The State of Recreational Fishing in Victoria A review of ecological sustainability and management options by John Ford and Patrick Gilmour Victorian National Parks Association The Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) is Victoria’s leading nature conservation organisation. VNPA is an independent, non-profit, membership-based group, which exists to protect Victoria’s unique natural environment and biodiversity through the establishment and effective management of national parks, including marine national parks, conservation reserves and other measures. We will achieve our vision by facilitating strategic campaigns and education programs, developing policies, through hands-on conservation work, and by running bushwalking and outdoor activity programs which promote the care and enjoyment of Victoria’s natural heritage. Published by the Victorian National Parks Association April 2013 © 2013 About the authors John Ford is an independent consultant at Mezo Research with a background in marine and fisheries ecology. John has spent the last six years at Melbourne University researching rocky reef fish in and around Port Phillip Bay. He has conducted almost 500 dives and become expert on the underwater world around Melbourne and the Victorian coastline. John has worked with local Port Phillip and Corner Inlet commercial fishers on a range of projects including the sustainability accreditation of local seafood products with the Sustainable Australian Seafood Assessment Program. He also regularly presents marine and fisheries issues on Melbourne’s Triple R radio station, and is a contributor to the foodie-orientated sustainable seafood website goodfishbadfish.com. au. John is a recreational fisher who looks forward to successful and productive fishing. Patrick Gilmour is an experienced interdisciplinary researcher and consultant. He has worked as a marine ecologist on a range of large-scale monitoring and impact assessment projects across Victoria, including the Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project and Parks Victoria’s marine biodiversity monitoring program. Patrick has also worked as a researcher for the Australian Conservation Foundation’s Sustainable Australian Seafood Assessment Program, for the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute investigating corporate sustainability reporting, and for the University of Melbourne’s sustainability team. He has a PhD in the social dimensions of environmental issues, focusing, in particular, on understanding what encourages fishers to engage in resource stewardship. Acknowledgements VNPA and the authors wish to thank Dr Sean Tracey, Dr Trevor Ward, Chris Smyth and Michael Howes for their assistance in the preparation of this report. Cover photo Copyright Gary Bell/OceanwideImages.com, Snapper (Pagrus auratus). Citation Ford, J. and Gilmour, P. 2013, The state of recreational fishing in Victoria: a review of ecological sustainability and management options, a report to the Victorian National Parks Association, Melbourne. Disclaimer The VNPA has commissioned this report as part of its work to generate public discussion on the need for reform of Victoria’s marine and coastal planning, protection and management frameworks. However, any opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of the VNPA. 2 THE STATE OF RECREATIONAL FISHING IN VICTORIA The State of Recreational Fishing in Victoria A review of ecological sustainability and management options by John Ford and Patrick Gilmour 3 CONTENTS Executive summary ............................................................................................................P6 Recommendations ..........................................................................................................P10 Introduction ......................................................................................................................P12 Section 1: Current management of recreational fishing in Victoria ............ P14 An overview of recreational fishing in Victorian coastal waters ................................................................................p14 Current management of recreational fishing in Victoria ..............................................................................................p18 Estimating recreational fishing activity in Victoria ..........................................................................................................p20 Assessing the size, nature and health of fish stocks in Victoria .................................................................................p24 Sections 2: Ecological impacts of recreational fishing ...................................... P30 A framework for identifying potential ecological impacts of recreational fishing .............................................p30 Identifying the ecological impacts of recreational fishing in Victoria .....................................................................p32 Monitoring the ecological impacts of recreational fishing in Victoria ....................................................................p40 The impact of recreational fishing in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria ...................................................................................p42 Section 3: Alternative management strategies for recreational fishing in Victoria ............................................................................................................P46 Challenges of managing recreational fisheries ................................................................................................................p46 Regulatory and management tools used for recreational fishing in Victoria ......................................................p48 Management approaches to recreational fishing in other states of Australia .....................................................p50 Alternative approaches to the management of recreational fishing .......................................................................p54 Building a future strategy for recreational fishing in Victoria .....................................................................................p62 Dealing with management issues in five Victorian recreational fisheries ..............................................................p64 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................P68 References ...........................................................................................................................P70 4 THE STATE OF RECREATIONAL FISHING IN VICTORIA CONTENTS List of tables and figures Tables Table 1. Number and proportion of people in Victoria who went recreationally fishing between May 1999 and May 2000, by age and gender ......................................................................... p14 Table 2. Annual Victorian recreational fishing effort (hours) by gear type ....................................................... p15 Table 3. Estimated number and weight of key species caught by recreational fishers in Victorian marine and estuarine waters in 1999–2000 as compared to Victorian commercial catches .... p16 Table 4: Recreational fishing assessment indicators and monitoring programs in Victoria ...................... p21 Table 5. Victorian fisheries assessment categories .................................................................................................... p24 Table 6. Victorian fisheries assessments 2010 ............................................................................................................. p25 Table 7. Port Phillip Bay recreational fishing monitoring program 2008–2011 with details of frequency, intensity and fish caught and measured ................................................................................. p27 Table 8. Comparison of survey methods employed by Fisheries Victoria to evaluate recreational fish stock status ....................................................................................................................................................... p29 Table 9. Ongoing fisheries-independent surveys used for stock assessment in Victoria ........................... p29 Table 10. Summary of ecological threats from recreational fishing in Victoria ................................................. p32 Table 11. Magnitude of recreational and commercial catch in select Australian fisheries ........................... p33 Table 12. Total 2009–2010 catch composition of the primary commercial species from Port Phillip Bay, sorted by market value ........................................................................................................ p42 Table 13. Magnitude of recreational and commercial catch of select species in Port Phillip Bay .............. p43 Table 14. Comparison of marine recreational fishing management tools in Australian states ................... p53 Figures Figure 1. Framework for management in Future fisheries strategy: proposals for reform ............................. p19 Figure 2. Subcategories for considering the potential impacts of recreational fishing on target and other retained (byproduct/bycatch) species (including undersized catch) ............................ p30 Figure 3. Subcategories for considering the potential impacts of recreational fishing on species not retained or interacted with by fishers during fishing ....................................................................... p31 Figure 4. General