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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 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.
Short-fin eels can grow to 110cm in length and weight up to 6.8kg. Typically they are 60cm and weigh 0.7kg.
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Scallop fishing started in 1963 in Port Phillip Bay. In 1965 a minimum size limit was introduced and two years later a commercial fishing licence was needed. Scallop beds were found off Lakes Entrance and eastern Bass Strait in 1970 and fishing started in the area. In 1976 the first restrictions on catches were introduced as bag limits. The minimum size limit was removed in 1978 and although there is no minimum size limit for scallops, fishing is prohibited when the proportion of scallops of less than 70mm shell length in the catch exceeds 20 percent.
During the same year fishing in Port Phillip Bay was limited to the period between April and December. Fishing was also restricted to daylight hours and limited to four days a week. Low numbers of scallops from 1988 to 1990 saw the voluntary stopping of fishing in Port Phillip Bay. The Victorian government launched a long-term study of the effects of scallop dredging in the Bay with the support from fishermen.
In 1991 the Port Phillip Bay fishery was closed against the advice of the scallop advisory committee. The scallop fishers defeated this closure in court. During Mr Kennett's election campaign in March 1996 the Premier announced the closure of scallop fishing in Port Phillip Bay as of March 31, 1997 offering compensation to licence holders. The decision about compensation ended in the courts. Fishing for scallops in Victorian ocean waters continues.
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Scallops are caught using a harvester. The harvester is made of a rigid steel frame covered in steel mesh. It is towed on a wire cable from the back of the boat and recovered by winch. A tow takes about twenty minutes but depends on the depth of water worked. The catch is emptied into a sorting tray where the scallops are sorted washed and stored and the containers tagged shut. Either steel scallop crates or hessian sacks are used.
Scallop Fishing for scallops is limited from July to December when the water temperatures are coolest. At this time of the year the scallop is in the best eating condition. |
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Natural populations of scallops around the world are typically cyclic having good then poor years, being influenced by environmental factors. No management system has been able to stabilise scallop stocks. The current management plan aims to leave a certain level of residual breeding stock.
Management measures have been operating in the fishery almost since the start. The ocean fishery is managed under a transferable catch quota by shell weight. Each licence holder is owns an amount of quota. The yearly total allowable catch amount is determined each year through a stock assessment with the Commercial Scallop Fishery Sub-committee of the Fisheries Co-management Council involved. During the fishing season catches are monitored for size, condition and quantity. The fishery is opened and closed each year by Fisheries Notice. A closed season exists during the summer and autumn months so that the scallop can spawn and reproduce. A Scallop Fishery Access Licence is needed to commercially catch scallops.
Victoria manages the Ocean fishery out to 20 nautical miles. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority manages the Bass Strait Central Zone. The central zone is managed through a number of input and output controls. Victorians are able to fish in the Commonwealth fishery if they hold the correct licence and comply with management arrangements.
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Currently there are 94 Victorian ocean scallop licences. Each licence on a boat employs two or three crew members.
There are about a dozen scallop processors licensed in Victoria. Scallop processing facilities employ during the six-month season between 30 to 40 employees each. Processing plants are located in Melbourne , Geelong and Lakes Entrance .
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| Scallops are sold to processing facilities in packed and sealed bags or crates. The scallops are delivered fresh and whole. The crates or sacks are opened and the scallops are emptied into hoppers. A splitter works standing in front of the hopper and inserts a knife into the shell and cuts out the meat and roe. |
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The meat and roe are placed into a plastic container while the shell is taken away on a conveyor system. The freshly shucked scallops are washed and drained. Fresh scallops are sold in bulk for the local market. Frozen scallops are individually quick frozen (IQF) with liquid nitrogen before being packed into cartons. All scallops for export are frozen.
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The scallops sold in retail outlets have been processed. The processing of scallops involves removing the gut and shell and retaining the roe and abductor muscle. Scallops sold in Victoria consist of the while abductor muscle and the orange roe.
The domestic sales of scallops are Australia wide. Victorian processed scallops are also exported with our main market being France. In a typical year up to 70% of production will be exported. Total value of export sales can be between AU$20 to 80 million but this depends largely on the foreign exchange rate of the Australian dollar.
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During 1993 industry set up an arrangement to give each fisher exclusive access to a maximum of three waters based on their fishing history. Up until then the informal agreements between fishers and the waters they fished in were breaking down.
Fishers were reluctant to release small eels when they might be harvested be someone else. On reaching the agreement many compromises and sacrifices were made by the fishers. The agreement shows a commitment from industry to ensure the sustainability of the Victorian eel fishery.
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The variable nature of scallop stocks means that the years fishing season is unpredictable.
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