Proposed fisheries reforms

[jaybee]

Blue swimmer crabs
Replace the current 15 cm "tip-to-tip" measure for blue swimmer crabs, which has enabled fishers to take slightly undersized crabs if one or both "tips" are damaged or removed by allowing fishers to use an under body measurement. Tipping is a practice where fishers deliberately damage undersized crabs so they can retain them;
- Introduce a "notch-to-notch" measurement - the"distance measured from a point immediately forward of the base of the large lateral spine on one side of the crab to a point immediately forward of the base of the large lateral spine on the other side of the crab";
- Reduce the minimum legal size limit to the equivalent of 14cm for the "tip-to-tip" measure, or 11.5cm as a "notch-to-notch" measurement;

Spanish Mackerel
- Introduce new regulations for the commercial and recreational catch of Spanish mackerel to ensure any effort shift as a result of coral reef fin fish management arrangements do not jeopardise the fishery;
Commercial:
- Limit the number of commercial licences eligible to take Spanish mackerel on the Queensland east coast to those endorsed with a L1, L2, L3, L6 or L7 fishery symbol which can demonstrate a history of equal to or greater than 500 kg of line caught Spanish mackerel;
- Set a total allowable catch for the commercial fishery of approximately 620 tonnes with individual transferable quotas to be issued to licences qualifying for a SM fishery symbol. The proposed base allocation is 500 SM units per licence;
- Require commercial operators to report their catch before landing to ensure the quota can be effectively monitored. Systems of landing dockets, logbook returns and buyer returns are also proposed; and
- Review the quota, based on stock assessments, every two years.
Recreational:
- Reduce the possession limit from 10 to three;
- No proposal to amend the current minimum size limit of 75cm total length nor is it proposed to introduce a maximum size limit. However, comment is sought on the imposition of a maximum size limit to reduce the risk of ciguatera poisoning; and
- No proposal relating to the regional management of Spanish mackerel fishery or closures for the protection of spawning fish. However, comment is sought on these measures to protect Spanish mackerel stocks from localised depletion or during spawning.

Teraglin-jew
- Reduce the minimum size limit for Teraglin-jew from 45cm to 38cm. Teraglin-jew is a deepwater rocky-reef fin fish that suffers extremely high mortality when caught and brought to the surface. A recreational bag limit of five applies. Available information indicates that a reduction in the minimum legal size would almost completely reduce this incidental wastage of fish by allowing fishers to keep the fish they catch.

Redclaw Crayfish
- Remove Lake Tinaroo from the list of areas where live redclaw crayfish can be used as bait. Use of live redclaw as bait is prohibited elsewhere as it could contribute to the introduction of the species to waters where it is not native. Lake Tinaroo is currently listed as a location where live redclaw can be used; however, this lake is outside the natural range of the species.

Closures

Netting on Fraser Island
- Prohibit the taking of tailor by commercial nets on Fraser Island; and
- Prohibit the use of all nets within 200 metres out to sea from the shore at low water between Tooloora Creek and the northern end of Ngkala Rocks. The proposed closure would apply from 1 April to 1 September.

Beam trawling in Baffle Creek (Bundaberg region)
- Close Baffle Creek near Bundaberg to trawl nets. Eight operators are licensed for beam trawling at Baffle Creek. No new licences have been issued since 1979.

Netting in the Fitzroy River (Rockhampton region)
- Prohibit the commercial nets on weekends throughout the entire Fitzroy River. Central Queensland was originally excluded from weekend netting closures that operate along the State's east coast south of Cooktown. Currently, a weekend ban on commercial fishing nets applies at the Fitzroy River mouth and upstream of Lakes Creek meatworks. The proposal would close waters between those areas.

Netting on Cylinder Beach (North Stradbroke Island)
- Introduce a commercial netting closure at northern beaches of North Stradbroke Island from 20 September to 1 April each year. The closure area would be bounded by waters within 200m out to sea at low water between North Gorge (southern end of Frenchman's Beach) and Adder Rock. It would include Home Beach, Cylinder Beach, Deadman's Beach and Frenchman's Beach.

Kirke River (Gulf of Carpentaria)
- Prohibit commercial netting for finfish from waters in the Kirke River above the lake system. Net fishing is currently permitted in parts of the Kirke River, which has caused conflict between commercial net fishers and traditional owners.

