Assessment of the NSW Ocean Trap and Line Fishery

Fisheries NSW

Assessment of the NSW Ocean Trap and Line Fishery

Prepared for the Department of the Environment and Energy for the purpose of assessment under Part 13 and 13(A) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999

Published by the NSW Department of Primary Industries

Assessment of the NSW Ocean Trap and Line Fishery - Prepared for the Department of the Environment and Energy for the purpose of assessment under Part 13 and 13(A) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

First published June 2019

More information

Fiona McKinnon, Fisheries NSW

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au

OUT17/6267

© State of New South Wales through the Department of Industry, Skills and Regional Development, 2019. You may copy, distribute and otherwise freely deal with this publication for any purpose, provided that you attribute the NSW Department of Primary Industries as the owner.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing (June 2019). However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date and to check currency of the information with the appropriate officer of the Department of Primary Industries or the user’s independent adviser.

Contents

1Introduction

2Description of the Fishery

2.1Species

2.2Fishing gear

2.3Fishing area

2.4Management arrangements

2.4.1Input controls

2.4.2Output controls

2.5Number of fishers

2.6Licensing arrangements

2.7Allocation between sectors

2.7.1Recreational fishing

2.7.2Aboriginal cultural fishing

2.7.3Policy for Fisheries Resource Sharing in NSW

2.8Governing legislation

3Management

3.1Commercial Fisheries Business Adjustment Program

3.2Legislative changes

3.3Catch quota system for Spanner crab (northern zone)

3.4Marine estate reforms

3.4.1NSW Marine Estate Threat and Risk Assessment Draft Report

3.4.2Hawkesbury Shelf marine bioregion assessment

3.5Performance of the fishery against objectives, performance indicators and triggers

3.6Compliance

3.6.1Compliance rates

3.7Consultation processes

3.7.1Ministerial Fisheries Advisory Committee

3.7.2Commercial Fishing NSW Advisory Council

3.7.3Working groups

3.8Cross jurisdictional management arrangements

3.9Threatened, endangered and protected species

3.9.1Frequency and nature of interactions

3.9.2Management actions taken to reduce interactions and results of such actions

4Research and Monitoring

4.1Research priorities

4.2Relevant research

4.3Monitoring programs

4.3.1Resource Assessment Framework

4.3.2Scientific observer program

4.3.3Collection of catch and effort data

4.3.4Port monitoring

5Catch Data

5.1Total catch and value of the OTL Fishery

5.2Total catch and fishing effort data of primary and key secondary species

5.3Harvest by each sector

5.3.1Recreational fishing

5.3.2Aboriginal cultural fishing

5.3.3Illegal catch

6Status of Target Stock

6.1Species assessed as ‘Overfished’

6.1.1Grey (Rubberlip) Morwong

6.1.2Gemfish

6.1.3Mulloway

7Impacts of the Fishery on the Ecosystem

7.1Results of any ecological risk assessments

7.2Nature of the impacts on the ecosystem including impacts on any key conservation values

7.3Management actions taken to reduce the impacts

8Report against OTL Fishery Conditions and Recommendations of WTO Declaration

Appendix 1: References

1 Introduction

This submission has been prepared by NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) on behalf of shareholders in the NSW Ocean Trap and Line Fishery (the OTL Fishery) in order to assist industry to obtain export approval by leveraging off the comprehensive legislative and policy framework for fisheries management in NSW.

The following provides a report of the OTL Fishery for assessment under Part 13 and 13 (A) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Information provided follows the recommended content for reports detailed in Appendix B of the Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Development of Fisheries – 2nd Edition and consistent with these Guidelines this submission references sections of related documents including the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the OTL Fishery (NSW DPI, 2006), the Fishery Management Strategy (FMS) for the OTL Fishery (NSW DPI, 2006) and the Status of Fisheries Resources in NSW 2013-14 (Stewart et al., 2015).

Table 1 Summary of the OTL Fishery as at February 2017

2 Description of the Fishery

For the purposes of this submission the OTL Fishery comprises the Ocean Trap and Line Share Management Fishery as described in Schedule 1 of the Fisheries Management Act 1994 (the Act) and Part 3 of the Fisheries Management (Ocean Trap and Line Share Management Plan) Regulation 2006 (the SMP).

As described in Schedule 1 of the Act, the OTL Fishery consists of:

a) the use of a fish trap to take fish from ocean waters,

b) the use of a line with hooks attached to take fish from ocean waters,

c) the use of a spanner crab net to take spanner crabs from ocean waters that are north of a line drawn due east from Korogoro Point (Hat Head).

2.1 Species

A number of fish and invertebrate species are taken in the OTL Fishery. The SMP details the primary and key secondary species (Table 2 and 3) in the OTL Fishery which are those species that the fishery captures, in large quantities or are of high value, on a consistent basis.

