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Fisheries Resource Management
- The Australian Fishing Zone and its resources
- Using Australia's fisheries resources
- Conservation of Australia's fisheries resources
- Fisheries products and markets
- Aquaculture and fishery enhancement
- Managing Australia's fisheries resources
- Research-getting to know Australia's fisheries resources
Thousands of different and fascinating types of organisms inhabit Australia's seas, rivers and lakes. Over 300 of these species are harvested by commercial, recreational and traditional fishers, and some are used for aquaculture. These harvestable living resources we call 'fisheries resources'.
The Australian Fishing Zone and its resources
Fishing takes place throughout the large Australian Fishing Zone. This is an area of about nine million square kilometres that extends 200 nautical miles from the shore. As shown on the map below, the zone also encompasses waters around Australia's external territories. The 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone extending from Australia's Antarctic Territory is not presently defined as part of the Australian Fishing Zone.
Click here to enlarge the picture
The Australian Fishing Zone is third largest in the world after those of France (because of its external territories) and the USA. The waters fished comprise many different habitats, including inland rivers and farm dams, mangrove-lined creeks and estuaries, shallow coastal bays, coral reefs, the continental shelf and continental slope to over 1.5km in depth.
Because of its long geographical isolation from other continents and its wide range of habitat types, one of the most diverse marine faunas in the world has evolved in Australia's waters. In contrast, by world standards, Australian inland waters have comparatively few freshwater fish species.
Though they are diverse and occupy one of the largest fishing zones, Australia's fisheries resources are not as abundant or productive as those in many other parts of the world. This is thought to be because many Australian waters are low in nutrients due to little run off from the dry Australian continent, a narrow continental shelf, the predominantly southwards flow of the main Australian coastal currents and the lack of permanent upwellings. So, despite Australia having the third largest fishing zone in the world, in 1996 Australia's commercial domestic catch tonnage was ranked just outside the top 50 catching countries.
Using Australia's fisheries resources
Australia's fisheries resources are harvested by commercial, traditional (ie fishing according to traditional use, by traditional users) and recreational fishers (including divers). Some sections of the resources are protected for conservation.
A wide selection of the Australian aquatic fauna is exploited for food, recreation and products such as pearl shell, fishing bait, pet food and stock feed. These include more than 200 commonly named species of fish, more than 60 species of crustaceans (eg prawn, rock lobster), 30 species of molluscs (eg abalone, oyster and squid) and a few echinoderm species (eg sea urchin, sea cucumbers).
Commercial fisheries
The commercial fishing industry ranks fifth in value amongst the rural industries in Australia after beef, wheat, dairy and wool. Fishing differs from most of the other rural industries because of its major reliance on wild stocks and the associated difficulties in their harvest and management.
The total value of production from commercial wild fisheries and aquaculture has exceeded A$1 billion each year since 1988, peaked in 2000-01 at A$2.43 billion and declined since then. In 2004-05, the total value of production was A$2.05 billion. The high value is generated because the commercial catch has a large component of highly priced shellfish species such as abalone, scallops, penaeid prawns and rock lobsters. In 2004-05 they provided approximately 63% of the total value of commercial wild fisheries production.
Australia has about 10,000 commercial fishing vessels. The majority of these are small and operated by one or two persons. Due to the small size and diverse nature of most resources, many fishers use more than one type of gear.
Recreational fishing
In addition to commercial fishers, anglers are the other main users of Australian fisheries resources. Recreational fishing is a very popular pastime in Australia and is the third most popular outdoor activity in Australia after swimming and court sports. Each year recreational fishers take a large amount of fish, crustaceans and molluscs from estuarine and marine waters. The National Recreational Fishing Survey, conducted in 2000, was the first attempt to quantify this catch at a national level. The most popular fishing sites are beaches and rocks (32%), boats in estuaries and bays (26%) and jetties and wharves (21%). The State and Commonwealth governments have developed a national recreational fishing policy which recognises the rights of access of recreational fishers as well as the need to conserve and manage fish resources. A national code of practice for recreational and sport fishing is also promoted by Recfish Australia, the peak body for the sport in Australia.
