tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/super-trawler-3601/articlesSuper trawler – The Conversation2017-05-25T20:26:14Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/778772017-05-25T20:26:14Z2017-05-25T20:26:14ZPregnant rays and babies pay a price after ‘catch and release’ from fishing trawlers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170689/original/file-20170524-21461-17ft2u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This newborn fiddler ray will be released back into the ocean. But will it survive? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leonardo Guido </span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rays are among the species most <a href="https://elifesciences.org/content/3/e00590">vulnerable to overfishing</a> and are often caught incidentally in commercial trawlers and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/conphys/article/doi/10.1093/conphys/cou040/330048/Impacts-of-crowding-trawl-duration-and-air">released as unwanted bycatch</a>.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we’re probably underestimating the impact that fishing is having on ray populations. Although some will survive capture, we know little about the non-lethal and long-term effects of that stressful experience.</p>
<p>Included in those unknowns are questions relating to reproduction. In particular, what if the captured ray was pregnant? Would she still give birth? If she did, would her offspring survive? </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep46300">latest research</a> shows capture stress can reduce a mother ray’s body condition, and also affects the health of her offspring – in much the same way that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3070756/">stress during pregnancy can affect humans</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FgSX3AxeJ20?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The release of a southern fiddler pup (born in captivity) and its mother.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This research focused on the southern fiddler ray (<em>Trygonorrhina dumerilii</em>), also known as the “banjo shark”, a species <a href="http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1839">common in the coastal waters of southern Australia</a>. </p>
<p>Beyond just this species, our results suggest it’s possible that other ray and shark species that have live-birth (including most large sharks) could be similarly affected. </p>
<p>All rays give birth to live young. For many species pregnancy lasts about a year, making them more likely to be captured during reproduction compared to egg-laying species.</p>
<h2>A makeshift maternity ward</h2>
<p>Pregnant southern fiddler rays were collected by hand in Swan Bay, Victoria, Australia, using SCUBA to minimise stress during collection. They were transported and housed in our “maternity ward” – a large outdoor research facility located nearby.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K_pvJ7gfHlU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Ultrasound of pregnant female showing southern fiddler embryo in utero.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our maternity ward included a large tank equipped with a giant paddle that pushed water past stationary nets, thereby simulating a trawl net being dragged by a boat. Rays were placed in these nets and trawled, followed immediately by 30 minutes of air exposure to replicate the process of sorting the catch on board a boat. A similar number of control females were kept in a separate tank and were not subjected to trawling or air-exposure.</p>
<p>Over the next three months, pregnancy and the health of each mother was regularly monitored via ultrasounds, blood-sampling and weighing. At birth, their pups were also measured for length, weight and had their blood sampled. Mothers carried and gave birth to an average of two pups.</p>
<h2>It’s tough out there for the little guy</h2>
<p>Pups from trawled mothers were 12% shorter and 27% lighter than those from untrawled mothers. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170556/original/file-20170523-5799-16gadz1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C93%2C1257%2C603&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170556/original/file-20170523-5799-16gadz1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C93%2C1257%2C603&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170556/original/file-20170523-5799-16gadz1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170556/original/file-20170523-5799-16gadz1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170556/original/file-20170523-5799-16gadz1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170556/original/file-20170523-5799-16gadz1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170556/original/file-20170523-5799-16gadz1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170556/original/file-20170523-5799-16gadz1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A baby southern fiddler ray is released.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leonardo Guida</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In most animals <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1819/20151946">undersized offspring generally have a lower chance of survival</a>. Marine predators are often restricted in their options of potential prey by the size of their mouth, with smaller animals more easily consumed.</p>
<p>Lower body mass may mean pups have fewer energy reserves - in the form of an internal yolk sac - to rely on. An increased risk of starvation is possible during the early stages of life when <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/MF08280">inexperience can make catching prey difficult</a>.</p>
<p>Pups from trawled mothers also showed signs of a stress response in their immune system, and increased vulnerability to infection and disease is possible. The increased energy needed to maintain a healthy immune system may also limit growth rates. This is important for female fertility because <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/MF05165">larger females tend to carry more offspring.</a></p>
<h2>Mum feels the stress too</h2>
<p>Trawled mothers showed indicators of stress for 28 days after trawling, exhibiting elevated immune responses and 9-15% lower body weights compared to their unstressed counterparts.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170244/original/file-20170521-12217-u1lzqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170244/original/file-20170521-12217-u1lzqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170244/original/file-20170521-12217-u1lzqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170244/original/file-20170521-12217-u1lzqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170244/original/file-20170521-12217-u1lzqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170244/original/file-20170521-12217-u1lzqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170244/original/file-20170521-12217-u1lzqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170244/original/file-20170521-12217-u1lzqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Southern fiddler ray mother and offspring in tank.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leonardo Guida</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Reduced body condition after giving birth could mean that the next mating event may be delayed or missed in order to rebuild sufficient energy stores for a successful pregnancy.</p>
<p>Delaying or missing mating opportunities could be particularly important for other live-bearing species like the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1011040716421">scalloped hammerhead (<em>Sphyrna lewini</em>)</a> and <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0101234">sharpnose sharks (<em>Rhizoprionodon taylori</em>)</a>, which mate again shortly after giving birth.</p>
<h2>The bigger picture - fishing for the future</h2>
<p>By examining the non-lethal responses to capture stress, we’re working towards more efficient fishing practices that improve conservation outcomes for marine species.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BcJFSl_YJHk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A simulation of how bottom-trawling nets operate at sea.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Regarding reproduction, it may mean that we can better assess and manage fishing practices in areas where sharks and rays are known to congregate and breed. Fishing techniques that reduce the amount of accidental capture of rays and sharks will benefit both fishermen and conservation efforts, especially during vulnerable breeding periods.</p>
