The latest Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) report on the stock status of all fish stocks has been released.
It shows sustained excellence in fisheries management by the Commonwealth Government. For the third year in a row no stock solely managed by the Commonwealth has been classified as subject to over-fishing.
Simon Boag, executive officer of the South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association (SETFIA), said: “The situation has improved again in the south east with two of the improved stocks coming from our fishery; blue eye trevalla and pink ling having moved from uncertain status to not-being-overfished green status.”
The fishing mortality status of three other stocks managed by the Commonwealth have improved with blue eye trevalla, pink ling and redbait west moving from uncertain into the not-being-overfished green category.
He added: “SETFIA and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) take particular credit for the improvement in the status of pink ling.”
Pink ling used to be managed as a single stock but some years ago scientists resolved that the pink ling stock was in fact two separate stocks; east and west.
This made AFMA’s job of managing each stock difficult because AFMA had only a single quota unit to and had no direct control over the regional catch from these two stocks.
SETFIA members have been managing pink ling using a quota system within a quota system, within it 19 eastern vessels catching pink ling have voluntarily set individual catch limits so that the recommended biological catch of eastern pink ling is not exceeded.
No stocks in the south east trawl fishery were assessed as being subject to over-fishing in the report.
The 2016 ABARES Stock Status Report can be found on the Australian Government’s department of agriculture and water resources website.
