SETFIA and seabird conservation
Seabirds are attracted to fishing vessels by the sight and smell of fish and fish offal. At times seabirds have no interest in fishing vessels but at other times their behaviour becomes frenzied. During these periods they can be injured or killed when they strike the steel cables (warps) used to tow trawl nets. SETFIA […]
Six per cent of SE seafloor touched by trawling
CSIRO scientists are changing the way we think about the affects of trawling. A report completed by CSIRO scientists titled, Predicting benthic impacts & recovery to support biodiversity management in the South-east Marine Region has found that trawling only touches 6% of the south east seafloor and has not had a major effect on groups […]
Nagging Siren wins seal competition
Australian Maritime College students have come up with novel designs for devices that could reduce the incidental capture of seals during trawl fishing. Their designs were concocted as part of a competition jointly sponsored by the SETFIA and AFMA. Following judging by AFMA, scientists and industry, prizes were awarded to the winning students by Parliamentary […]
Snapper under control
Snapper has been small part of the South East Trawl Fishery’s catch for more than 100 years and is an unavoidable part of the sector’s 10,000 tonne catch of other species. There is also a separate, healthy commercial snapper catch in Port Phillip Bay licenced by Victoria which catches around 130 tonnes. Snapper is an […]
How does my bottom look?
How does my bottom look? Scientists are changing the way we think about the effects of trawling. A new report by the CSIRO scientists has found that 100 years of trawling in the south-east has had only minimal effects on the sea bottom (seafloor). CSIRO integrated several data sets to produce three maps of the south-east: A map of where […]
Josh Jarvis – Member of the Month!
Josh Jarvis, age 20 Vessel: Imlay Port of Domicile: Eden Position: Deckhand, currently studying Skipper’s ticket How long have you been fishing? 4 years. Why did you get into fishing? Dad has been a fishermen since he was 15 and was a Skipper at 19. I’ve always wanted to be a trawl boat skipper. What […]
Fishing industry and green NGOs unite for better seafood labelling
By Renee Vajtauer CEO Commonwealth Fisheries Association CFA have been pushing for Country of Origin labelling (CoOL) through the National Seafood Industry Alliance, an alliance between CFA and state peak industry bodies. CFA are supporting the Food Standards Amendment (Fish Labelling) Bill 2015, put forward by Senator’s Xenophon, Lazarus, Lambie, Whish-Wilson, Wang and Madigan. […]
SETFIA, AFMA and the Australian Maritime College’s plan to save seals
To address the issue of seal bycatch in trawl fisheries, SETFIA and AFMA are funding a fishing gear design competition open to all students of the Australian Maritime College and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. The competition will encourage innovative thinking in the next generation of fisheries managers and marine engineers by asking […]
Fishing industry proposes roughy management
Previous newsletter articles have explained how CSIRO’s acoustic optical system (AOS) surveys have found 30-48,000 tonnes of orange roughy on two hills east of Tasmania. Based on this, and within the context of the fishery’s harvest strategy, the AFMA Commission has now set the eastern roughy total allowable catch (TAC) at 465 tonnes and the […]
Did shortened nets reduce seal interactions?
In March last year the newsletter reported on a project that aimed to reduce seal interactions with trawlers. The project was supported by AFMA through funding from the Australian Government and ExxonMobil Australia. Reducing the chance of seal interactions is a logical step for the fishery which is actively working to improve its sustainability. Seals […]