Table 2 Primary species taken in the OTL Fishery

Table 3 Key secondary species taken in the OTL Fishery

Part 2 of the Fisheries Management (General) Regulation 2010 (the FM (G) Regulation) lists fish that are protected from fishing by all sectors and from commercial fishing only.

2.2 Fishing gear

Fishing gear used in the OTL Fishery consists of trap and line methods used to target finfish, as well as spanner crab nets designed to specifically target spanner crabs. For a full description of fishing methods and gear types refer to:

• Chapter B1.3 (Methods of Harvest) (pp 33 – 36) of the EIS, and
• Section 3.1.4 (Fishing gear used in the fishery) (pp 12 – 13) and 3.1.5 (Boats used in the fishery) (pg13) of the FMS.

Part 4A (Fishing gear) of the SMP prescribes current limits and/or restrictions on fishing gear used in the OTL Fishery.

2.3 Fishing area

The overall area of the OTL Fishery extends from NSW coastal baseline seaward to the 4000 metre isobath, approximately 60 to 80 nautical miles offshore. Refer to the EIS, Chapter B1.4 (Area of operation, pp. 37 - 43) and section 3.1.2 (Area of operation, pp. 9 - 11) of the FMS.

2.4 Management arrangements

The OTL Fishery is managed under the Act, and the regulations made under this Act (refer to 2.8 Governing legislation). The NSW DPI is the State Government agency responsible for the administration of the Act. The OTL Fishery is predominantly managed by input controls, however some output controls are also used, as follows:

2.4.1 Input controls

2.4.1.1 Limited entry

The OTL Fishery is a Category 1 share management fishery and access is limited to shareholders in the OTL Fishery or their nominated fishers who hold sufficient shares to satisfy the minimum shareholding levels established in the SMP.

2.4.1.2 Controls on fishing boats

Boat capacity restrictions are enacted through a combination of boat specific restrictions set out on fishing boat licences and the SMP. Each fishing boat licence is subject to a licence specific maximum boat length. In addition, the SMP prescribes a maximum boat length of 16 metres. This maximum boat length does not apply to boats that exceed this length but were a component of any ocean trap and line fishing business immediately before the commencement of the SMP (such boats may be replaced by a boat of the same or a lesser length).

2.4.1.3 Controls on fishing gear

Part 4A (Fishing gear) of the SMP prescribes current limits and/or restrictions on fishing gear used in the OTL Fishery including:

• A maximum of 30 traps may be used at any one time (clause 7A(2) of the SMP);
• A maximum use of 10 setlines with no more than 6 hooks attached to any set line within 3 nautical miles (clause 7D(2) of the SMP);
• A maximum use at any one time of 1200 hooks applies to any line fishing method outside 3 nautical miles (clause 7E of the SMP);
• A maximum use of 30 drift lines at any one time with no more than one hook or no more than 5 hooks if a gang of hooks attached to the drift line (clause 7F of the SMP);
• A prohibition on the use of automatic baiting machines in the OTL Fishery (clause 11 of the SMP); and
• A restriction on the maximum number of spanner crab nets that may be used at any one time, and the surface area of a spanner crab net not to exceed 1.6m2 (clause 7B of the SMP).

In addition a number of gear restrictions apply in or near critical habitat of Greynurse Sharks (Part 5A of the SMP).

2.4.1.4 Temporal and spatial closures

The SMP, the FM (G) Regulation and the Fisheries Management (Supporting Plan) Regulation 2006 outline a range of spatial and temporal closures relevant to the OTL Fishery, including waters closed permanently to all commercial fishing or class of commercial fishing. Fishing closures specific to the OTL Fishery that are authorised under the Act can be found on the NSW DPI website at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/info/closures/commercial

The OTL Fishery is also subject to a range of spatial closures arising from the comprehensive network of marine protected areas that include marine parks, aquatic reserves and intertidal protected areas in which commercial fishing is restricted or not permitted.

2.4.2 Output controls

2.4.2.1 Size limits

Minimum legal lengths (or size limits) apply to a large range of species taken in the OTL Fishery as set out in clause 9 of the FM (G) Regulation.

2.4.2.2 Commercial catch limits and restrictions

Commercial catch limits are implemented via fishing closures under Act, those applicable to the OTL Fishery include:

• A commercial daily catch limit for any, or any combination of Endeavour Dogfish (Centrophorus moluccensis), and Greeneye Spurdog (Squalus cholorculus), and a
  0 kilogram trip limit [prohibition] on the taking of Southern Dogfish (C. zeehaani) and Harrison’s Dogfish (C. harrissoni).
• A commercial weekly and total catch limit applying to certain shark species harvested in the OTL Fishery.
• A commercial daily catch limit for Wobbegong Sharks.
• A range of commercial trip limits apply to commercially important species taken predominantly in Commonwealth managed fisheries, including Orange Roughy, Oreodory, Pink Ling, Mirror Dory, Blue-eye Trevalla, Blue Grenadier, Royal Red Prawn, Redfish, Warehou, Morwong, Ocean Perch and Flathead. The trip limits apply to particular gear types and waters and were first introduced to ensure the integrity of the Commonwealth’s quota management scheme.