<p>For example, “turtle exclusion devices” in trawl nets (originally designed to prevent the capture of sea turtles) allow animals that are much bigger than the target catch to escape through a chute. Such a device may be suitable for reducing shark and ray bycatch too.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jyhumLE7B40?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How a turtle exclusion device (TED) works.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our study into how capture affected pregnancy in rays is part of a <a href="http://richardreina.com/research/">larger research program</a> led by Monash University in collaboration with Flinders University, University of Tasmania and the <a href="http://www.vmsc.org.au/">Victorian Marine Science Consortium</a>. The research program’s results on both lethal and non-lethal outcomes of capture have helped inform the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (<a href="http://www.afma.gov.au">AFMA</a>) how to fish for the future and improve the conservation of sharks and rays.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77877/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This project was funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage Grants LP110200572. Leonardo Guida is affiliated with the non-profit nature engagement agency, Wild Melbourne. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>This project was funded by Australian Research Council Linkage Grant LP110200572</span></em></p>Rays caught unintentionally by fishing trawlers often spend time on deck before being returned to the ocean. New research shows the stress of this experience affects pregnant rays, and their babies.Leonardo Guida, PhD Graduate, Monash UniversityRichard Reina, Associate Professor, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/236172014-03-05T03:42:47Z2014-03-05T03:42:47ZWhy don’t we believe Australia’s fisheries are sustainable?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43059/original/bkh4nyph-1393907474.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We love our fish 'n' chips, but most Australians don't think our fisheries are sustainable.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/collylogic/5986594779/">Simon Collison/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australians love seafood. We each consumed an average of <a href="http://www.daff.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/2359643/aus-seafood-trade.pdf">25 kilograms of seafood</a> in 2010 – an amount that has increased significantly over the last 30 years. Worldwide, fish consumption now <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-19/fish-versus-beef/4831350">exceeds beef</a>. Despite our love of fish, more than two-thirds of Australians think that our fisheries are unsustainable, a view that is strongly at odds with the scientific evidence.</p>
<p>Two current reports on Australia’s wild catch fisheries reveal stark differences in the way scientists and Australians view the sustainability of fish stocks. While scientists assess most stocks as sustainable, the community sees it differently. Less than one in three Australians perceive the wild catch commercial fishing industry as sustainable.</p>
<h2>What we know</h2>
<p>Last year, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation <a href="http://fish.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx">published</a> an extensive assessment of the status of Australia’s commercial fish stocks. The report assessed 150 stocks of 49 species, which make up the bulk of the commercially significant fisheries (approximately 70% of the commercial wild catch by volume and 80% by value).</p>
<p>The report tells a positive picture: 98 stocks were classified as “sustainable”, 11 as “transitional”, 39 were “undefined” due to insufficient data, and just two – <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-southern-bluefin-tuna-11636">Southern Bluefin Tuna</a> and School Shark – were assessed as overfished.</p>
<p>This isn’t a comprehensive survey. Some stocks could not be assessed because information was not adequate. The report doesn’t assess all commercial species, or consider sustainability of the broader marine environment. But it shows clearly that more than more than 90% of the total catch of the species considered is being fished sustainably. This is good news for consumers of wild caught Australian seafood.</p>
<h2>What we think we know</h2>
<p>But last week, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) released the results of a recent survey of <a href="http://frdc.com.au/research/market_research/Documents/2013%20Community%20Perceptions%20Australian%20Fishing%20Industry.pdf">community perceptions of the Australian fishing industry</a>. The online survey of 1021 respondents shows that only 30% believe that the commercial wild catch fishing sector is sustainable. </p>
<p>Because of this gap between science and community perceptions, there is a real risk of limited community approval or acceptance of fisheries management. </p>
<p>In other words, Australia’s commercial fisheries lack a “social licence” to operate. This means that when controversy arises — as it did in conflict over the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/super-trawler">“super trawler” Margiris</a> — Australians are unlikely to support these fisheries. </p>
<h2>Licensed to fish?</h2>
<p>Why the gap? Other natural resource industries provide some valuable lessons. </p>
<p>First, the Australian fishing industry may be being defined by its <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/714000626">past</a>. Despite improvements in management and practises, poor past performance can contribute to today’s perceptions of an industry. </p>
<p>The survey released last week shows that 80% of the Australian public are unaware or unsure of changes put in place to improve fishing industry sustainability in recent decades.</p>
<p>Second, the community might be generalising perceptions about international fisheries to Australian fisheries. Imported seafood, mainly from Thailand, China, Vietnam and New Zealand, made up <a href="http://frdc.com.au/research/final-reports/Pages/2010-222-DLD.aspx">72% of the seafood consumed</a> in Australia in 2008/09. </p>
<p>Third, the public judge wild catch fisheries based on their knowledge of it. This knowledge rarely comes from people directly involved in the industry, and much more commonly comes from newspapers, radio and television. Media headlines grab public attention, yet the depth of information portrayed is often shallow and the opportunity to meaningfully learn from scientific reports is limited. </p>
<p>But it’s a two-way street. We need more accessible information on fisheries management, and science needs to address the issues that concern the community, if Australians are to make informed judgements.</p>
<h2>What we think of bigger businesses</h2>
<p>Compounding those problems is the lack of visibility of commercial fishers in many communities. Social licence is often built through personal interaction and trust, and an industry that lacks visibility has few opportunities to build this trust. </p>
<p>Thanks to efforts to improve economic efficiency and sustainability, Australia’s commercial wild catch fisheries now employ fewer people, and have shifted to larger, more corporate fishing businesses. Commercial fishing activity has also been reduced in near-shore areas used by recreational fishers. This has the unintended side effect of reducing the visibility of commercial fishing and the sense of familiarity for the general public. With less connection and less visibility, commercial wild catch fishers operate almost out of sight.</p>
<p>The shift to larger businesses and in some cases larger boats may itself reduce trust in wild catch fisheries. Multiple studies (based on <a href="http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/4805/">energy</a>, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095937801300201X">forestry</a> and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204611002131">farming</a>) have found that the public perceive activities more negatively if they are conducted by large businesses or on a large scale.</p>
<p>Fisheries policies —intended to improve productivity and encouraging economies of scale — may have the unintended consequence of reducing the acceptability of the industry.</p>
<p>The lack of a social licence to operate for Australia’s commercial fishing sector means fisheries can struggle to find community support when controversy arises. </p>
<p>But the latest FRDC survey suggests there is room for change. While only 30% of Australians believe our fisheries are sustainable, a further 37% sat on the fence. Better access to trusted <a href="http://www.daff.gov.au/ABARES/pages/publications/display.aspx?url=http://143.188.17.20/anrdl/DAFFService/display.php?fid=pb_fsr12d9abm_00220131029_11a.xml">information</a> and increased familiarity with the fishing industry can help address this gap.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23617/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter O'Brien is a Director of the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacki Schirmer and Lain Dare do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australians love seafood. We each consumed an average of 25 kilograms of seafood in 2010 – an amount that has increased significantly over the last 30 years. Worldwide, fish consumption now exceeds beef…Jacki Schirmer, Senior Research Fellow, University of CanberraLain Dare, Research Fellow, University of CanberraPeter O'Brien, Professorial Fellow and Director, Murray-Darling Basin Futures, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/127552013-03-12T23:57:53Z2013-03-12T23:57:53ZSuper trawler gone, but is fisheries policy in trouble?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21152/original/wphgbfsd-1363056896.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If science is excluded from fisheries policy, we're headed back to the bad old days of overfishing.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Greg Bishop</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week, the “super trawler” Abel Tasman left Australia, with far less fanfare than you might have expected. Many hail this as good news for Australian fisheries, but we believe it could be a great step backward.</p>
<p>Its departure followed the banning of its use in the Commonwealth Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF) under <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/environment/conservation/super-trawler-ban-to-become-law-20120919-265y0.html">recently proclaimed amendments</a> to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act 1999).</p>
<p>The amendment of the EPBC Act, to deal with uncertainty surrounding the impacts of a new activity, can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/super-trawler-triggers-better-conservation-for-australian-fishes-9697">seen as a positive step</a>. However, the timing of the action was clearly reactionary, brought about specifically to bolster a political decision to stop the trawler.</p>