Fishing by Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders
Fish and seafood are significant in the traditional diet of many coastal Aboriginal communities and are particularly important to Torres Strait Islanders. Many reef fish species are taken for food. Traditional fishing for green turtles and dugongs contribute to a large part of the diets of some Torres Strait communities. Islanders sell about half their catch of reef fish, trolled pelagic fish and tropical rock lobsters.
Foreign fishing
There were regular foreign fishing operations within 200 miles of the Australian coast prior to the declaration of the Australian Fishing Zone. The most active fleets were from Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia. In 1979, Australia developed fishing access arrangements with foreign governments, for example Japan (tuna longlining) and Korea (squid jigging). Joint venture agreements have operated with Japan (tuna longlining), Taiwan (shark gillnetting, pair trawling, demersal longlining) and Thailand (demersal trawling).
The domestic fishing capacity and the likely impacts on local industries were considered before foreign access agreements were approved. Foreign fishing vessels were charged access fees for the right to fish within the Australian Fishing Zone, and had to comply with licensing requirements, logbook and radio reporting and observer programs. Since November 1997 there have been no licensed foreign fishing activities in the Zone.
Conservation of Australian fisheries resources
Issues such as conservation are increasingly important in decisions on the access to marine resources and habitats. These have resulted in the protection of certain animals (eg whales), restriction of some fishing methods (large-scale driftnetting for tuna has been banned to reduce the incidental kill of whales, dolphins, turtles and seabirds), and protection of some areas (such as in sections of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park).
Coastal development may restrict fishing; for example, pollution resulting from coastal development affects the amount and nature of fish resources. There is growing concern over the introduction into Australian coastal waters of toxic dinoflagellates, exotic molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms and fish, as well as their associated pathogens, from the discharge of ships' ballast water.
The distribution and abundance of fisheries resources may vary because of natural environmental fluctuations and man-made effects such as urban development and associated nutrient run-off or pollution, and habitat change by construction of dams or marinas.
Australia's freshwater fisheries resources are small, and have been adversely affected by management of river flow for irrigation, power generation, flood mitigation and human consumption. Introduced species such as carp can also be a problem.
(Separate pages on this site provide further information about environmental issues in fisheries.)
Fisheries products and markets
The marketing of Australia's fish catch varies between fisheries and species. It is not co-ordinated nationally as is the case for many other primary industries.
Australia's most valuable fisheries, the Western Rock Lobster Fishery and the Northern Prawn Fishery, rely on export markets to maximise their price. Japan is the major buyer of prawns and tuna as well as significant amounts of rock lobsters as whole product and abalone. The USA buys 95% of the rock lobster tails exported by Australia and is the major buyer of our fish fillets. Hong Kong is the major buyer of abalone.
Australia's domestic market is supplied mainly with fresh and frozen fish from the domestic catch. Most of the production from the South East Fishery, Southern Shark Fishery and numerous inshore fisheries is sold for domestic use.
Indeed to satisfy the domestic market, Australia imports edible fish products from countries including Thailand, New Zealand, Canada, Malaysia, the USA and Japan. The majority of the imports consist of frozen fillets and canned fish.
Aquaculture and fishery enhancement
Aquaculture is a growing sector of the fishing industry. The aquaculture sector has been worth more than A$600 million a year since 1998-99. Although commonly termed fish farming, aquaculture broadly refers to the commercial growing of marine (mariculture) or freshwater animals and aquatic plants. Cultivation of trout, oysters, pearls and ornamental fish are long-established industries in Australia. The farming of Atlantic salmon and Southern bluefin tuna in sea cages now dominates aquaculture of 'finfish' in Australia despite its short history. Prawns are now the most valuable crustacean product produced by aquaculture in Australia but still accounts for a very small proportion of the value of the total prawn harvest.
In the past, aquaculture production depended on the collection of juvenile stages or spawning stock from the wild. However, research is now providing techniques to complete the whole life cycle of many fish and shellfish under hatchery conditions.
Stock-enhancement programs for some native fisheries resources are being developed in Australia. Several freshwater species (eg Murray cod) are being re-established into natural waters from hatchery stock. Fishery enhancement is being explored for scallops and southern bluefin tuna.