Details of up-to-date commercial catch limits applying to the OTL Fishery can be found on the NSW DPI website at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/info/closures/commercial

The FM (G) Regulation prescribes a range of fish that are protected for conservation reasons or protected from commercial fishing for resource sharing reasons that cannot be taken in the OTL Fishery.

2.5 Number of fishers

Access to the OTL Fishery is limited to shareholders or their nominated fishers who hold sufficient shares to satisfy the minimum shareholding levels established for each share class in the SMP. Minimum shareholdings apply to all share classes in the OTL Fishery and are used to determine if a shareholder (or their nominated fisher) is eligible for an endorsement authorising a particular commercial fishing activity in respect of that share class. There are six types of endorsement available in the OTL Fishery corresponding to each share class. Table 4 provides a description of the commercial fishing activity authorised by each endorsement in the OTL Fishery.

The number of shareholders for each share class in the OTL Fishery is shown in Table 5, along with a comparison of the number of shareholders at the time when the SMP commenced and the first increase to minimum shareholdings was implemented.

Table 4 OTL Fishery endorsements and the commercial fishing activities they authorise

Table 5 Number of shareholders by share class in the OTL Fishery (as of December 2016)

2.6 Licensing arrangements

For relevant licensing arrangements refer to the “NSW Commercial Fisheries Administration Guide, January 2012”, on the NSW DPI website at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/commercial

2.7 Allocation between sectors

Refer to the Status of Fisheries Resources in NSW 2013-14 (Stewart et al., 2015) for landings of OTL Fishery primary and key secondary species by other NSW commercial fisheries and, where available, estimated recreational catch.

A number of performance indicators included in the FMS, used as part of the FMS performance monitoring process, relate to resource sharing. The purpose of these performance indicators is to detect large shifts in catch of key species, over time, between a) the commercial and non-commercial sectors, b) among each commercial fishery in NSW, and c) among methods or endorsement types within a fishery. Refer to Appendix 3 of this submission for the report on performance indicators in the OTL Fishery for 2015/16.

2.7.1 Recreational fishing

NSW DPI has completed the Survey of Recreational Fishing in New South Wales and the ACT 2013/14 (West et al., 2015) which provides a range of information, including new estimates of recreational catches.

2.7.2 Aboriginal cultural fishing

Aboriginal cultural fishing is defined in the Act as “fishing activities and practices carried out by Aboriginal persons for the purpose of satisfying their personal, domestic or communal needs, or for educational or ceremonial purposes or other traditional purposes, and which do not have a commercial purpose”. Daily cultural fishing needs are currently provided for by the Aboriginal Cultural Fishing Interim Access Arrangement which allows for extended bag and possession limits, as well as other special arrangements, for cultural fishing activities. Special provisions also exist under the Act to accommodate access to fisheries resources beyond what the current cultural fishing rules provide for (for events such as for a large cultural gathering or ceremonies).

Aboriginal cultural fishing activity and possession of fish and/or fishing gear must comply with the current fisheries legislation i.e. size limits of fish as prescribed in the FM (G) Regulation apply to Aboriginal cultural fishing activities.

Further information can be found on the NSW DPI website at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/aboriginal-fishing

2.7.3 Policy for Fisheries Resource Sharing in NSW

The Ministerial Fisheries Advisory Council (MFAC) has developed a policy - Fisheries Resource Sharing in NSW - to assist decision making on sharing the State's sustainably exploitable fisheries resources between the various commercial, recreational, charter and Aboriginal cultural fishing sectors in accordance with the objects of the Act.

Further information can be found on the NSW DPI website at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/consultation/fisheries-resource-re-allocation-proposals

2.8 Governing legislation

Relevant current legal instruments include:

• Fisheries Management Act 1994
• Fisheries Management (General) Regulation 2010
• Fisheries Management (Supporting Plan) Regulation 2006
• Fisheries Management (Ocean Trap and Line Share Management Plan) Regulation 2006

3 Management

3.1 Commercial Fisheries Business Adjustment Program

The Commercial Fisheries Business Adjustment Program (the BAP) has been developed in response to the Independent Report into NSW Commercial Fisheries Policy, Management and Administration undertaken and released in 2012. The three components of the BAP include structural adjustment, changes to governance processes and consultation mechanisms.