Assessment of the Western Australian Mackerel Fishery
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Assessment of the Western Australian Mackerel Fishery October 2004 © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 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 Australian Government, available from the Department of the Environment and Heritage. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to: Assistant Secretary Wildlife Trade and Sustainable Fisheries Branch Department of the Environment and Heritage GPO Box 787 Canberra ACT 2601 ISBN: 0 642 55113 8 Disclaimer This document is an assessment carried out by the Department of the Environment and Heritage of a commercial fishery against the Commonwealth Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries. It forms part of the advice provided to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage on the fishery in relation to decisions under Parts 13 and 13A of the EPBC. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Minister for the Environment and Heritage or the Commonwealth Government. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this report are factually correct, the Commonwealth 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. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.....................................................................................................1 Background........................................................................................................................1 Overall assessment ...........................................................................................................4 Recommendations.............................................................................................................5 PART I MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS .................................................................7 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................ 10 PART II GUIDELINES FOR THE ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF FISHERIES..................................................................................................................12 Stock Status and Recovery.............................................................................................12 Maintain ecologically viable stocks .......................................................................................................... 12 Information requirements ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Assessment ............................................................................................................................................................... 14 Management response .............................................................................................................................................. 15 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................ 16 Promote recovery to ecologically viable stock levels............................................................................... 16 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................ 17 Ecosystem Impacts .........................................................................................................17 Bycatch Protection..................................................................................................................................... 17 Information requirements ......................................................................................................................................... 17 Assessment ............................................................................................................................................................... 17 Management response .............................................................................................................................................. 18 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................ 18 Protected species and threatened ecological communities ..................................................................... 18 Information requirements ......................................................................................................................................... 18 Assessment ............................................................................................................................................................... 18 Management response .............................................................................................................................................. 19 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................ 19 Minimising ecological impacts of fishing operations .............................................................................. 19 Information requirements ......................................................................................................................................... 19 Assessment ............................................................................................................................................................... 20 Management response .............................................................................................................................................. 21 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................ 21 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................22 ACRONYMS......................................................................................................................23 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background The Department of Fisheries, Western Australia (DFWA) has submitted a document for assessment under Parts 13 and 13A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The draft document “Application to the Australian Government Department of Environment and Heritage on the WA Mackerel Fishery” (the submission) was received by the Department of the Environment and Heritage (DEH) in June 2004. The submission was released for a 30 day public comment period that expired on 6 August 2004. Two sets of comments were received and DFWA provided a response to the issues raised by the comments. No changes were made to the submission as a result of public comment. The submission reports on the Western Australian Mackerel Fishery (WAMF) against the Australian Government Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries. The DEH assessment considers the submission, associated documents, public comments and DFWA response to comments. Table 1 Summary of the WAMF Area From Geraldton in south-west Western Australia (WA) north to the Northern Territory (NT) border in waters out to 200 nautical miles (nm). Fishery status Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) is considered fully exploited and Grey mackerel (Scomberomorus semifasciatus) is considered under-exploited. Target species Spanish mackerel (> 90% of total catch) and Grey mackerel (8% of total catch) which is only targeted in Gascoyne West Coast sectors. Byproduct species Grey mackerel (taken as byproduct in the Pilbara and Kimberley sectors) comprises around 80% of total byproduct; School mackerel (S. queenslandicus) and Spotted mackerel (S. munroi) each comprise around 7% of byproduct; other byproduct species include other mackerels, other finfish including tunas, various species of trevally and reef fish, and smaller sharks. Bycatch species Low bycatch overall but includes various species of finfish and sharks. Interaction with No known interactions. threatened species Gear Trolling and hand lining. Season From 1 August 2004 the following fishing seasons apply: • Area 1 (Kimberley) - 1 June to 30 November • Area 2 (Pilbara) - 1 April to 30 September • Area 3 (Gascoyne-West Coast) - 1 March to 30 September. Commercial harvest • Spanish mackerel: 457.2 tonnes (t) (with value of $2.7 m) 2003 • Other mackerel: 47 t (with value of $0.2m) Recreational/charter Recreational bag limits (2 Spanish or Grey mackerel/fisher/day in the and indigenous Gascoyne-West Coast and 4/fisher/day in other sectors) and legal minimum harvest size apply. Charter operators are required to report catches. A 2000/2001 survey estimates total annual recreational take of mackerels in WA at around 360 t1. 1 Excluding blue mackerel (Scomber australasicus) and including mackerels caught and released. - 1 - No records of traditional fishing are available. A 2000/2001 survey suggests a small