Fin Fish

Red rock lobster – Pot – FAO 57

Company: Ferguson Australia Pty Ltd

Species: Jasus edwardsii

Gear type: Pot

Fishing Area: FAO 57, South Australia

Fishery Management:

Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) is the government agency responsible for managing South Australia’s fish stocks. PIRSA manages South Australia’s fish stocks in partnership with key stakeholder groups and the community. A range of management tools are used to protect the State’s fisheries resources. These measures include output controls such as quota restrictions, daily catch limits, minimum and maximum size limits, as well as input controls such as closed areas, closed seasons, gear restrictions, vessel size and capacity restrictions, limited entry provisions, and limitations on the number of people that may assist with fishing operations. A Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) is also used to track the movements of vessels in some fisheries to assist in monitoring compliance with management arrangements.

Regulatory arrangements for the South Australian Rock Lobster Fishery are contained within the Fisheries Management (Rock Lobster Fisheries) Regulations 2006, Fisheries Management (Marine Scalefish Fisheries) Regulations 2006 and the Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2007. Management of the fishery is described in management plans for the Northern Zone Rock Lobster Fishery (PIRSA 2014) and the Southern Zone Rock Lobster Fishery (PIRSA 2013).

A series of management arrangements have been introduced for the commercial fishery to control the catch of Rock Lobster in South Australia. A quota management system was introduced in the Southern Zone in 1993 and in the Northern Zone in 2003. Input controls including restrictions on the number of pots and seasonal closures are also in place. Minimum legal size limits and protection for spawning females also apply.

Stock Status:

PIRSA publishes the Status of SA Fisheries report, that brings together the best available information about the wild fish stocks.

The most recent status report for both the Northern and Southern Zone Rock Lobster Fisheries assessed the fisheries in the 2012-2013 fishing seasons. The primary measure for stock status in both zones of the South Australian Rock Lobster Fishery is the commercial CPUE of legal-sized Rock Lobster (kg/potlift). CPUE in lobster fisheries is accepted as being representative of lobster abundance and is measured using catch and effort data recorded and submitted in logbook returns.

In 2012-13, the Southern Zone Rock Lobster Fishery CPUE was 0.86 kg/potlift, which placed the catch rate of the fishery within the range considered to be sustainably fished at a TACC of 1,250 t. In 2012-13, the Northern Zone Rock Lobster Fishery CPUE was 0.99 kg/potlift, which placed the catch rate of the fishery within the range considered to be sustainably fished at a TACC of 345 t. On the basis of the evidence available, the Southern Zone Rock Lobster resource in both management units are classified as sustainable.

Habitat Impact:

An Environmental Risk Assessment of the South Australian Red Rock Lobster Fishery was conducted in 2011. The assessment ranked the risk to Red Rock Lobster as moderate; and the risk of capture of threatened, endangered and protected species in the Northern Zone (specifically Australian sea lions) as moderate. Pots are equipped with metal spikes to prevent sea lions pups to enter the trap. It did not identify any general ecosystem risks from the impacts of fishing (PIRSA 2011). The moderate and higher risks have strategies outlined in the management plan to address those risks.

References:

PIRSA http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/fishing

http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/fishing/publications/status_sa_fisheries_report