Demersal decision imminent
The clock is ticking on an announcement by the government on the demersal fisheries situation. With the recreational fishing season due to open mid-December and a decision on Commercial Fishing Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) due before 1 January, we know an announcement is imminent.
It has been a very stressful month, with many commercial fishers uncertain about their futures. Not because they have done anything wrong, but they are carrying the culmination of 30 years of poor management and poor decisions as it comes to a head.
It’s an abhorrent sustainability issue in the Perth Metro with spawning biomass down to seven per cent, highlighting the possibility of closure. Unfortunately, the unintended consequence of any closure is that fishing effort will simply shift to the next bioregion, unless tightly controlled.
For this reason, WAFIC has been calling for all fishing effort to be tightly controlled and accurately reported, with increased monitoring and compliance.
This will present a far bigger challenge on the recreational side of the coin, as commercial fishers already record and report their catches, however it simply has to happen if the fish stocks are to be recovered and demersal fishing is to ever be truly sustainable. It’s a foundation of fisheries management to know what is being caught, when and where in near real-time, not three years later.
Once an announcement is made, we will update fishers immediately and schedule meetings by Bioregion to better understand the impacts and discuss next steps.
In this industry there is never a gentle wind-down to Christmas. The fishers and WAFIC will be going gangbusters to the end.
Internally, we continue to beaver away with our working committee on FRMA priority amendments and promoting key messages for a future Fishing Policy Statement.
The work of the Compensation Working Group is closing out and we now await the Minister’s decision to open a VFAS for fishers impacted by the South Coast Marine Park and Greater Kimberley Marine Parks.
We also held our AGM this month. Director James Brown chose not to renominate after serving two terms on the WAFIC Board. I would like to take this opportunity to thank James for his dedication and contribution to WAFIC over the years, and welcome Kym Coffey and Alan Grey to the Board.
There is much on the go, and plenty expected to pop up over December and the holiday break, so please keep your eye out for our newsflashes, emails and social media posts to keep abreast of everything as it happens.