Prawn Trawling Ecologically Sustainable??

[luigi]

QUEENSLAND’S EAST COAST TRAWL INDUSTRY ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE??

A recent news item from Qld DPI makes interesting reading.

It appears that all Australian export fisheries must be assessed under the Environment Protection Act by 12/2003 in order to continue exporting. According to the Qld Fisheries Service (QFS), it is confident that the trawl fishery will meet the strict guidelines.

To quote an extract from the item; “Queensland’s trawl fishery would continue to be comprehensively assessed throughout 2003 to ensure current fishing effort was maintained at ecologically sustainable levels”

Personally, I can’t wait to find out how they have been able to stop ripping buggery out of seabed ecosystems not to mention fixing by-catch issues (1 ton prawn = 6/10 ton by-catch) resulting in ecological sustainability.

On reflection, is it any wonder that the GBRMPA has decided to exclude fishing from 25% of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park? If this is the sort of outcome from ESD, I reckon rec fishers should be supporting the GBRMPA Representative Areas Program (RAP) but pushing for “yellow zones” instead of “green zones”.

What do you mob reckon?

[The_Walrus]

I wonder if the report is due to be released on 1 April 2003.

Luc

[Vern_Veitch]

My views on trawling are well known and, I hope, based on science.
Fact is that trawling is not sustainable and probablly cannot be made to be. We need to find alternatives, but, they must be less harmful than trawing.
My view is that the industry should be given a life line and told to further reduce their impacts. Strong encouragement is needed for trapping trials and with inshore prawns, why not use cast nets. They do less damage than a trawl.
The industry must also be required to to comply with O, H & S like any other industry. Time for anyone that can't, to get out of the industry.
Vern

[luigi]

G'day Vern,

I'm with you all the way re your first paragraphs mate.

:-[Pardon my ignorance Vern but O, H & S is a newie to me - what does it mean?

Cheers - Lou

[Vern_Veitch]

Luigi,
O H & S is Occupational Health and Safety. The information I have is that many boats do not even come close. As for hygeine - your guess is as good as mine.
Vern

[luigi]

Thanks Vern, all these acronym's are a bit much for an old bugger like me. :)
The old grey matter ain't what it used to be ay. ::)

[jaybee]

I agree vern, no trawling can be ecologically sustainable when you have huge chains and otter boards tearing up the ocean floor to force prawns and whatever else into a net. Like the cast netting idea, however how many years do you think it will take for the damage to be repaired so someone could make a living out of cast netting, would i be too old by then ??? its a shame the state and federal governments didnt listen back in the sixties when this was first bought to their attention by the top scientists of the world. :-[

[Vern_Veitch]

I think inshore prawns would recover very quickly JB You should get a cumulative effect up to a point - more breeders = more babies. The habitat for other species will probably need a bit of help. A few low profile artificial reefs would not go astray.
Vern

[Kerry]

In most areas where the trawlers left off "progress" (people) has taken over.

Around this place there hasn't been a prawn where they normally were for more years than I can remember. Without the prawns then there's no trawlers either (funny that ::)).

What we really need is some good cyclones (several), and soon. Might also sort a few of the builders out ;D

Cheers, Kerry.

[krazyfisher]

kerry
If you are hoping for a cyclone than I hope your not to close to me ;D

[rick_k]

Big choice.

Who eats prawns?

well, me.

Who uses prawns as bait?

well, me again.

Do farmed prawns cause less dramas than trawled prawns?

I dunno.

I do think that cast netting reduces by catch, but, is it possible to catch all commercial prawn types with cast nets? Nope.

First thing I reckon, is to legislate so that all by catch must be used. For catfood for preference.

Second, in the same way that farmers are looking at paying the real cost of using land and water in Australia (although all my farming relo's want me as a city consumer to pay the tax). Those who want to make a living from our SHARED wild resources should be compelled to ensure the price they charge adequately reflects the cost of what they do.

Rick K

[tideline_two]

its amazing to me how similar the problems yall are talking about are to the problems we are faceinghere on the east coast of the USA. even down to the shoddy builders.a good hurricane will take care of a few over here also.our shrimp (prawns) bycatch is about the same has what you mentioned. also turtles are an endangered species (i sure see a lot of 'em). all commercial shrimpers are required to use a TED(turtle excluder device) and a "fish kicker" on their nets.it seems to reduce the bycatch of larger fish and turtles but the small juvenile fish are still caught.

on the recreational side a way to catch shrimp quick and easy was discovered about 20 years ago. we call it "shrimp baiting" . mix 50/50 ratio of fish meal (like they make dog or cat food from) and builders clay.add enough water so that it will stick together . shape it into balls about the size of a large apple. place some poles in the water to mark where you placed your bait balls.(most people use pvc stuck in the mud) wait about 20 minutes for the shrimp to find it. then start throwing your cast net. on a good day you can catch a limit of white shrimp 48 qts. in about 1 1/2 to 2 hrs.our white shrimp are between 6-10 inches long and danged good. and no bycatch! but the commercial shrimpers hate recreational's useing this method. says that it reduces the number of shrimp they catch!

[Kerry]

kerry
If you are hoping for a cyclone than I hope your not to close to me ;D

I know, sounds bad to some but it is what we need and what we haven't had for longer than is normal. Been over 25 years since the last cyclone here and many people have probably become a little complacent.

There's going to be some very shocked and surprised people (especially the ones that have moved from down south) when it does happen (and it will).

Cheers, Kerry.

