Fish are a renewable resource. This means that fish stocks can be replenished. However, being a natural resource, the time taken to replenish such stocks is influenced by their capacity to reproduce and grow. Fish stocks are subject to various environmental influences such as water quality and food availability, which may affect size quite independently of fishing activity. However, there are limits and fish supplies must be managed correctly to avoid being overfished. Caring for our natural resources should be important to all of us.
In October 1987, the term 'sustainable development' developed from a report titled "Our Common Future" released by the World Commission on Environment and Development. This report defines sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Indeed, sustainable development has become official policy of world governments, Australia included, with the maintenance of ecological integrity a cornerstone to its success. Put simply, it is about looking after plant and animal habitats, maintaining biodiversity, improving degraded ecosystems and it is about sustaining human life.
One of the challenges of ensuring fisheries resources is used sustainably is that no-one can own fish. Fishers are granted access to use the resource but not exclusively. Fish, like other marine resources are common property and management of this resource needs to take this into account.
Southern Rocklobster (Jasus edwarsii)
Eastern Rocklobster (Jasus verreauxi)
Rocklobsters are marine crustaceans and prefer to live in sheltered caves, under rocks and in crevices from close inshore to depths greater than 200 metres. To grow the rock lobster discards it's outer shell and grows a new larger shell. This process is called moulting and occurs less as the rocklobster ages. Rocklobsters can grow to 23cm measured as carapace length, which is from the eye to the head/tail join in the middle of the animal. Large males can weigh in excess of 6kg but most are sold between 0.5kg and 2kg. Rocklobsters are dark red in colour. They feed mostly during the night on bottom living invertebrates including small crustaceans and molluscs. Sharks and octopus prey on rock lobsters.
A female needs to be about four years old before they are ready to breed. Depending on the size of the female they can produce up to half a million eggs. The eggs are carried on the underside of the tail, called being in-berry, until hatching. The larvae spend time floating in the plankton layer where they feed and grow until metamorphosis into transparent miniature rock lobster called puerulus. From June to August the puerulus settle on reefs and take shelter and take on adult colourings.
Rocklobster is the second most valuable fishery in Victorian waters and is managed in two zones (eastern and western zones). There are 85 western zone and 47 eastern zone access licenses issued and the commercial catch is regulated by ITQ units set by TACC. Access licenses are capped at 85 for the western zone and 46 for the eastern zone. The permitted use of fishing pots within each zone is also capped at 5147 and 2021 pots for the western zone and eastern zone respectively.
Commercial catch of rocklobster is only permitted using baited commercial rocklobster pots. The pots were once made from tea-tree but now the favoured material is a steel frame covered with netting. The pots are baited with whole fish (pilchards or mullet) or fish heads (Australian salmon) that attract rocklobsters. The pots are usually set mid afternoon and hauled in the early the next day. Minimum size restrictions apply (measured by carapace length) for female 105mm and males 110mm.The rocklobsters are measured as they are removed from the pot with the undersize ones being returned directly to the water. Wet-wells or tanks of seawater hold the live rocklobsters until the boat returns to port.
A closed season also applies where by females are not permitted for take between 1st June to 15th November and males from the 15th September to the 15th November.
The correct marketing name is Southern Rocklobster. Other commonly referred names include rocklobster, crayfish and cray. Rocklobsters can be processed by cooking, chilling, freezing or by adding value by keeping them alive. They are sold either whole or as tails. The majority of the catch is now exported live to Asian and European markets. Rocklobsters for the domestic market are sold cooked and chilled. Frozen tails are exported to the United States.
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Blacklip Abalone (Haliotis rubra)
Greenlip Abalone (Haliotis laevigata)
Abalones are gastropod (stomach-footed) molluscs. Their soft bodies consist of a large muscular foot (the edible part) and internal organs that are protected by one flat ear-shaped shell. The colour of the foot generally gives the species its name. The outside of the shell is coloured to blend in with their habitat of browns, reds and green. The inside of the shell is silvery in colour much like mother-of-pearl.
Two species of wild abalone, blacklip abalone (Haliotis rubra) and greenlip abalone (Haliotis laevigata), are harvested from Victorian waters. They live hidden in rocky reefs and feed on drifting pieces of seaweed and seagrass pieces. Blacklip abalones prefer high wave energy coastal waters living in rocky gutters and on near vertical rock faces. Greenlip abalones find suitable places to live on the sheltered side of rocky headlands. Populations of greenlip are found scattered along the coast to Wilson's Promontory. Blacklip are found more continuously along the coastline.
Breeding takes place annually after individuals reach maturity at about 4 years of age. Abalone can grow to a maximum shell length of 22cm. Typically they are 11-16cm.
