Seafood CRC: harvest strategy evaluations and co-management for the Moreton Bay trawl fishery

Funded Activity Summary

Commercial fishers believe that immediate action is required to improve the economic viability of the Moreton Bay Trawl Fishery (MBTF). Challenges relate to inefficiencies and resource utilisation, specifically (i) gear efficiency; (ii) harvest rules; (iii) fuel consumption; (iv) over-capitalisation; (v) seasonal closure effects on deployment of capital; (vi) harvesting for market demand; and (vii) environmental impacts of the fishery. In addition, the fishery is operating in a global environment of falling prawn prices and increasing fuel prices.

Exacerbating these challenges is the recent implementation of the Moreton Bay Marine Park Zoning Plan. In addition to loss of fishing grounds for conservation, the State Government’s Marine Park Structural Adjustment Package, which sought to remove active fishing licences from the Bay, failed to address effort displacement. This has led to reduced economic yield from fished areas and increased ecological impacts. The impacts to fishers include increased competition in open areas, higher steaming, social and labour costs, and market impact through targeting sub-optimal product. In summary, the ecological, social and economic costs to fishers have increased.

The rising costs of production have motivated fishers to address profitability. Harvest strategies aimed at optimising economic performance would help address these issues and potentially offer the MBTF greater resource security.

Implementation of harvest strategies may be improved by changing the regulatory framework of the fishery. This would provide benefits from a compliance, monitoring and reporting perspective. Currently, the 10 year review of the Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery Management Plan is underway. Whilst the primary objective of the review is to update the Plan with respect to delivering the best long term economic benefits for society through effective and sustainable management of Queensland’s fisheries resources, it also provides an opportunity for regulatory change for improved harvest strategies in the MBTF


Objectives:
1. Review the literature and data (i.e., economic, biological and logbook) relevant to the Moreton Bay trawl fishery
2. Identify and prioritise management objectives for the Moreton Bay trawl fishery, as identified by the trawl fishers
3. Undertake an economic analysis of Moreton Bay trawl fishery
4. Quantify long-term changes to fishing power for the Moreton Bay trawl fishery
5. Assess priority harvest strategies identified in 2 (above). Present results to, and discuss results with, MBSIA, fishers and Fisheries Queensland.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-08-2010

End Date: 31-10-2011

Funding Scheme: Funding Scheme not available

Funding Amount: $127,800.00

Funder: Fisheries Research and Development Corporation

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

There are no FoR codes available for this funding activity

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Cost | Economic | Efficiency | Environmental Impact | Fisheries Management | Fishing Effort | Fishing Gear | Harvest Strategy | Input management | Modelling | Non Market Values | Supply & Demand

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