[Volvo]

:)Kerry, take a look out your window mate, might just be one forming out nth east of us ;). Just had a look at the weather charts and ??? Something to hope for looks like maybe developing.
Vern, gee mate need one hell of a cast net for one ta make a livin out of chasing prawns and would have ta be one hell of a cast net for chuckin about in the Ocean with one hell of an arm :o. Not havin a go at ya mate but just dont think it would be on. Prawn traps ?? now did hear some time they was experimentin with em but what the outcome was ?? me dont know.
Me?? i reckons ther'es areas trawlers can prawn and areas they shouldnt but dont think we should be tryin ta kick every professional fisherman outa the water ey.
Know thats what some groups would luv ta see as well as gettin rid of every rec fisho not only from fishing but also from out of reach of most areas of water. Beamies(Beam trawlers??) now that may be different story if thats what you were referin to but again the cast net method would be kinda wishfull thinking.
And yes agree with kerry that a good rain and flush might have us wanderin where all the prawns come from again lol.
Be good ta hear what some of the Commercial fellas have ta say.
As for Occupational health n Safety?? now there's a demon with the potential ta shut down the whole Country not only in the Industrial arena but mans playground or maybe should be saying what used ta be mans playground .As so called Workplace health n safety is the cause for some of these areas ta be closed down too.
Whole famillies used ta be able ta fish off a popular wharfe here, day time n evenings when no ships were tied up with plenty of fish and the prawns that used to be able to be caught by the use of Dillying was something else, and maybe just for tellin the grandkids nowadays and all shut down due to workplace health n safety. At least thats excuse given to me from authoroties n council from the amount of chasin around i did ta try keep the area open or re-opened with no such luck.
It was good to see kids enjoying a pastime that weve had the opprtunity of enjoying and in relative safety rather than standing up to their N#ts in mud and fearin a croc might just pass by and have a gentle nudge of em lol.Wont go into it too much but a tragedy for this area and maybe other areas elswhere too where kids n famillies had the opportunity for a few hours fishin pastime if they didnt own a boat.
Cheers and no dissrespect intended to anyone ey.

[jaybee]

back in the days i worked at qld fish markets, (30 yrs) the better quality prawns come from the spoil grounds (where dredges dropped their load) big bays, and bay kings that bought top dollar, are spoil grounds still in the bay, they are marked on the charts. Should be a closed season like on the nannas up north, give the little buggers time to grow n breed.and bring in boundaries where trawlers can only operate
cheers
joe.

[Kerry]

Jaybee, it's interesting what prawns tend to do and Volvo will probably be aware of what I'm talking about.

Had a little to do with dredging once #:o and it certainly didn't appear to affect the prawns, which now hang on the channel batters. When one considers 180 odd metres wide by 5 metres missing from the channel for miles and miles and miles (one rather large hole) it didn't really affect all that much.

Considering the amount of material that was removed and the industrial nature of the place if one knows how, when, where and why things are (can be) still fairly good (apart from the wharf being closed #>:()


Volvo, the rain and storm offshore looks like it's heading north (again) and that crap out in the coral sea appears to be heading SE (but looks like it will form by Monday?) but again it's going the wrong way. Who took the sign posts ;D "Oz that way ->"

Cheers, Kerry.

[Vern_Veitch]

Can't make a living out of cast netting eh? Seems to me that it was not that long ago there was an uproar in Moreton Bay about exactly that, too many people cast netting and selling them on the black market. The commercial's were upset because they could not legally use a cast net. As a result of the inability of our enforcement officers to catch black marketers, we are now slapped with a one bucket bag limit. I saw footage of 6 metre tinnies almost full to the gunnels and barely able to plane.
tideline_two reminded me of a method I have seen used successfully in other states to attract prawns where they cannot use a cast net because it is considered too effective.
The trapping investigation is continuing and the focus is on an attractant. Remember. for the moment, we are talking inshore prawns.
As for making them use all the bycatch - what about all the juvenil;e snapper, fingermark, mangrove jack, grunter and other valuable species that would then be targetted. Make something valuable and it will be exploited.
I am not against all commercial fishng but there has to be a balance and in my view, it is way out of whack at present, no fault of the individual commercial fishers. It is our politicians who lack the backbone or are too compromised or conned to address the problem.
Vern

[BurdekinBob]

Vern, you may remember a few years ago here in the Burdekin, it was too windy for the trawlers to get out, and had been for weeks, someone found heaps of prawns in the river and the trawlermen, using top pocket cast nets with extra long ropes, were getting up to 200 kg each out of the deep holes in the river. I don't know if it was legal then or not, but it was happening.
Bob

[Vern_Veitch]

WHen I was a little tyke in NSW I watched people using dip nets around a frozen ball of meat mixed with mud. They used to catch more than enough for a feed of good sized prawns. I think inland aquaculture using salinity affected areas needs to be trialled as well.
In the fish catching business, in many ways we are still back in the era of the FJ Holden. It is time for some new solutions and technology. We need to grow feed rather than use wild caught fish to feed aquaculture and we need to go to fully recycled closed systems that will not pollute our waterways and coastline. It can be done - it just costs money.
Vern

[luigi]

Vern your comments on fish catching & aquaculture are absolutely spot on mate.

I reckon all you fellas would be interested in an article in the latest “Fish” publication (Volume 2 issue 1) put out by the Queensland Fisheries Service.

The item is headed “Bycatch research leads the way – leading-edge research into Bycatch reduction devices (BRD) is proving there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

What took my particular attention was the following paragraph & I quote:
“A recent trial proved extremely promising, showing a 29 percent reduction in bycatch without loss of the target species.”

Well, the generally accepted ratio shows that to catch 1 ton of prawn, trawling produces between 6 & 10 ton of bycatch. A 29% reduction would produce between 4.26 ton & 7.1 ton of bycatch.

BIG WHOOP!!!! http://www.ausfish.com.au/chat/images/smilies/cwm23.gif