The Blacklip abalone is the most valuable Victorian fishery and accounts for the majority of the mollusc catch. Abalone is caught predominantly via commercial divers permitted to use commercial abalone diving equipment. An Abalone Fishery Access License (AFAL) is needed to take abalone for sale or to use or possess commercial abalone equipment and licenses must be renewed annually. The fishery is regulated by a quota management system with individual transferable quota (ITQ) units and each quota unit takes a proportion of the overall total allowable commercial catch (TACC). TACC is determined annually for blacklip and greenlip abalone stocks in each commercial fishing zone. There are separate quota units for greenlip and blacklip abalone. Greenlip quota units are only allocated for western and central zones (not viable in the eastern zone).
The fishery is managed in three zones, the western, central and eastern zones. ITQ is set for each zone and cannot be transferred between zones. The numbers of commercial fishing licenses are 71 (23 in the eastern zone, 34 in the central zone, and 14 in the western zone). The commercial fishing quota licensing period runs between 1 April and 31 March each year.
Most abalone is exported to Asian markets with some exported to the USA and Europe. Increasing amounts of abalone are now being sold domestically. This is the result of the increased cultural diversity in local communities.
Under legislation legally caught abalone can only be sold to a licensed processor. There are 14 licensed abalone processors in Victoria. Live abalones are transported to a licensed processor in sealed bins. The processor needs authorisation from Fisheries Victoria before they can open the bins. Abalone is processed into a number of products including canned, frozen meat, frozen on-shell, parboiled, shelf stable pouches, dried and live. For live abalone individuals are placed into holding tanks before being cooled down and packed into polystyrene boxes and airfreighted. For cooked products the abalone meat is removed from the shell and the mantle and guts are removed. The abalone meats are washed thoroughly and packaged ready for cooking in either cans or plastic pouches.
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Giant Crab (Pseudocarcinus gigas)
The Giant crab commercial fishery is linked to the rocklobster fishery. Giant crabs are fished in deeper waters in the western rocklobster zone. A Giant Crab Fishery Access License (GCFAL) is required and 37 are issued (2006/07). The commercial catch is regulated by a quota management system and ITQ units. Giant crabs are taken by using commercial rocklobster pots therefore can only be operated in conjunction with a western zone rocklobster license. The same boat, pots and operator must be used on both the linked rocklobster and giant crab licenses.
A minimum size for giant crab exists and is 150mm (carapace length) and there is a closed season. Females crabs are not to be taken from the 1st June to the 15th November and male crabs from the 15th September to the 15th November.
Giant Crab Fishery Management Plan is currently being reviewed.
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Commercial Scallop (Pecten fumatus)
Scallops are bivalve molluscs meaning they have two shells joined together. Scallops can be found in or on soft sediments ranging from mud to course sand. They usually lie buried with only the flat valve visible. Scallops may be found in discrete beds from 1 to 120m.
Scallops feed by filtering the water to obtain plankton and other minute foods. They move by jetting water in a series of spurts from its shell.
Scallops are hermaphrodites, being both male and female at the same time. Individuals mature sexually between 12 and 18 months. Spawning occurs during spring (August to November).
Scallops can live to be ten years old and grow to a maximum size of 140mm. Commonly they live for only three years reaching about 80mm in length. Commercially caught scallops are typically two years of age after reproducing at least once.
Scallops are caught by harvesting where a vessel tows a single dredge which is run along the seabed. Dredges are deployed from the rear of the boat and can be up to 4.5 m wide. The contents of the dredge basket (when retrieved) are sorted on board the vessel and undersized scallops are immediately returned to the water.
A Scallop (Ocean) Fishery Access License is required and licenses are capped at 91. The fishery is managed using a quota management system. The commercial scallop fishery has a closed period and its opening is decided through consultation with representatives and fishery experts and the TACC. When the fishing season is determined each license holder is given an equal share of the TACC. Transfer of quota between license holders occurs and is recorded by authorities (DPI). Commercial scallop fishing is not permitted in Victorian bays and inlets.
A minimum shell width of 80mm has been established to allow the scallop to have two spawning prior to being fished. A product quality assurance measure is also put in place and the fishery may close if the average number of scallop meats per kilogram is above 100 meats. The fishery will not reopen until the quality of the scallop improves.
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Snapper (Pagrus auratus)
The commercial snapper fishery is small but has a high commercial value. As yet there are no structured management arrangements for Victorian finfish fisheries. The main method of management is to limit fishing effort by limiting the number of commercial licenses and restricting commercial fishing equipment, and to apply catch controls such as legal size limit. Snapper are caught as a by-product in several Commonwealth fisheries off the coast of Victoria.