<p>The campaign commenced when Seafish Tasmania Pty Ltd announced that they intended to harvest their quota in the small pelagic fishery using a factory trawler so that the fish could be sold for human consumption. The size of this new factory-trawler, reputed to be the second largest in the world, triggered a well-orchestrated campaign by conservation and recreational fishing groups, intense political lobbying and social media campaigns (all predicting disastrous outcomes from industrial fishing). The campaign ultimately succeeded. It led to a political response that has over-ridden the underlying approach to fisheries management, reversing the positive trend of less political involvement in Australian fisheries management decisions over the last two decades.</p>
<p>We recently <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/SPF-discussion-paper-FINAL.pdf">summarised over 50 scientific reports</a> relevant to the small pelagics resource, almost two thirds of which are published in the peer reviewed literature. By any measure this is a well understood fishery compared to most, yet there have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/one-fish-two-fish-red-fish-blue-fish-science-doesnt-support-the-super-trawler-9143">many statements</a> that the <a href="https://theconversation.com/bycatch-the-real-concern-as-super-trawler-heads-for-australia-8994">science was inadequate</a>.</p>
<p>Criticisms from groups opposed to the trawler included a demand for more specific knowledge before the fishery was allowed to operate. More information was called for on the movement dynamics of fish schools and the potential for depletion and the level of interaction with marine mammals. This logic - that we should have a high level of understanding of all potential issues before we can design a safe harvest strategy - would mean many of our fisheries, including recreational fisheries, would not be permitted to operate. </p>
<p>There were good reasons to conclude that there would not be significant ecological consequences from localised depletion under the catch limits proposed, though some temporary and very localised effects <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/SPF-discussion-paper-FINAL.pdf">could not be dismissed</a>. The same could be said for marine mammal interactions – seals and dolphins were likely to be taken as by-catch, but without the fishery operating there was no way to assess at what level. This could only be determined by observers on the boat in active fishing operations.</p>
<p>Ongoing research is needed as part of responsible fisheries management. Biomass estimates for the key species need updating and the impacts on target and non-target species need to monitored, including interactions with marine mammals and other protected species. </p>
<p>Research to address these issues had been planned. A spawning biomass survey that would have helped set quotas for 2013-14 was cancelled with the decision to prohibit fishing. There was also to be observer coverage administered by AFMA (including biological catch sampling), underwater net cameras to monitor seal exclusion devices, and a monitoring regime to prevent the concentration of fishing activity in localised areas.</p>
<p>So has political interference in the fishery been appropriate, or has the action been an <a href="http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2013/03/01/373471_tasmania-news.html">international embarrassment</a>? The issue isn’t quite settled yet, with action still in the courts, but does the Abel Tasman’s departure mark a new era in fisheries management in Australia?</p>
<p>In the 1980s and 1990s fisheries in most developed countries were suffering from extensive overfishing and poor management systems. In Australia, fisheries for southern bluefin tuna and orange roughy collapsed. Political pressure from fishing companies led to maintenance of catches far above the scientific advice.</p>
<p>In the mid-1990s, a shift began. Political influence on fisheries decisions was diminished and policies were supported by good science. This transformation has been most thorough in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland and Norway, all places where overfishing has been largely eliminated. In Australia, assessed fish stocks <a href="http://adl.brs.gov.au/data/warehouse/9aam/fsrXXd9abm_/fsr11d9abm_0022011/00_FishStatus2011_1.0.0.pdf">are rebuilding</a> and our evidence based fishery management framework is <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23019613">internationally recognised</a>.</p>
<p>“Decision rule” processes have been instrumental in removing political influence. Under these processes, scientific data is used to set catches by pre-agreed rules. Removing political interference has contributed to the independent third party certification for sustainability (MSC) for several large wild capture fisheries that supply imported seafood such as New Zealand blue grenadier, southern blue whiting, and Alaskan Pollock. Each of these coincidentally involves the use of factory trawlers.</p>
<p>Shifting politics out of fisheries decision-making did not mean the community lost control of their resources. Rather, political involvement occurred more appropriately at the level of policy across fisheries. </p>
<p>This distinction broke down in this debate. We interpret Greenpeace’s campaign against the trawler to be an <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org.nz/briefing/seafish-tasmania-and-abel-tasman-ownership.pdf">argument against foreign investment</a> in Australia or allowing non-Australian citizens to work in Australia. The Tasmanian Greens <a href="http://mps.tas.greens.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/TG-Trawler-Impact-Business-Survey_Report-Feb2013_ATTACH.pdf">argued</a> that trawling for small pelagics was unacceptable because they claimed it reduced employment. Regardless of the logic of these particular arguments, there is a need and a place for community and political involvement on fishery policy issues such as these. But this discussion should happen at the level of all fisheries rather than being used selectively to affect operations of individual fisheries and operators.</p>
<p>Minister Burke’s <a href="http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2013/03/02/373540_tasmania-news.html">recent comments</a> highlight the problem. He is reported to have responded to the departure of the super-trawler by saying “The message to everyone is clear – this Government won’t take risks with our ocean. And if the Liberals take charge it will be back by Christmas”. The fishery is being played for politics.</p>
<p>We suggest that Australia has taken a backward step by allowing political pressure to override established fisheries policies in the case of the factory-trawler. If political expediency dictates how fisheries are to be managed and if ministers have total discretion to override science-based management policies, what is to prevent a return to the bad old days of the 1990s?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/12755/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin Buxton is Director of an organisation that receives competitive funding grants from a range of organisations including the FRDC, Seafood CRC and AFMA. None of the CRC work involves the small pelagic fishery.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeremy Lyle has undertaken research into the Small Pelagic Fishery - including biological studies, stock assessment and marine mammal bycatch studies, funded variously by the Tasmanian government, FRDC, AFMA, DAFF and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation trust. He is also a member of the SPF Resource Assessment Group. Collectively this has given him an understanding of the issues related to the science and management of this fishery. He can categorically advise that he has no pecuniary interests in Seafish nor any other operators in this fishery.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The vast majority of Ray Hilborn's research funding comes from foundations including the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and the Packard Foundation. He has worked as a consultant in the past for AFMA as a reviewer, and for environmental NGOs such as Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caleb Gardner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Last week, the “super trawler” Abel Tasman left Australia, with far less fanfare than you might have expected. Many hail this as good news for Australian fisheries, but we believe it could be a great step…Colin Buxton, Director, Fisheries Aquaculture and Coasts Centre IMAS, University of TasmaniaCaleb Gardner, Program Leader (Fisheries), Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of TasmaniaJeremy Lyle, Senior Research Scientist, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of TasmaniaRay Hilborn, Professor, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/117872013-01-24T19:50:59Z2013-01-24T19:50:59ZWhat will banning the super trawler a second time achieve?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/19537/original/8qrcwznp-1358986380.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Banning the super trawler will do little to improve fur seal welfare.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nuytsia@Tas/flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fisheries Minister Joe Ludwig and Environment Minister Tony Burke are seeking advice on whether to allow the <em>Abel Tasman</em> super trawler to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-22/bid-to-use-super-trawler-as-giant-freezer/4478600">act as a factory ship</a>. Seafish Tasmania aims to skirt the fishing ban on the super trawler by contracting smaller Australian-licensed trawlers to bring the small pelagic fish, caught under quota, to it for processing.</p>