Environmental issues and access to suitable sites are important to the growth of aquaculture in Australia. Much appropriate coastal land is now settled. Aquaculture production may be limited by the availability of low cost, unpolluted coastal sites. Aquaculture itself can be the cause of some local pollution problems. Disease prevention is also an important issue.
Managing Australia's fisheries resources
The need to manage fisheries has accelerated in recent years as scientific evidence has shown increasing numbers of fisheries resources becoming fully fished or overfished. Australia faces the challenge of managing its fisheries resources within sustainable limits while maintaining an economically viable industry and productive recreational fisheries.
For management purposes in Australia, fisheries resources are usually described and managed in units called a 'fishery'. A fishery is defined by a combination of the species caught (one or several), the gear and/or fishing methods used, and the area of operation. Specific management plans have been developed for each fishery. Central to the management plans are the principles of ecologically sustainable development.
Control over access to, and use of, Australia's fisheries resources has been shared between the Commonwealth and State/Territory governments since 1955. The Bureau of Rural Sciences supports the Australian Fisheries Management Authority in the management of the Commonwealth and jointly-managed fisheries. In 2004-05, the States/Territories manage wild fisheries were worth approximately 56% of the value of fisheries production in Australia. Aquaculture industries managed by them accounted for a further 30% of fisheries production value.
For both commercial and recreational fisheries, the main management methods are by input controls (eg gear restrictions, limited-entry licences, area closures and closed seasons), output controls (eg total allowable catches, transferable quotas, bag limits, legal minimum and maximum sizes) and measures aimed at habitat and species protection (eg prohibitions on use of certain gear, on fishing in spawning areas, and on taking females of some species).
Australia has many examples of well-managed fisheries. In particular, the western rock lobster and most of Australia's penaeid prawn fisheries are internationally renowned for management which provides for biological sustainability and economic success.
The most important pieces of legislation affecting the management of fisheries resources are the Fisheries Administration Act 1991 and the Fisheries Management Act 1991. The main provisions of the former are to establish a statutory body, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. This Authority is the body responsible for day-to-day management of Commonwealth fisheries within the Australian Fishing Zone. Its responsibilities include licensing, policy development and surveillance. The Fisheries and Marine Sciences Program of the Bureau of Rural Sciences provides scientific and technical advice to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority.
Research - getting to know Australia's fisheries resources
As fisheries have developed, particularly over the last three decades, Australian and foreign scientists, and commercial and recreational fishers, have discovered much about the species inhabiting Australian waters - their habits, distributions and sustainable-production potential.
To assess the sustainable production from wild-fisheries resources, biological information is needed on the abundance of populations and their productive capacity (growth, reproduction, recruitment and mortality). There is also a need for information on the response of the resource to fishing. Since the productive potential of a species may be affected by the variability of environmental factors and by interactions with other species (including predators, prey and parasites) some knowledge of these is also required.
One example of species variation is longevity. On average, fin fish species live longer than molluscs and crustaceans. Some prawns almost complete their life cycle within a year. In contrast, our longest-lived commercial fish species - orange roughy - grows slowly and lives for more than 100 years. The longevity of many species is yet to be determined.
Research has been directed largely at the more valuable species, leaving many resources not well known. At present, there is sufficient knowledge to predict catches for western rock lobsters four years in advance and for some stocks of banana prawns in the Gulf of Carpentaria up to 2-3 months in advance of the season.
To help predict the distribution and abundance of fisheries resources, an understanding is required of the spatial, seasonal and inter-annual relationships between species and their habitats - including factors such as water temperature, salinity and nutrients. In addition, knowledge of historical population levels is needed to understand the impact of past fishing on these populations.
The largest fisheries research organisation in Australia is the CSIRO's Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research. Fisheries research is also conducted by the Fisheries and Marine Sciences Programme of the Bureau of Rural Sciences, and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (both within the Australian Government Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry), the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Australian Antarctic Division, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and various state fisheries research institutions and universities.
This information on Australia's fisheries resources was largely derived from Australian Fisheries Resources, jointly published by BRS and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC).
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