An Open Fishery Access License permits the take of snapper (and other finfish) with the use of commercial fishing equipment from Victorian waters. There are 287 licenses which are non-transferable. The fishery is managed using input (effort) controls and catch controls such as legal size limits. It is not effective to manage the fishery with TACC and ITQ units due to the relatively small commercial value.
Two-thirds of the total commercial catch is taken by long lines with a 200 hook limit per license. Other methods of fishing include snapper taken from haul seine (maximum length of 460m) and mesh nets (maximum mesh size 130mm, maximum length 2500m per license). Snapper is also targeted with hand lines in Western Port Bay (1000 hook limit per license). Incidental catches are taken in Corner Inlet and the Gippsland Lakes. All other Victorian bays and inlets are closed to commercial fishing for snapper.
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Black Bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri)
Yellow Bream (Acanthopagrus australis)
Gippsland Lakes is the only remaining target commercial bream fishery in Victoria. Nearly all the commercial catch is taken from haul seine nets (maximum length of 732m) and mesh nets (maximum length 2200m). All other bays, inlets and estuaries are closed to commercial fishing for bream and other finfish.
Transferable Gippsland Lakes Fishery Access Licenses (maximum of 10) can be issued to permit the use of commercial fishing equipment to catch and sell bream. Management controls for the bream fishery are legal size limits. The legal minimum length is 28cm (total length) for the Gippsland Lakes. As with the snapper fishery, it is not effective or practical to manage the fishery with TACC and ITQ units. The bream fishery is therefore managed through input (effort) controls and legal size limits.
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Short Finned Eel (Anguilla australis)
Long Finned Eel (Anguilla reinhardtii)
Eels are distinct among fishes and can be easily identified by their slender, long body-shape and skin texture. Short-finned eels have a golden-olive to olive-green skin colouring on their backs with a grey to silver-white belly. The name short-fin eel is given due to the length of the fin along their back.
It is believed that both species breed in the Coral Sea. Sexually mature individuals undertake a spawning migration from freshwater to the sea. It is thought that the eels only spawn once in their life. The young larvae are carried on oceanic currents back to the continental shelf of Australia, New Zealand and Norfolk Island. At about 12-18 months they metamorphose into clear eels called glass eels. The glass eels using tides are carried into estuaries of coastal rivers. At about 1-3 years of age they develop brown skin pigments becoming elvers. The elvers make their way into the freshwater and upper reaches of rivers, streams and creeks. The eels will grow and mature before returning to the sea between 10 and 25 years of age. Short-fin eels can grow to 110cm in length and weight up to 6.8kg. Typically they are 60cm and weigh 0.7kg.
Short-fin eels prefer to live in still water habitats such as coastal swamps, lagoons, farm dams and river back eddies. They will also migrate overland to reach remote waterways. Long-fin eels prefer riverine habitats.
The eel fishery in Victoria is based primarily on the short-finned eel. Short-finned eels can be found in all Victorian coastal drainages. The long-finned eel (Anguilla reinhardtii) makes up the remainder of the catch and is found east of Wilson Promontory along the east coast of Australian to Cape York Peninsula.
Eels are taken using fyke nets. No minimum lengths or closed season exists for the eel fishery in Victoria. As the life history of the eel is complicated it is difficult to manage the fishery through TACC's based on stock assessments. So, the fishery is managed by input controls. An Eel Fishery Access License (EFAL) is required to take eels or use commercial eel fishing equipment in coastal rivers and streams. EFAL are capped at 18. Restrictions on mesh sizes of fyke nets are also in place. Individual waterways are generally allocated a single EFAL to reduce fishing pressure.
Short-finned eels are mainly exported to Europe as a snap-frozen product with about 5 percent being smoked for local consumption. The market for long-finned eels is restricted mainly to large live eels (above 3 kg) that are exported to Taiwan and Hong Kong for consumption in China.
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Gummy shark (Mustelus antarcticus)
School shark (Galeorhinus galeus)
Elephant fish (Callorhinchus milii)
Dog sharks (Family Squalidae)
Whiskery shark (Furgaleus macki)
Sharks are cartilaginous fish (they have a skeleton made of cartilage). Sharks also have tooth-like scales called denticles on their skin. School and gummy sharks are ‘small' sharks averaging less than two meters in length. While school sharks can be found off other countries like South Africa, New Zealand and Chile, gummy sharks are native to Australia's southern coastline. School and gummy sharks live over the continental shelf and slope from shallow estuaries to depths of 400 meters. School sharks often form schools as they make long migrations, passing through Bass Strait.
School and gummy sharks give birth to live sharks (between 1 and 40). Coastal waters are important for both species with these areas used for breeding. Young sharks (pups) are found in the ‘nursery' areas along inshore coastlines and bays and inlets. School and gummy sharks are long lived. Gummy sharks will live to about 16 years of age, while school sharks will live to about 50 years.