<p>Before a decision is made on whether or not to allow transhipment at sea in the Small Pelagic Fishery, the fisheries management authority is <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/managing-our-fisheries/consultation/opportunity-to-comment-on-the-transhipment-of-fish-at-sea-in-the-small-pelagic-fishery/">seeking comment</a> from interested stakeholders. </p>
<p>While there is some dispute over the sustainability of the quota in the Small Pelagic Fishery, the quota <a href="http://theconversation.com/bycatch-the-real-concern-as-super-trawler-heads-for-australia-8994">was approved by scientists</a>. The real issue that led to disallowing the <em>Abel Tasman</em> from fishing was the death of protected Australian fur seals (<em>Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus</em>) in the trawler’s nets.</p>
<p>Seals are attracted to an easy feed: trawler nets provide this. While <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/resource-centre/teachers-and-students/about-fishing-methods-and-devices/seal-excluder-devices/#.UQB7OqE6VN0">seal exclusion devices</a> (SEDs) are fitted to nets, some seals inevitably fail to escape and drown.</p>
<p>However, the small trawlers will likely kill more seals – for the same tonnage of small pelagics – than the large <em>Abel Tasman</em> would have. While the super trawler’s net would have trapped seals, it would have been more effective at reducing seal deaths because of design improvements made to it compared with the devices fitted on the smaller trawlers.</p>
<p>Underwater cameras have shown that more seals meet their demise in mid-water trawl nets of the small trawlers than was previously thought. This is because the dead ones <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/R2005-0996.pdf">roll out of the net unseen</a> during hauling. There is considerable scope to further refine the orientation, size and scope of seal exclusion devices. But crucial trials to find optimum devices have <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/SPF-Bycatch-Discarding-Workplan-2011-2013.pdf">not taken place</a>, due to lack of funding. </p>
<p>Bycatch is not a plausible reason for selectively banning the <em>Abel Tasman</em>. The Commonwealth’s South East Trawl Sector, with many more vessels, is already <a href="http://theconversation.com/super-trawler-not-the-only-fishing-problem-needing-review-9503">far more destructive</a> than the Small Pelagic Fishery. </p>
<p>The South East Trawl Fishery interacts strongly with – that is, kills – the protected Australian fur seal and, to a lesser extent, the Australian sea lion (<em>Neophoca cinera</em>). This species is listed as vulnerable under the EPBC Act.</p>
<p>Between 1993 and 2000, the Scientific Monitoring Program suggested that an <a href="http://www.bycatch.org/articles/assessment-seal-fishery-interactions-winter-blue-grenadier-fishery-west-tasmania-and-develo">average of 720 fur seals</a> are caught incidentally by the small trawl vessels in the South East Trawl Fishery each year. (The <em>Abel Tasman</em>, had it been allowed to fish, would have had its activity suspended any time it caught <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-minister-has-spoken-super-trawler-to-stop-fishing-for-one-dolphin-or-three-seals-9330">three fur seals</a>.) </p>
<p>Compared with large vessel operators, who are well resourced, the operators of the smaller vessels or “wet-boats”, <a href="http://adl.brs.gov.au/brsShop/data/tilzey_seal_25feb05.pdf">are constrained</a> in applying mitigation methods such as seal exclusion devices. Recent trials of a flexible SED design have been relatively successful, but reliably estimating and reducing the level of interactions between seals and wet-boats <a href="http://adl.brs.gov.au/data/warehouse/fishstatus20109abff00101/fishstatus20109abff00101_11a/00_FishStatus2010Start_1.00.pdf">remains an issue</a>. </p>
<p>Conservation groups have been slow to grasp the South East Trawl nettle. Perhaps they are worried about the consumer backlash if flathead supplies to Sydney and Melbourne were diminished. There was no such risk in calling for a ban on the super trawler catching sardines for export.</p>
<p>The factory ship operation will be economically efficient in allowing the small feeder vessels to continuously fish. Moreover, it will be sustainable in the sense that the quota is very conservative, compared with other Commonwealth fisheries, representing only a small fraction of the biomass of the small pelagics. </p>
<p>If the factory ship is banned, consistency demands a moratorium in mid-water trawling elsewhere. </p>
<p>If there is no ban then there will be seal deaths. But this would be more acceptable if it was accompanied by the announcement of a major effort by the Commonwealth to seriously address the issue of bycatch in its trawl fisheries. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/11787/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin Hunt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fisheries Minister Joe Ludwig and Environment Minister Tony Burke are seeking advice on whether to allow the Abel Tasman super trawler to act as a factory ship. Seafish Tasmania aims to skirt the fishing…Colin Hunt, Honorary Fellow in Economics, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/96972012-09-20T00:42:02Z2012-09-20T00:42:02ZSuper trawler triggers better conservation for Australian fishes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15649/original/skcgk2b4-1348033190.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tony Burke and Andrew Wilkie are happy with the super trawler wash-up. If fish could read, they'd be happy too.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Penny Bradfield</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The scientific and public debate around the super trawler FV Margiris, now reflagged as the Abel Tasman, has been significant, lively and at times, heated. The debate has been worth it: the outcome - an amendment to the EPBC Act, <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/environment/conservation/super-trawler-ban-to-become-law-20120919-265y0.html">passed by the Senate yesterday</a> - is good news for Australian marine life.</p>
<p>The discussion over the super trawler has explored whether we have sufficient scientific knowledge to make a decision, what the environmental and social impacts may be, whether greater efficiency (as represented by the FV Margiris) is socially, economically and ecologically desirable, and how and to what degree public concern should be addressed.</p>
<p>When I wrote <a href="https://theconversation.com/one-fish-two-fish-red-fish-blue-fish-science-doesnt-support-the-super-trawler-9143">my original article</a> for The Conversation on the super trawler, I highlighted the significant uncertainty around the small pelagic fishery. I was troubled that the nature of the targeted animals was not well recognised: they have lower resilience to fishing than other “small pelagics”, such as sardines fished in South Australia. </p>
<p>I was concerned that we lacked estimates of the size of the populations (biomass) for a number of the species and that, where available, the estimates were imprecise. Indeed, the original analysis generating biomass estimates for jack mackerel has <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/IMAS_reanalysis-of-Neira2011.pdf">now been reviewed</a>. The variation is more clearly acknowledged as is the recognition that the “best” estimates were uncertain.</p>
<p>Finally, the dearth of good information on population structure throughout much of the fishable area meant we were very uncertain about risks and recovery from localised depletions. My professional position was that the scientific uncertainty was sufficiently high that the case for a super trawler in Australia’s southern oceans was weak.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15666/original/5ymmstdq-1348102062.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15666/original/5ymmstdq-1348102062.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15666/original/5ymmstdq-1348102062.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15666/original/5ymmstdq-1348102062.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15666/original/5ymmstdq-1348102062.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15666/original/5ymmstdq-1348102062.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15666/original/5ymmstdq-1348102062.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fish - like this Redbait (Emmelichthys nitidus) - are now being recognised as valuable wildlife.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roger Swainston @Anima</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Australia has now moved beyond the specific question of the FV Margiris super trawler by amending the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999). The amendment allows the Minister for the Environment, with agreement from the Minister for Fisheries, to identify a “declared” commercial fishery activity. They can do this where there is “uncertainty about the environmental impacts”, in terms of any or all of the following: </p>
<ul>
<li>method of fishing</li>
<li>type of vessel used </li>
<li>method of processing/transshipping </li>
<li>location. </li>
</ul>
<p>The declaration is only applicable to fishing not conducted before September 2012. On an interim basis, it allows the Minister for the Environment to establish an expert panel to assess the proposed commercial fishing activity.</p>
<p>Previously, the Minister for the Environment was largely able to intervene with respect to listed protected species such as Australian sea lions, or as part of assessments of existing Commonwealth fishing activities and state-managed export fisheries. Both of these are reactive responses. For instance, listed species are often already at high risk as a result of their depleted numbers.</p>
<p>The amendment is a very positive outcome for Australia’s oceans. It allows a proactive approach to the exploitation of our marine biodiversity. And it reflects the inherent uncertainty associated with fisheries management. </p>
