A new project is aiming to minimise the environmental impacts of Australia’s largest finfish trawl fishery.
The four-year project is the result of collaboration between the South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association (SETFIA), WWF-Australia and Coles.
It aims to improve the fishing practices of the Commonwealth South East Trawl Fishery - Australia’s largest finfish fishery, stretching from Barrenjoey Point north of Sydney southwards around Tasmania to Cape Jervis in South Australia.
The project is designed to raise the fishery’s operations and management to a level where it is best placed to enter Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) assessment.
Amongst other activities, the project will focus on rebuilding stocks of at-risk fish species, and improving stock assessment and management measures. For example, the project will develop indicators to detect any targeting of overfished eastern gemfish, which will allow appropriate management and compliance measures to be directed at that activity.
SETFIA’s executive officer Simon Boag said, “Trawl fishermen in the south-east of Australia must have a sustainable fishery. We believe we can accelerate the gains made to date and with Coles and WWF-Australia, we’ve found two partners with the same goals.”
To help deliver the project Coles provided funding for electronic logbooks, so fishermen at sea can efficiently report catch volumes and interactions with fish species, as well as funding for windy buoys, which help protect seabirds by deterring them from interacting with the boats.
As part of the project, SETFIA will develop an innovative TAFE accredited on-line learning program to help Australian fishers identify species at risk, such as sharks and rays, and to learn about the importance of sustainability.