[jaybee]

Part 2
Trawl fishery

Boat Replacement
- Introduce "reduced effort unit" surrender regime for trawl licence holders forced to replace their vessel due to an incident such as sinking, fire or theft of the original boat.Trawl licence holders must surrender a significant number of 'effort units' (that equate to fishing days) when they replace or upgrade a vessel to meet legislated targets for effort reduction. This can cause severe hardship when a licence holder is forced to replace a vessel.

Closures - Scallop Ranching
- Include two new closed waters provisions for the trawl fishery in the Hervey Bay region for the purposes of a scallop ranching trial. A company, Queensland Sea Scallops Limited, has been granted an aquaculture licence covering two limited areas of 25 square kilometre areas within Hervey Bay with the aim of developing a commercial scallop ranching business.

Bycatch Reduction Devices
- Define the specific Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRDs) that must be used throughout the fishery and where in a trawl net it should be fitted. BRDs were incrementally introduced into the trawl fishery between 1999 and 2002 to reduce the incidental catch of non-target trawl species.

Scallop Replenishment Areas
- Amend the operation of the Bustard Head and Hervey Bay Scallop Replenishment Areas so each consists of two 10 nautical miles by 10 nautical miles areas that are open for nine months and closed for 15 months. The current rotational system is complicated and causes some loss to the fishery due to the extended period that the areas are closed. This would simplify rotation and reduce the loss to the commercial fishery.

Undersized scallops
- Amend the provisions within the trawl management plan that deal with the determination of the proportion of undersized scallops to allow the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol to determine, with 95% certainty, the proportion of scallops that are below minimum size limit without having to undertake a complete count.

Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) - exemptions
- Include a new exemption from the use of fishing days under the trawl management plan for fishing gear trials. The conditions are that Queensland Fisheries Service is advised 24 hours prior of the time and location of the testing, the net cod ends are open and no fish are taken.
- Prescribe conditions under which a trawl license holder can obtain permission to turn off or disconnect their VMS unit for a non-fish exemption as being incapable of fishing. The proposed conditions include the removal of all trawl nets from the boat, removal of the boat from the water, the boat being outside of Queensland managed waters for stated maintenance reasons.

Balmain Bugs
- Prohibit the possession of processed Balmain bugs aboard commercial fishing vessels.

Calculating Trawl Hull Units
- Clarify the rounding policy used when the Queensland Fisheries Service is calculating the number of hull units to measure the underdeck volume of a trawler. The calculation of hull units is extremely important in the trawl fishery as it is the basis of determining how many effort units are required by a particular vessel to make up one fishing day.

Tender Vessels
- Allow the use of a tender boat as a substitute for a primary boat without the use of VMS for purposes other than trawling.

Closure boundaries

Logan River
- Define the mouth of the Logan River as one of the T5 beam trawl boundaries. T5 licence holders can fish upstream of the mouth. Due to the position of island and sand banks in the general area, there has been some confusion regarding the exact location of the mouth.

Hinchinbrook Channel
- Clarify the boundary for the commercial netting closure for all nets except set nets in the Hinchinbrook Channel, which refers to Mangrove Island.

Ocean beach net fishery

Priority of Shot
- Require operators to mark their intended fishing area via the use of red or pink flags on the beach to reduce conflict between commercial fishers regarding who has priority for shooting a net over given area of beach.

Spanner crab fishery

Restriction on apparatus
- Introduce an in-possession limit of 50 on spanner crab dillies in managed area A, and 35 in managed area B.

Prohibit use of double mesh net in dillies
- Prohibit the use of double mesh net in dillies as it makes removing undersized crabs more difficult and can increase mortality among discarded crabs. Commercial fishers are currently allowed to use double mesh net in dillies as long as the mesh size of the net is at least 51 millimetres.


Commercial vessel markings

Commercial vessel markings
- Legislate the requirements for the marking of commercial boats to include the regulations of the size, location and format of the required markings as specified by the Queensland Fisheries Service; and
- Increase the size of the boat mark on commercial fishing boats less than 6m.

Offences

Use of commercial fishing boats for recreational fishing
- Introduce an offence for a person to use a commercial fishing boat for recreational fishing if the boat's mark is covered or removed. Currently commercial fishing boats may be used for recreational fishing, provided the fisher covers the vessel's boat mark. This provision was originally introduced to reduce potential conflict between recreational and commercial fishers as it clearly indicates that the fisher is not taking fish commercially. However, this meant the boats could not be identified for surveillance and enforcement purposes.

Marine Habitat
- Include the unauthorised removal, destruction or damage to marine plants protected under legislation to be "serious fisheries offences". While the legislation provides for penalties of up to $225,000, fines rarely exceed $500.