<p>It is important as it comes at a time when approximately 30% of the world’s fisheries <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i2727e/i2727e01.pdf">remain overexploited</a> (this includes <a href="http://www.lenfestocean.org/sites/default/files/littlefishbigimpact_revised_12june12.pdf">small pelagics</a>), over-capitalised and <a href="ftp://ftp.fisheries.ubc.ca/FCWebsite2010/Publications/Bottom-up_re-estimation_Sumaila_etal_JBioecon.pdf">over-subsidised</a>. It recognises that <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/faf.12004/pdf">significant economic value</a> is derived from the ecological role of fishes retained in marine ecosystems. It also comes at a time when the existing “best management” practices and third party certification have demonstrably <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X12000619">failed to halt over-exploitation</a>.</p>
<p>The changes to the EPBC Act further confirm Australia’s reputation as a global leader in ocean management, building on the establishment of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/marine-parks-a-buffer-for-marine-species-and-the-fishing-industry-7708">network of marine reserves</a> throughout Commonwealth waters earlier this year. The amendment also recognises that fish are not simply food and sport, but are wildlife worthy of proactive conservation under the EPBC Act.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9697/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Meeuwig does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The scientific and public debate around the super trawler FV Margiris, now reflagged as the Abel Tasman, has been significant, lively and at times, heated. The debate has been worth it: the outcome - an…Jessica Meeuwig, Professor & Director, Centre for Marine Futures, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/95032012-09-11T09:22:32Z2012-09-11T09:22:32ZSuper trawler not the only fishing problem needing review<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15337/original/8tmdvrg4-1347343202.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Super trawlers aren't the only boats that take bycatch: 200 black browed albatross could be caught every year in the Commonwealth's South East Trawl Fishery.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Geoff Edwards</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tony Burke and Joe Ludwig <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/burke/2012/mr20120911.html">have just announced a review</a> of the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fma1991193/">Fisheries Management Act</a> and the <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/">EPBC Act</a>, thanks to public opposition to the super trawler. But the Commonwealth should take a good hard look at its other trawl fisheries to see if they need tougher regulation.</p>
<p>It is not just super trawl fishing in the Commonwealth’s <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/managing-our-fisheries/fisheries-a-to-z-index/small-pelagic-fishery/maps/">Small Pelagic Fishery</a> that should be under question. The other trawl fishing activity that should be subject to tighter legislation to prevent unacceptable impacts on fish and protected species is the South East Trawl. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/sess_trawl.pdf">Commonwealth’s South East Trawl sector</a> - fished by small vessels - is far more destructive in terms of mortality of protected species than is the Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF), where the super trawler FV <em>Abel Tasman</em> was to fish.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15334/original/d7nh8w88-1347342151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15334/original/d7nh8w88-1347342151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15334/original/d7nh8w88-1347342151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15334/original/d7nh8w88-1347342151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15334/original/d7nh8w88-1347342151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15334/original/d7nh8w88-1347342151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15334/original/d7nh8w88-1347342151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15334/original/d7nh8w88-1347342151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Commonwealth South East Trawl Sector.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Commonwealth of Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Moreover there are four major species of fish officially overfished – some for years on end – in the SE trawl fishery. None of the small pelagics targeted in the SPF <a href="http://www.daff.gov.au/abares/publications_remote_content/publication_series/fishery_status_report?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkYxNDMuMTg4LjE3LjIwJTJGYW5yZGwlMkZEQUZGU2VydmljZSUyRmRpc3BsYXkucGhwJTNGZmlkJTNEcGRfZmlzaHN0YXR1czIwMTA5YWJmZjAwMTAxXzExYS54bWwmYWxsPTE%3D">are overfished</a>. </p>
<p>The South East Trawl fishery interacts strongly with - that is, kills - the protected Australian fur seal (<em>Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus</em>), and to a lesser extent the Australian sea lion (<em>Neophoca cinera</em>), listed as vulnerable under the EPBC Act. </p>
<p>Between 1993 and 2000, the Scientific Monitoring Program suggested that an <a href="http://www.bycatch.org/articles/assessment-seal-fishery-interactions-winter-blue-grenadier-fishery-west-tasmania-and-develo">average of 720 fur seals</a> are caught incidentally by the small trawl vessels each year. The <em>Abel Tasman</em>, had it been allowed to fish, would have had its activity suspended any time it caught three seals. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15338/original/5smpp53h-1347343202.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15338/original/5smpp53h-1347343202.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15338/original/5smpp53h-1347343202.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15338/original/5smpp53h-1347343202.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15338/original/5smpp53h-1347343202.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15338/original/5smpp53h-1347343202.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15338/original/5smpp53h-1347343202.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stopping the super trawler is a good start, but it will take more to protect the Australian fur seal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Sale</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Compared with large vessel operators, who are well resourced, the operators of the smaller vessels or “wet-boats” in this fishery, are constrained in applying mitigation methods such as <a href="http://adl.brs.gov.au/brsShop/data/tilzey_seal_25feb05.pdf">seal exclusion devices</a> (SEDs). Recent trials of a flexible SED design have been relatively successful but reliably estimating and reducing the level of interactions between seals and wet-boats <a href="http://adl.brs.gov.au/data/warehouse/fishstatus20109abff00101/fishstatus20109abff00101_11a/00_FishStatus2010Start_1.00.pdf">remains an issue</a>.</p>
<p>The bycatch consisting of many non-target species in addition to fur seals, some of which are protected under the EPBC Act, is <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/era_otter.pdf">of real concern</a>. While fisheries are required to avoid interactions with threatened, endangered and protected species and all interactions are to be reported in logbooks, the logbooks are known to under-report the levels of interactions with some species. Data and observer coverage on seabird interactions in the South East Trawl are limited and greater participation and port-sampling programs are required for reliable data to be collected.</p>
<p>While data is deficient, in the calendar year 2006 a cumulative catch of 250 black browed albatross (endangered in the <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/">IUCN Red List</a>) and 861 shy albatross (near threatened under the IUCN Red List and endemic to only three islands off Tasmania) was estimated for the Commonwealth Trawl Fishery. Both species are listed as vulnerable in the threatened fauna list under the Commonwealth’s EPBC Act. There was found to be no mitigation of seabird bycatch in the CTS, the Commonwealth fishery with the greatest number of observed interactions in 2006. Reducing the seabird mortality in the CTS is thus a priority for the <a href="http://adl.brs.gov.au/data/warehouse/pe_brs90000004191/CumulativeBycatch_20100318_ap14.pdf">development of mitigation measures</a>. </p>
<p>If the cumulative catch rate found in the above study has continued across the fishery, then 1,300 black browed albatross and 5,166 shy albatross would have been captured in the six years 2006-2011.</p>
<p>This is a wholly unacceptable level of bycatch.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9503/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin Hunt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Tony Burke and Joe Ludwig have just announced a review of the Fisheries Management Act and the EPBC Act, thanks to public opposition to the super trawler. But the Commonwealth should take a good hard look…Colin Hunt, Honorary Fellow in Economics, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/91432012-08-30T04:13:24Z2012-08-30T04:13:24ZOne fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish: science doesn’t support the super trawler<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14749/original/vwvwvqjt-1346219546.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's not enough science to support a ten-fold increase in the small pelagics we catch.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Greenpeace Pierre Gleizes</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While fisheries science is more complex than Dr. Seuss’ iconic title implies, he had it right in two fundamental areas. We need to understand the species we are exploiting in our fisheries (red vs. blue) and we need to know how many there are. The science case for introducing a trawler to exploit southern small pelagics is weak in both these areas. As such, it does not support the introduction of super trawling in Australia.</p>
