سرطان البحر

Initial Audit Report

New Zealand – Pot – Jasus edwardsii – FAO 81 (Pacific, Southwest)

Fishery client: CRA 5 Rock Lobster Industry Association Incorporated (“CRAMAC5”).
Fishing area: FAO 81, Canterbury/Marlborough known as CRA5.
Fishing vessels: The Company has a fleet of 26 vessels.
Vessels audited on site as fleet samples: 70894; 901093; 901176; 44197; 900734; 63064.
Fishing method: Pot.
Certified species: Scientific name: Jasus edwardsii;
Common name: Red Rock lobster.

Management summary
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) manages New Zealand’s deepwater fisheries under a national fisheries plan. The Rock lobster fisheries operates within the New Zealand Fisheries Act (1996), which fully encompasses the legal and administration framework for fisheries management, licensing of commercial operations, and contains provision for Quota Management System (QMS), compliance monitoring and enforcement. Size limits for Rock Lobster are specified in the Fisheries Regulations 2001 (SR 2001/253). The minimum tail width regulation specifies 60mm for females and 54mm for males. Under the QMS a yearly catch limit – the total allowable catch – is set for every stock. MPI rigorously monitors the amount caught compared to set catch limits with financial penalties for commercial fishers who catch more than their entitlement in a year. The company is operating with a catch certificate issued by MPI.

Stock status summary
There is a substantial amount of data on Rock Lobster collected by the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council (SEAFIC) and the New Zealand Rock Lobster Industry Council (Rock Lobster Industry Council), in conjunction with the Ministry of Primary Industry (MPI) and Government Research Agencies. These data show that stock and fishing intensity are deemed to be well below the maximum rate of fishing mortality (Fmsy), indicating that the stock is not overexploited. Thus, stock is assessed to be above the biomass that enables a fish stock to deliver the maximum sustainable yield (Bmsy), confirming that the stock is not overfished.


Bycatch / discards
Bycatch information is collected on the Catch Effort Landing Return (CELR) forms and the company developed log sheets. The normally bycaught species are not on the IUCN Red List as endangered. Bycatches are at extremely low levels.


Habitat Impact
Marine Protected Areas are clearly identified on maps that are pre-programmed into Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and/or Global Positioning System (GPS). Warning systems prevent vessels drifting into these areas. Potting is a benign fishing method and has minimal impact on the seabed.

Social Accountability performance
The fleet complies with the human rights and labour regulations of New Zealand.

Conclusion with reasons for approval
The fleet complies with Friend of the Sea requirements, without any major non-conformities.

Initial Audit Report

Surveillance Audit Report

Basic description of the fleet/fishery

Fishery client: Leigh Fisheries.

Fishing area: FAO 81; Pacific, Southwest – FMA Area 1, 2 and 9.

Fishing vessels: The Company has a fleet of 55 vessels.

Vessels audited on site as fleet samples: 900855; 15878; 2024; 5876.

Fishing method: Pot.

Certified species:Scientific name / Common name

Jasus edwardsii / Red rock lobster

Jasus verreauxi / Packhorse rock lobster*

Management summary

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) manages New Zealand’s fisheries under a national fisheries plan. The cornerstone of New Zealand fisheries management is the Quota Management System (QMS). The rock lobster fisheries were brought into the QMS in 1990, when Total Allowable Commercial Catches (TACCs) were set for each Quota Management Area (QMA). All vessels maintain a logbook.. A Catch Landing Return (CLR) is recorded at every trip, indicating the target species and bycatches. CLR is delivered to the MPI office at the 15 of every month and it is matched with the declaration of the Licensed Fish Receivers.

Stock status summary

According to the MPI, Red rock lobster is reported as not overexploited and overfished. Packhorse rock lobster fishery is monitored by MPI, but the status of its stock is unknown.

Bycatch / discards

Bycatch is very low and it is mainly linked to other fishing methods of the fleet. Pots are thought to have little direct effect on non-target species. There are no discards, since the unit of certification markets all catches. All bycatch is recorded on the CLR.

Habitat Impact

The ecosystem impact of the fishery is taken into account in the assessment carried out by MPI. The institution also specifies and monitors the mesh size of pots, stipulated by fisheries legislation. Pots are set with attention with negligible impact on seabed.

Social Accountability performance

The fleet complies with the human rights and labour regulations of New Zealand.

Conclusion with reasons for approval

The fleet complies with Friend of the Sea requirements, without any non-conformities.

* The species is now placed in the genus Sagmariasus.

Initial Audit Report

Corrective Actions

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