species, bycatch species, annual catch, management regime and ecosystem impacts. Table 2: Progress in implementation of recommendations made in the 2007 assessment of the New South Wales Lobster Fishery .................... 8 Table 2 contains an update on the progress that has been made by the fishery’s management agency in implementing the recommendations that formed part of the fishery’s previous export approval. Table 3: The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities’ assessment of the New South Wales Lobster Fishery against the requirements of the EPBC Act related to decisions made under Parts 13 and 13A. ............................................... 11 Table 3 contains the department’s assessment of the New South Wales Lobster Fishery management arrangements against all the relevant parts of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 that the delegate must consider before making a decision. The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities’ final recommendations to the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries for the New South Wales Lobster Fishery ........................................................................................ 20 This section contains the department’s assessment of the New South Wales Lobster Fishery performance against the Australian Government’s Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries - 2nd Edition and outlines the reasons the department recommends that the fishery be included in the list of exempt native specimens. Table 4: The New South Wales Lobster Fishery Assessment – Summary of Issues and Recommendations March, 2012 ........................................... 20 Table 4 contains a description of the issues identified by the department with the current management regime for the New South Wales Lobster Fishery and outlines the proposed recommendations that would form part of the delegate’s decision to include product derived from the fishery in the list of exempt native specimens for a five year period. References.................................................................................................................. 22 Acronyms ................................................................................................................... 22 Table 1: Summary of the New South Wales Lobster Fishery Publicly available • New South Wales (NSW) Fisheries Management Act 1994 information relevant • NSW Fisheries Management (General) Regulation 2010 to the fishery • NSW Fisheries Management (Supporting Plan) Regulation 2006 • NSW Fisheries Management (Lobster Share Management Plan) Regulation 2000 • Fishery Management Strategy for the NSW Lobster Fishery – February 2007 • Lobster Fishery Environmental Impact Statement – December 2004 • Total Allowable Catch Committee – Report and Determination for 2011-12, Rock Lobster Fishery – June 2011 • Submission to the Department of the Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities on behalf the NSW fishing industry seeking ongoing export approval for the NSW Lobster Fishery – January 2012 • Department of the Environment and Water Resources – Assessment of the NSW Lobster Fishery – March 2007 Area The NSW Lobster Fishery operates in NSW and Commonwealth waters off the NSW coast from the Queensland border to the Victorian border (Figure 1). There are a number of marine parks and aquatic reserves which prohibit commercial fishing within parts of the fishery area. Under an Offshore Constitutional Settlement agreement between the Australian Government and the NSW Government, the fishery is managed by the NSW Department of Primary Industries under NSW legislation. 1 Figure 1: Map of the NSW Lobster Fishery (Source: NSW Department of Primary Industries 2007). Target Species The NSW Lobster Fishery targets eastern rock lobster (Sagmariasus verreauxi). Eastern rock lobsters inhabit rocky reef and sandy substrates to 200 metres in depth from southern Queensland to Port MacDonnell in South Australia (including around Tasmania) (Rowling et al. 2010). Female lobsters mature at between 14 centimetres and 18 centimetres carapace length. Each female can carry between 400,000 to two million eggs which she releases in early to mid summer. From hatching, lobsters take approximately three to five years to reach the minimum legal size limit whereby they are available for harvest in the NSW Lobster Fishery. Spawning occurs from September to January (spring to summer) each year in depths less than 50 metres (NSW Department of Primary Industries 2007). Fishery status The 2008/09 Status of Fisheries Resources in NSW reports the eastern rock lobster stock is fully fished. Classifying a stock as fully fished indicates that the stock is being fished at a level whereby it is biologically sustainable. 2 Byproduct Species The following lists the reported catch weights for prescribed byproduct species in the NSW Lobster Fishery for 2009/10 as reported in the NSW Department of Primary Industries 2011 submission: Common name Reported catch (kilograms) *southern rock lobster - *painted rock lobster - banded (bar) rockcod 5 blind shark - catfish - catsharks and swellsharks 519 wrasse spp. 17 cuttlefish - eastern red scorpionfish 158 eastern wirrah 494 foxfish and pigfish 28 hermit crabs - leatherjacket spp. 8799 ocean perch 34 octopus 257 redfish 189 silver trevally 15 slipper lobster 33 silver sweep - striped trumpeter - wobbegong shark 68 *These species are recorded as part of the total lobster catch and therefore individual species catch weights are not known, however the department has been advised by NSW Department of Primary Industries that they represent less than 1 per cent of total lobster catch. Take of byproduct species is restricted by bag limits and minimum legal size limits as set out in Part 2 of the NSW Fisheries Management (General) Regulation 2010. In particular, retention of wobbegong shark species is restricted to a six carcass daily catch limit of any, or any combination of, wobbegong shark species. Leatherjackets are the primary byproduct species retained in the NSW Lobster Fishery due to the type of gear used (traps). The 2008/09 Status of Fisheries Resources in NSW reports that the abundance of the most commonly caught species of leatherjacket (Nelusetta ayraudi) has increased significantly since 1999/2000. The majority of catch (approximately 600 tonnes in 2008/09) is taken in the NSW Ocean Trap and Line Fishery. Commercial fishers cannot retain byproduct species (other than southern and painted rock lobster species) while fishing in waters of less than 10 metres in depth (NSW Department of Primary Industries 2007). The NSW Department of Primary Industries advised that byproduct was only retained in less than 7 per cent of fishing operations in the 2009/10 period. 3 Gear Commercial fishers are permitted to use both inshore and offshore lobster traps. Inshore lobster traps can only be used in waters up to 10 metres and have either a rectangular base (rectangular trap) not exceeding 1.2 metres by 1.2 metres or a circular base (small beehive trap) not exceeding 1.2 metres in diameter1. They cannot contain any compartments or materials that would obstruct free movement of lobsters within the trap. Offshore lobster traps are used in waters greater than 10 metres in depth, are not permitted to exceed 2 metres in length, width or depth, consist of mesh (having a measurement from one plain wire to the opposite plain wire of not less than