<p>The target species for this greatly expanded fishery include <a href="http://www.fishbase.us/summary/Scomber-australasicus.html">blue mackerel</a>, <a href="http://www.fishbase.us/summary/Trachurus-declivis.html">jack mackerel</a>, <a href="http://www.fishbase.us/summary/Trachurus-murphyi.html">Peruvian jack mackerel</a> and <a href="http://www.fishbase.us/summary/Emmelichthys-nitidus+nitidus.html">redbait</a>. They are repeatedly referred to as “small pelagics”, “forage fish” , and “baitfish”. </p>
<p>Such labelling conjures teeming schools of Peruvian anchoveta and Atlantic herring associated with the highly productive waters of South American and South African western margins and of the North Sea. These recognised forage species share a set of life-history characteristics, such as high growth rates, low maximum age, and high reproductive output: they pursue the quintessential “live fast, die young” strategy. These characteristics <a href="http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v333/feature/">increase their resiliency</a> to exploitation, but <a href="http://www.seaaroundus.org/researcher/dpauly/PDF/2008/JournalArticles/ForageFishFromEcosystemsToMarkets.pdf">aren’t enough</a> to <a href="http://www.lenfestocean.org/sites/default/files/littlefishbigimpact_revised_12june12.pdf">prevent their over-exploitation</a> in the face of highly efficient industrialised fishing such as super trawling. </p>
<p>The “small pelagics” targeted by the super trawler do not share these resiliency characteristics. Our “small pelagics” are typically twice as large in maximum length as typical forage species (63 vs 33 cm), have a maximum life span 60% longer (21 vs 13 years), feed higher up the food chain, and grow 30% more slowly (0.17/year vs 0.62/year). Indeed, these characteristics make them statistically more similar to reef fish such as <a href="http://www.fishbase.us/summary/Choerodon-rubescens.html">baldchin groper</a>, <a href="http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/About-Us/Publications/Pages/Fisheries-Research-Reports.aspx">recognised as over-exploited</a>. It is unclear how the robust recommendations from the <a href="http://www.lenfestocean.org/sites/default/files/littlefishbigimpact_revised_12june12.pdf">Forage Fish Task Force apply</a> to non-forage species. We should not be treating these animals as a highly productive resource on which we experiment with super trawlers, but rather as valuable wildlife in Australia’s low-productivity southern oceans. </p>
<p>Some are concerned about the potential for localised depletions when super trawlers are active. To address those concerns, we need to understand how local populations are replenished by young fish across the region and whether adults can replenish depleted areas. There is increasing evidence that the adults of many species are <a>not as mobile</a> as previously thought. </p>
<p>But we are largely ignorant about the effective population structure of these species. Of the four species considered for exploitation, the population structure of blue mackerel is uncertain, and jack mackerel and redbait are believed to have eastern and western subpopulations. No dedicated population studies have been conducted on redbait nor is any information available for Peruvian jack mackerel. Moreover, little is reported about adult movements of any of these species except that larger jack mackerel are found in deeper waters. </p>
<p>The total allowable catch of approximately 18,000 tonnes is a 10-fold increase over previous years’ landings. In setting it, the Government is relying on its ability to determine the un-fished biomass; that is, its ability to count fish. But its estimates are generally based on old information (in the east, blue mackerel information is from 2004), inferred from other species (for jack mackerel in the east) or entirely absent (for jack mackerel in the west, Peruvian jack mackerel in the west, and redbait in the west). It is likely that biomass estimates (and associated quotas) are much more uncertain than is currently reported. Indeed, ABARES assessments of population status are <a href="http://adl.brs.gov.au/data/warehouse/fishstatus20109abff00101/fishstatus20109abff00101_11a/07_FishStatus2010SmallPelagic_1.00.pdf">based on fishing effort</a> rather than actual population size. </p>
<p>Australia’s relatively strong fisheries management has been cited as a reason why this experimental fishery expansion should occur. This is despite our poor understanding of the species and the high uncertainty in population sizes. Fisheries scientists and managers around Australia are to be commended on the quality of their research, particularly given the large number of targeted species, the relatively low value of many of the fisheries, and the consequent budget constraints for research. </p>
<p>But we should also consider salutary lessons. For example, the Western rock lobster fishery experienced unexpected and unprecedented low levels of recruitment in 2008 and 2009, despite the wealth of research conducted on the species and despite its Marine Stewardship Council certification. Fisheries management is difficult and should be highly conservative in its approach. The proposed allowance of an 18,000 tonne annual quota is not.</p>
<p>There are many other reasons not to allow super trawling including concerns over <a href="https://theconversation.com/bycatch-the-real-concern-as-super-trawler-heads-for-australia-8994">bycatch</a> in substantially larger nets, low economic returns (reportedly of $1/kg) for a valuable resource, uncertainty around the effects of a warming ocean on fisheries productivity, and dependencies of other wildlife on these species. But even at the most basic level, the scientific case is not strong enough.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9143/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I have no conflicts to disclose.</span></em></p>While fisheries science is more complex than Dr. Seuss’ iconic title implies, he had it right in two fundamental areas. We need to understand the species we are exploiting in our fisheries (red vs. blue…Jessica Meeuwig, Professor & Director, Centre for Marine Futures, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/89942012-08-24T04:21:31Z2012-08-24T04:21:31ZBycatch the real concern as super trawler heads for Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14593/original/k446zksb-1345768940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's not the fish we should worry about, but the other creatures the "super trawler" will catch.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Charles Van den Broek</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Concerns about licensing a foreign super trawler to fish our southern seas have centred on the negative effect on fish stocks. These fears are <a href="https://theconversation.com/opposition-to-the-margiris-super-trawler-not-evidence-based-8839">largely unfounded</a>. The real concern is for Australian mammals which will inevitably meet their demise in some numbers because of the mid-water trawl method of fishing.</p>
<h2>Catch likely to be sustainable</h2>
<p>There is little doubt that the quota of 18,000 tonnes of small pelagics, issued by the Commonwealth to the MV Margiris to be taken off Australia’s south coast, will not lead to depletion of fish stocks. This quota is only half of the total allowable catch (TAC) currently set for the fishery. </p>
<p>The catch of jack mackerel in the Commonwealth managed Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF) has been very small because fishing has been unprofitable. Only 156 tonnes of jack mackerel was taken in 2009-2010. The total catch of the several species in the SPF was <a href="http://www.daff.gov.au/abares/publications_remote_content/publication_topics/fisheries_and_aquaculture?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkYxNDMuMTg4LjE3LjIwJTJGYW5yZGwlMkZEQUZGU2VydmljZSUyRmRpc3BsYXkucGhwJTNGZmlkJTNEcGRfZmlzaHN0YXR1czIwMTA5YWJmZjAwMTAxXzExYS54bWwmYWxsPTE%3D">only 2,482 tonnes</a>. The low catches will have enabled the recovery of stocks after very heavy fishing in the 1980s and 1990s.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14591/original/tbprvd6z-1345768623.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14591/original/tbprvd6z-1345768623.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14591/original/tbprvd6z-1345768623.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14591/original/tbprvd6z-1345768623.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14591/original/tbprvd6z-1345768623.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14591/original/tbprvd6z-1345768623.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14591/original/tbprvd6z-1345768623.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Commonwealth of Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Having said that, the fishery is due for an update to its harvest strategy based on a biomass assessment, something that has not been done for five years. It is important to review stocks so that TACs can be confidently declared for the longer term. A biomass assessment will be particularly useful for the slow growing, long-lived and slow to breed jack mackerel (east), whose TAC has been recently raised from 4,600 to 10,000 tonnes – and of redbait (west), listed as “uncertain” in status and with a TAC of 5,000 tonnes.</p>
<h2>Problems with the mid-water trawl</h2>
<p>The small fish are the regular diet of the Australian fur seal (<em>Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus</em>). The fish in the net being trawled behind the MV Margiris will be very enticing for the seals; but for many it will be their last dive.</p>
