Major changes in arrangements for commercial fishing in new Australian Marine Parks
From July 1 2018, new Australian Marine Park management plans will come into effect, creating new rules for where fishing can occur in 44 marine parks around the country. Australian Marine Parks are located in Commonwealth waters, 3 to 200 nautical miles from the coastline, beyond state water boundaries. Commercial fishing can occur in yellow and […]
Fishing by electrocution
Electric pulse fishing (also known as electrofishing or electrical trawling) is a trawl fishing technique used in Europe to target flatfish (sole) and shrimp. It involves the release of electric currents with a range of frequency, voltage, pulse polarity, pulse shape, and pulse duration combinations into the seabed to either immobilize fish so they do […]
Gulper exclusion trial successful
The gulper exclusion proof-of-concept trial has been successful. Read on to learn more and see trawl footage taken at 500m depth. Harrisson’s dogfish and southern dogfish are part of a group of sharks called Upper-Slope Dogfish or Gulper Sharks. To rebuild populations of gulpers AFMA has put a series of closures in place. These closures are […]
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 […]
Lessons on marine parks from the Great Barrier Reef
In 2004, the Australian and Queensland governments increased protection of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) closing 117,000 km2 of the reef to commercial fishing inside the Great Barrier Reef marine park. A report by four fisheries scientists explains that the Australian and Queensland governments supported the creation of the parks in the belief that the […]
Sub-Antarctic fishery pristine after 16 years of trawling
The Heard and McDonald Island (HIMI) Patagonian Toothfish and Mackerel Icefish fishery is located in the Southern Ocean 3,000 miles south-west from the Australian mainland. An eight year FRDC study has shown that after 16 years of trawling and five years of longlining that 98% of sensitive sea floor biodiversity remains in pristine condition. The […]
Trawl vessels to receive text messages when they transit marine parks
Parks Australia manages six Commonwealth national parks on land, the Australian National Botanic Gardens, and Australia’s network of Commonwealth Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Parks Australia is part of the federal environment portfolio in the Department of the Environment. Parks Australia is launching a new alert service to help Commonwealth commercial fishers know when they enter […]
A Recreational Fisherman’s Perspective on Drawing the Line
By Lynton Barr Editor of online recreational fishing magazine “Around the Jetties” delbarr1@bigpond.com On the 30th of April I attended a film screened by SETFIA (The South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association) and the Lakes Entrance Fishermens Cooperative for the public. This was an excellent film examining many aspects of the offshore fishery industry, and […]
What affect has fishing had on deepsea corals?
A project undertaken at the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, and supervised by Dr Karen Miller [Reproduced in full from the project summary by the Australia and Pacific Science Foundation]. Seamounts are recognised as hotspots of biodiversity, but are under increasing threat from activities such as fishing and mining, as well […]
Seafood contributes to Australia’s food security
Fears of a food crisis and violence were re-ignited internationally in August 2010 when the worst drought in 100 years destroyed a third of Russia’s grain crop, prompting the government to ban wheat exports. This move to protect domestic supplies and keep prices low encouraged the Ukraine and Kazakhstan to follow suit. Subsequently, typhoons hit […]