Fish stocks in the south east trawl fishery being fished sustainably
30 October 2015. For immediate release. Each year the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) release a report on the stock status of all fish stocks managed by the Australian Government. Mr Simon Boag, Executive Officer of the South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association (SETFIA), explained, “Today’s report shows sustained excellence […]
Show your support for Port Phillip Bay fishers
In November, the Victorian Government will seek to ban commercial net fishing in Port Phillip Bay. This means Victorians will no longer have access to fresh, local and affordable seafood. Read more here: Save Bay Seafood To show your support for Port Phillip Bay commercial fishers: visit the web page www.siv.com.au/savebayseafood and sign the online petition […]
Whiting machine now filleting
The Lakes Entrance Fisherman’s Co-operative has invested in a fantastic new automated school whiting filleting machine. This machine was adapted from Scandinavian technology and at full speed can fillet three whiting a second. Dale Sumner, Co-op General Manager explained, “eastern school whiting is a large volume local species that for many years was packed whole […]
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. […]