<p>Monitoring has shown that seals enter the body of a trawl in half of all shots; and that about one in every five interacting seals will drown. Trawlers provide a <a href="http://adl.brs.gov.au/brsShop/data/tilzey_seal_25feb05.pdf">seal exclusion device</a> (SED) in their nets. But many seals fail to find the mouth of the net or the hole provided by the SED. </p>
<p>Underwater cameras have shown that more seals meet their demise in mid-water trawl nets than was previously thought. This is because the dead ones <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/R2005-0996.pdf">roll out of the net unseen</a> during hauling. The seven independent scientists who recently gave the SPF a <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/SPF-discussion-paper-FINAL.pdf">clean bill of health</a>, augmented their conclusions as follows: “… measures … will be required to manage the ongoing risk of marine mammal interactions and capture”.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14589/original/nqwbnm55-1345768563.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14589/original/nqwbnm55-1345768563.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14589/original/nqwbnm55-1345768563.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14589/original/nqwbnm55-1345768563.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14589/original/nqwbnm55-1345768563.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14589/original/nqwbnm55-1345768563.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14589/original/nqwbnm55-1345768563.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Seals get inside trawler nets to eat fish. Some can’t get out.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lyle and Wilcox</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research recommends the <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/conservation/marine-and-coastal/fishing/twg/fur-seal-mitigation-draft-excl-device-proposal.pdf">top-opening SED</a>, yet the main vessel that has been fishing uses a bottom-opening device. There is considerable scope to further refine the orientation, size and scope of SEDs. But crucial trials to find optimum devices have <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/SPF-Bycatch-Discarding-Workplan-2011-2013.pdf">not taken place</a>, due to lack of funding and very low activity in the mid-water trawl fishery.</p>
<p>MV Margiris will continually encounter seals. Several dolphin and whale species might also invade trawl nets. And there are two bird species listed as “vulnerable” under Commonwealth legislation (<a href="http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/education-resources/shy-albatross.html">shy albatross</a> and <a href="http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/wildlife/animals/flying-birds/albatross">black-browed albatross</a>) that may suffer mortality but <a href="http://www.afma.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/era_spf_mt.pdf">at low rates</a>.</p>
<h2>Who cares about seals?</h2>
<p>The NSW Government lists the Australian fur seal as “vulnerable”. It says that the seal is directly threatened by fishing operations and that fishing may limit the availability of prey. And it says the species is also threatened by <a href="https://theconversation.com/marine-debris-biodiversity-impacts-and-potential-solutions-2131">entanglement or ingestion</a> of plastic debris increasingly discarded from boats or washed out to sea. </p>
<p>The depleted population of Australian fur-seals resulting from commercial sealing has increased the species’ vulnerability to other threats. For example small colonies on islands are susceptible to stochastic events such as oil spills.</p>
<p>The range of the Australian fur seal overlaps the Commonwealth’s SPF, but the Commonwealth does not share the concerns of the NSW government and has not listed the Australian fur seal as endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. It <em>is</em> an offence to kill, injure, take, trade, keep, or move Australian fur-seals in Commonwealth waters. But it can be done with a permit, and presumably a permit will be issued. </p>
<p>Environment Minister Burke is thus toothless when it comes to stopping fishing by the MV Margiris on the grounds of threats to listed species unless he invokes the threat to listed albatross, which is very unlikely.</p>
<p>The Commonwealth may have had some authority in demanding that the MV Margiris deploys nets configured to minimise seal mortality. But such action cannot be taken because effective SEDs don’t exist. Monitoring and observing the super trawler is all very well, but the Commonwealth won’t be able to stop the drowning of Australian fur-seals.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14594/original/dc2prf6w-1345769191.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14594/original/dc2prf6w-1345769191.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14594/original/dc2prf6w-1345769191.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14594/original/dc2prf6w-1345769191.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14594/original/dc2prf6w-1345769191.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14594/original/dc2prf6w-1345769191.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14594/original/dc2prf6w-1345769191.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Instead of feeding small fish to tuna then eating the tuna, why not eat the small fish?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">norobodo/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Culinary switch recommended</h2>
<p>Most of the catch of small pelagics and sardines in Australian waters goes to fatten juvenile southern bluefin tuna (SBT) caught and penned in South Australian waters. Under the Commonwealth’s own assessment, the tuna is overfished and subject to overfishing. Moreover, the species is listed as “threatened” under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, and “endangered” under the New South Wales Fisheries Management Act 1994. The World Conservation Union lists this tuna as “critically endangered”. Though it lists the SBT as “conservation dependent”, the Commonwealth continues to issue SBT quota because of the business is so lucrative.</p>
<p>Using small pelagics to fatten tuna is inefficient: the conversion ratio is very low. Every tonne of farmed tuna requires between 10 and 20 <a href="ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/i0254e/i0254e08.pdf">tonnes of feed</a>. The feed is Australian-caught small pelagics, Australian sardines or imports. </p>
<p>This inefficiency is grounds to suggest we stop eating tuna, and start eating small pelagics and sardines ourselves. These highly nutritious fish – delicious when grilled Portuguese style – would make an important contribution to healthy diets and at the same time could relieve pressure on overfished shark and snapper. Before we make such a culinary switch, however, we should prove that trawling is not killing animals and birds.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, it looks as though we will have to grit our teeth knowing that Australian fur-seals will likely be drowning in numbers while the MV Margiris is trawling our waters.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14592/original/kqxnxtd6-1345768940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14592/original/kqxnxtd6-1345768940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14592/original/kqxnxtd6-1345768940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14592/original/kqxnxtd6-1345768940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14592/original/kqxnxtd6-1345768940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14592/original/kqxnxtd6-1345768940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14592/original/kqxnxtd6-1345768940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">bJORk(D)mAN/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/8994/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin Hunt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Concerns about licensing a foreign super trawler to fish our southern seas have centred on the negative effect on fish stocks. These fears are largely unfounded. The real concern is for Australian mammals…Colin Hunt, Honorary Fellow in Economics, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/88392012-08-15T06:11:41Z2012-08-15T06:11:41ZOpposition to the Margiris ‘super trawler’ not evidence based<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14274/original/fq67dryx-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Margiris is heading to Australia to catch jack mackerel, but there are plenty more fish in the sea.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard Ling</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Margiris “super-trawler” is heading for Australia to catch <a href="http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Trachurus-declivis.html">jack mackerel</a> and associated small surface-dwelling species. It faces a lot of opposition, largely based on assertions that the vessel’s catches will exceed sustainable levels or significantly reduce the quality of angling for larger predator species. These fears are not consistent with the available evidence.</p>
<h2>Government should defend its fisheries success</h2>
<p>Claiming that catches will be unsustainable is the same as saying existing quotas are excessive or that such quotas will be exceeded by the Margiris. Both imply the current Commonwealth Government does not have appropriate fisheries and environmental legislation or it is not capable of enforcing the legislation it has. </p>
<p>If these claims are true then they are expressions of no-confidence in the current government. They beg the question of what legislation the Australian government is capable of supporting.</p>
