Bycatch: National policy
Concern about the catch by the commercial fishing sector of non-target species - a problem known as bycatch - has grown in importance during the past few years with growing awareness of the need for ecologically sustainable development of the commercial fishing industry. Australian governments have taken steps to address bycatch, including the preparation of a threat abatement plan, to mitigate the take of seabirds in longline fisheries, and the development of National Plans of Action for Sharks and Seabirds.
Other initiatives taken to further minimise bycatch include agreements by industry for the mandatory adoption of turtle excluder and bycatch reduction devices in several fisheries. Underpinning these management practices, a number of research programs are testing and promoting technological improvements to fishing gear and methods.
All Australian governments cooperated to develop a bycatch policy, the National Policy on Fisheries Bycatch to provide a national framework for coordinating efforts to reduce bycatch. The policy provides options by which each state/territory jurisdiction can manage bycatch coherently and in a national context while still allowing for differences in state/territory fisheries. Consistent with this National policy, the Australian Government has developed its own bycatch policy for use in its fisheries, the Commonwealth Policy on Fisheries Bycatch.
National Policy on Fisheries Bycatch 
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