The majority of shark fishers (112) today use gill nets to catch school and gummy sharks. The mesh size of the net, usually 6 inches (152mm), targets sharks within a certain size range (between 95cm and 120cm) ensuring that larger and smaller sharks are not captured. A small number (35) still use long lines. Boats travel out to fish in Bass Strait. Fishing trips are up to ten days in length. A decreasing number of operators use bottom set long lines.
Before 1984 the States managed fishing for sharks. A variety of techniques were used to maintain sustainable harvesting levels. These techniques included limits on the number of licenses and participants and restrictions on gear length. After 1984 the Commonwealth managed fishing for sharks. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) now manages the Southern Shark Fishery. In June 1997 concerns were raised about the increasing level of effort in the fishery. A decision by AFMA suggested the use of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) as new management method. After a lengthy period of discussion, ITQs came into effect from 1 January 2001. The total allowable quota is 2159 tonnes (head-and-gutted, with fins on). Size limits of 65cms for both gummy and school sharks apply.
To aid management between States and the Commonwealth a piece of legislation was enacted (passed before parliament) called the Offshore Constitutional Settlement. A recent agreement between Victoria and AFMA means that all gummy and school sharks caught in the Southern Shark Fishery are managed by AFMA. Victoria manages a 40 tonne total allowable catch from inshore coastal waters inside 3 nautical miles (5.5km) includes bays and inlets.
The major market for shark is for its flesh. The flesh of gummy shark is known as flake because of its white flaky texture, mild taste and boneless nature. It is popular for use in fish-and-chip shops. Sharks are head-and-gutted immediately after capture. They are stored surrounded by ice in refrigerated storage holds onboard boats. Freshly chilled shark carcasses are sold to the wholesale market who then fillets the product before selling it to retail outlets like fish shops and supermarkets. New markets have opened for by-products of catching sharks for their flesh. The fins are now removed and sold to make local shark fin soup. The cartilage from shark spines are now dried and ground into powder. Shark cartilage powder is sold as a pharmaceutical product.
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Gould's squid (Nototodarus gouldi)
Squid are cephalopods. There are many different types of cephalopods with new species still being identified. Squid have complex skin colourations that can be changed to fit their surroundings.
The Victorian squid fishery is based on Gould's squid (Nototodarus gouldi) previously known as arrow squid. Bycatch of other species is rare although it may include other oceanic squids such as red ocean squid (Ommastrephes bartrami) and southern ocean squid (Todarodes filippovae) or closer inshore as southern calamari (Sepioteuthis australias).
Gould's squid live in marine waters over the continental shelf and upper slope and are commonly found at depths from 50 to 200m. They form schools or aggregations near the seabed during the day and disperse at night.
Gould's squid are short-lived with most reaching a maximum age of 12 to 18 months. They grow very fast, up to 4cm each month. Females grow faster and reach a maximum size of 40cm measured as mantle length (this does not include the head or tentacles) and can weigh up to 1.6kg. Males are smaller reaching a size of 35cm. To keep up this rapid growth squid have voracious appetites. Squid feed mainly at night on small surface fish (pilchards) and crustaceans with cannibalism also occuring. Sharks, seals and other fish prey on squid.
It is thought that there are three breeding times in a year. Few studies have been done on the breeding cycle of squid.
Gould's squid are targeted in western Bass Strait using jigs. Fishing is seasonal with the season starting in February and ending in June. The season starts off the Port Phillip Bay heads and slowly moves westwards to Portland as the season progresses, following the natural migration of the squid. Squid are also targeted off the eastern coast of Victoria from Lakes Entrance to the NSW border and in Tasmanian waters.
Jigging uses the squid's natural behavioural characteristics to make catching easier. The boats have bright lamps strung above the deck that attract small fish. The squid group in the boat's shadow and then dart into the light to feed on the fish. The boats use automatic jigging machines that wind a line with barbless hooks attached up and down over an oval spool creating a jigging motion. The squid are held on the hook by the pressure of the line and when this pressure is released the squid are flicked onto a wire mesh tray and land on the deck of the boat. Demersal trawls and Danish seines also catch Gould's squid as bycatch in the Commonwealth fishery, the South East Fishery.
Management of the fishery is now the responsibility of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, the Commonwealth fisheries agency. As of January 2007, there were 6400 Commonwealth Statutory Fishing Rights in the fishery. However, only 21 vessels actually fished during the previous year. The Jig sector is managed by limiting entry.
In April 1998 the Southern Squid Fisheries Management Advisory Committee (SquidMAC) was established. This committee is the peak advisory body for the fishery and consists of fishers, managers and scientists.
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