<p>Why has the government allowed the debate to become so far removed from science and logic? Why does it not publicly defend its impressive record in fisheries conservation? It appears there is electoral advantage in fostering the illusion that further restriction of fishing is good governance! </p>
<p>Australian governments, both Commonwealth and state, have repeatedly failed to defend their impressive recent records in fisheries conservation and their fisheries and environmental agencies. For the sake of the future of Australia’s seafood and environmental security they need to reverse this situation.</p>
<h2>We want more seafood than we catch: let’s eat jack mackerel</h2>
<p>Australians prefer Australian products. But we currently import more than 70% of the fish we consume. By 2020 we will need 800 000 tonnes more seafood per annum than we currently produce (approximately five times current commercial production) to meet the National Health and Medical Research Council’s <a href="http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/publications/n29-n30-n31-n32-n33-n34">recommended consumption targets</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14276/original/tmd9yrwz-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14276/original/tmd9yrwz-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14276/original/tmd9yrwz-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14276/original/tmd9yrwz-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14276/original/tmd9yrwz-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14276/original/tmd9yrwz-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14276/original/tmd9yrwz-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jack mackerel are currently under-exploited.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">cuio/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The world wants more seafood and international competition for the limited total supply is increasing. Under-exploited species - which include skipjack tuna and small pelagic species such as jack mackerel - are the most likely candidates to support expanded Australian fishing. Jack mackerel are in very low demand for human consumption: previous catches have been used almost exclusively for fish-meal or aquaculture feeds. This will remain their primary use unless the vessels used for their capture are big enough - like the Margiris - to process fish on board. </p>
<p>There is little doubt that the 18,000 tonnes per annum the Margiris will catch is a conservative estimate of the total sustainable catch of these species. As <a href="http://www.imas.utas.edu.au/people/profiles/current-staff/Keith-Sainsbury">Professor Keith Sainsbury</a> has said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have no doubt that this fishery is an example of world’s best practice and it meets or exceeds the most rigorous scientific requirements for an ecologically sustainable fishery on forage fish.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Eighteen thousand tonnes is less than half of the total allowable catch set by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority for the species in question, which is based on the extremely conservative strategy of taking less than 10% of the assessed biomass. It is considerably less than the catches of these species that have been taken in the past. Furthermore, catches and fishing strategy will be monitored and adapted if necessary. </p>
<p>Australia’s current fishery quotas are in total conservative or excessively restrictive. Australia has the world’s third-largest oceanic zone, and yet we rank 61st in fisheries production. (Australia’s waters are not the world’s most productive but the combination of area and productivity is much greater than our 61st ranking in catch.) Australian governments, both Commonwealth and state, have failed to counter the anti-fishing campaigns of numerous NGOs, that have biased public perception against appropriate development of our fisheries potential. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14275/original/6srnjhsc-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14275/original/6srnjhsc-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14275/original/6srnjhsc-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14275/original/6srnjhsc-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14275/original/6srnjhsc-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14275/original/6srnjhsc-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14275/original/6srnjhsc-1345008717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Anglers worry the trawler will affect their catch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">mugley/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We are one of very few countries that do not effectively utilise our small tuna and other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagic_fish">pelagic</a> species such as jack mackerel, blue mackerel and red bait. Small pelagic species are relatively fast growing, highly mobile and very fertile. They have tremendous ability to respond opportunistically to shifts in food supply. They are extremely resilient to fishing and environmental change; when one species drops off, it is commonly compensated for by others.</p>
<h2>The case against the Margiris, and why it doesn’t hold up</h2>
<p>The public case against the Margiris is largely based on three issues: </p>
<ol>
<li>the size of the boat</li>
<li>the record of “super-trawlers” in areas where they have not been controlled, particularly off Africa </li>
<li>assertions that localised depletion of baitfish will significantly reduce species taken in recreational fisheries.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Boat size</strong> The amount of fish taken in Australia is governed by catch quota and not by the size of the boat. The effectiveness of management is the critical issue. In the last decade or so Australia has demonstrated that its fisheries management is effective in restricting catches. Furthermore, it is much easier to monitor and regulate the catch and operation of one boat than multiple boats. It requires perverse logic to manage against efficiency.</p>
<p><strong>African overfishing</strong> Overfishing in numerous African countries is a direct result of inadequate management in specific countries. Those countries do not have quota management schemes like those in Australia and they frequently inadequately enforce what management principles they do have. The poor performance of fisheries management in some African countries is simply not relevant to Australia.</p>
<p><strong>Effect on recreational fishers</strong> Localised depletion is usually only a significant issue if the species taken in one fishery is the same as that taken in another. Anglers worry that high take of mackerel will significantly affect the food source of fish they catch, such as southern bluefin tuna. Tunas are highly-migratory predators with a multi-species, opportunistic and catholic diet: they will eat the right-sized individuals of whatever species is available at the time. Distribution of both tuna and the small pelagics in question will be influenced more by environmental variability than localised depletion. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14277/original/bw5kk5hg-1345008722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14277/original/bw5kk5hg-1345008722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14277/original/bw5kk5hg-1345008722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14277/original/bw5kk5hg-1345008722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14277/original/bw5kk5hg-1345008722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14277/original/bw5kk5hg-1345008722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14277/original/bw5kk5hg-1345008722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bluefin eat many species other than jack mackerel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nate Grey</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Jack mackerel are not targeted by other commercial or recreational fisheries. While they are one of many food items for larger pelagic species, they are also competing for food with those species. If jack mackerel were significantly depleted in this fishery, the species they compete with, such as pilchards and anchovies, would likely increase. These species are common food for larger pelagics, such as kingfish and tuna. </p>
<p>Competition between commercial and recreational fishing is best resolved by deliberately allocating catches of the species in question. Such allocation is, in effect, between different categories of seafood consumers. </p>
<p>Recreational fishers would be best served if the future supply of seafood for the non-fishing public - the great majority of Australians - comes increasingly from species recreational fishers don’t target. Jack-mackerel and red-bait are two such species. If the increasing needs of Australia’s seafood consumers are not met from such species then there will be ever-increasing pressure from seafood consumers for a greater share of the limited total catches of traditionally marketed and popular recreational species, such as whiting, snapper, flathead and kingfish. It must be noted that recreational catches already exceed commercial catches of numerous species in several states.</p>
<p>Australia is far from self-sufficient in seafood. We need much greater consideration of the strategic issues affecting future uses and supply of seafood. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/8839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bob Kearney does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Margiris “super-trawler” is heading for Australia to catch jack mackerel and associated small surface-dwelling species. It faces a lot of opposition, largely based on assertions that the vessel’s catches…Bob Kearney, Emeritus Professor in Fisheries, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.