[rick k]

hello Jaybee,

thanks for all the work with the update, or whatever it is.

I don't really understand the reasoning with banning livebaiting with redclaw in Tinaroo. I accept that redclaw's natural range does not include Tinaroo, but aren't they already there? I guess not, on the basis of the proposal.

As to the other suggestions/whatever they are, they all look good to me. The only issue I see with small bag limits is the perennial problem of upgrading, resulting in dumped dead smaller fish. And it would be nice to see the commercial catch reduced by 7/10ths, to match the amatuer reduction; is that what the proposal does.

Thanks again

Rick

[bugman]

JB,

I think we're seeing the start of something that you and many others have worked pretty hard at.

I'm a bit disappointed in the size reduction of sandies but I guess I'll have to get a couple of more to get a feed now.

Just interested on your thoughts JB given your justifiable cynicism of the Govt in relation to rec fishos.

By the way the RIS is pretty much worthless - it's been tabled in PArliament now and it's set to become law regardless of the RIS outcome.

Brett

[dazza]

Hi All,
This looks like a step in the right direction, but unfortunatley I am a bit cynical and I will believe it when i see it.

Where are the pro's going to concentrate their efforts now?
They too have house loans, kids at school and bills to pay. Unfortunatley they are in an industry of questionable sustainability, and as such are vunerable to having their incomes taken away/reduced.

I am all for tighter regulations and a reduction in pro effort to preserve our fish stocks and it looks like the state govt is heading in the right direction
Cheers
dazza

[imported_admin]

I can not see any reason to reduce the size of sand crabs.

Tipping has been a major problem with sand crabs. But it looks like they are reducing the size so people will no longer have to tip the crabs.

If the average 15cm crab (tip to tip) is 12.4cm notch to notch why not just introduce the notch to notch measurement of 12.4cm if the crab is missing a tip.

If they do this then surely within a year or so all the crabs that would have currently been tipped would reach the 15cm tip to tip and/or 12.4cm notch to notch size. There would be just as many crabs available and this would ensure that all crabs on the market are of a decent size.

Surely the pros would even benefit from this as Queensland would become the state with the largest minimum legal size sand crabs on the market. This would surely have to make them a more sort after product for export to other states and overseas. I doubt if any tipped crabs are being exported anyway and the pros are probably getting a lot less for tipped crabs compared to legal size crabs.

So wouldn't we all be better off if there were more 15cm tip to tip crabs available?

[bugman]

Steve,

The problem with your suggestion is that it makes sense. The problem with the new regs is - it doesn't.

I guess they're just looking at the short term windfall of being able to take more crabs - until all crabs in the window settle down to a normal catch rate.

It was a proposal from the pros - and I guess they had to be seen as winning one after having over regs/changes go against them.

Brett

[Lucky_Phill]

Well dazza, I believe we'll see it ;)

What with the Spottie Mack issue, other bag limits and size reviews in recent months, etc, this Government IS doing something. Maybe a little late, but none-the-less positive.

Don't feel so bad for the Pro fishers, they have known for years about the non-sustainability of their industry.

Others, Qantas, Telstra, Ansett, HIH, One Tel, Farmers, etc etc have all had their livelyhood taken from them, and they were not in an industry that TOOK with no RETURN.

Wether you believe this is vote buying leading up to an election or just some Minister with good advisors doing the right thing for the future, it IS being done, and can only be applauded.

Right from way back when Tom Burns was around trying to get these things going, no one has the &%$##'s to do it, as they were afraid of the Commercial Fisho's.

How times change, it is pleasing to see a Minister with Foresight, and a wrap to the DPI & QFS as well.

Phill ;D

[jaybee]

Hi Brett been offline for a week, damn pc's .
Well i'm not for the tipping or reduction is size, pros get a better price for the bigger crabs as they look better in restaurants and window displays. However I beleive this will increase the sand crab meat market, meat alone brings big dollars. Some pros have been doing it for years i guess now this will increase as they wont get the price for smaller crabs, but then who knows, some restauranter may come up with a novel idea on how to serve smaller crabs and make big bucks from it which will push the price up again. ??? As for size limits I would prefer a uniform size and bag limit with NSW except for crabs, they can keep smaller and females down there, but on the other hand they don't seem to run out of big buck muddies..gotta wonder about that. Although it will be interesting to see the RIS feedback from both sides of the fence, I reckon the pros will scream and recieve and amnesty for a while or maybe even a reprieve.
cheers.
joe.