integrated fisheries management · 2012. 7. 13. · australian fisheries management authority and...

INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENTDRAFT ALLOCATION REPORT - WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER RESOURCE

A discussion paper prepared by the Integrated Fisheries Allocation Advisory Committee

for public comment

OCTOBER 2005

WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER RESOURCE �

Making a submission ......................................................................................................................................2

1 Committee’s Draft Recommendations ......................................................................................................3

1.1 ItemsNotedbytheIFAAC.............................................................................................................5

2 Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................5

3 Background ...............................................................................................................................................6

3.1 TheIFAAC....................................................................................................................................63.1.1 ConflictofInterest.........................................................................................................................63.1.2 Guidingprinciples..........................................................................................................................73.1.3 TheIFAAC’sTermsofReference......................................................................................................8

3.2 MinisterialAdvice........................................................................................................................103.2.1 Customaryallocation...................................................................................................................103.2.2 Formalisingcatchsharesovertheperiod1997–2001....................................................................113.2.3 Allocationtothenon-fishingsector...............................................................................................11

3.3 AdditionalGuidingPrinciplesAdoptedbytheIFAAC.....................................................................113.3.1 Datauncertainty.........................................................................................................................123.3.2 Optimisingbenefittothecommunity.............................................................................................12

3.4 DescriptionoftheFishery...........................................................................................................13

3.5 DescriptionoftheSectors..........................................................................................................143.5.1 Customary..................................................................................................................................143.5.2 Recreational...............................................................................................................................153.5.3 Commercial................................................................................................................................153.5.3.1 Commercialfishingsector............................................................................................................153.5.3.2 Aquaculture................................................................................................................................16

4 Catch Information ...................................................................................................................................17

4.1 Customary.................................................................................................................................17

4.2 Recreational...............................................................................................................................18

4.3 Commercial................................................................................................................................18

4.4 Catchshares..............................................................................................................................19

5 Allocation Options ..................................................................................................................................21

5.1 Spatialallocationoptions...........................................................................................................215.1.1 Allocationoverthewholeofthewestcoastrocklobstermanagedfishery........................................215.1.2 Allocationbasedonregions.........................................................................................................225.1.3 Smallscalespatialand/ortemporalallocations............................................................................23

5.2 Proportionalcatchshareoptions................................................................................................255.2.1 Option1–attheaverageproportionovertheperiod1997–2001...................................................255.2.2 Option2–attheaverageproportionofthelastthreeseasons(2001/02–2003/04).....................265.2.3 Option3–attheproportioncatchsharesareexpectedtobeatthe

introductionofare-allocationmechanism(2009/2010).................................................................265.2.4 Option4–ataproportionwhichwillallowforlongtermgrowthinpopulation

andestimatedgrowthinrecreationalfishingactivity.......................................................................28

6 Allocations ..............................................................................................................................................30

6.1 Customary.................................................................................................................................30

6.2 Recreational...............................................................................................................................31

6.3 Commercial................................................................................................................................31

6.4 Decisionrulespriorto2009/2010..............................................................................................31

6.5 Reallocation...............................................................................................................................32

7 Other Issues ...........................................................................................................................................33

7.1 Monitoringallocations................................................................................................................33

7.2 Managementofallocations.........................................................................................................34

7.3 Broaderlegislativearrangements................................................................................................35

References ...................................................................................................................................................36

Appendix A ...................................................................................................................................................38

Appendix B ...................................................................................................................................................41

Appendix C ...................................................................................................................................................43

Appendix D ...................................................................................................................................................44

Appendix E ....................................................................................................................................................46

Appendix F ....................................................................................................................................................49

Appendix G ...................................................................................................................................................54

CONTENTS

� INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT DRAFT ALLOCATION REPORT

Membersofthepublicareinvitedtomakewrittensubmissionsonthisdraftallocationreport.

Thosemakingsubmissionsareencouragedtomakereferencetotheparticularproposalorsectionofthereportuponwhichtheywishtocomment.Ifyoudisagreewithaparticularproposalorsection,pleasetrytosuggestalternativewaystoaddressorresolvetheissuesidentifiedinthereport.Clearreasonsshouldbeincludedinyourresponse,sothatyourviewscanbeproperlyconsidered.

TheIntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisoryCommittee(IFAAC)willconsiderthecontentofallsubmissionsduringthepreparationofitsfinalreporttotheMinisterforFisheriesandmakechangestoitsinitialpositionasrequired.AsummaryofallthesubmissionswillbeprovidedtotheMinisteratthetimeIFAACsubmitsitsfinalreporttohim.

Afterthesubmissionperiodhasclosed,theIFAACmaywritetostakeholderswhohavelodgedawrittensubmission,invitingthemtospeaktothecommitteeinsupportoftheirsubmission.

TheIFAACencouragesstakeholdersandotherstocommunicateamongthemselvesinthepreparationoftheirsubmissionsandwouldappreciatethelodgementofjointsubmissionsonparticularissues,suchaspercentageshares.

IftheIFAACreceivesasubmissionthatitconsidersrequiresfurtherconsultation,thecommitteewilldrawittotheattentionofallthosewhohavelodgedasubmissionorexpressedaninterestinreceivinginformation.

Submissionsshouldbemadepriorto20January2006andsentto:

IFAACLockedBag39CloistersSquarePostOfficePERTHWA6850Fax:(08)94827224

AsamatterofconveniencetheIFAACwouldappreciatethelodgementofsubmissionselectronicallyusingthefollowingemailaddressifaac@fish.wa.gov.au.

MAKING A SUBMISSION

WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER RESOURCE �

Recommendation 1. ThatallocationsshouldbeovertworegionsoftheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery–northernregion

(ZonesA/B)andsouthernregion(ZoneC).

Recommendation 2. Thatthewesternrocklobstermanagementadvisoryprocessbereformedsoastoencourageallsectors

(commercial,recreationalandindigenous)todiscussandnegotiateinter-sectoralissuessuchasspatialandtemporalseparation,aswellasprocessesforresolvingintra-sectoralmanagementissues.Outstandingmattersasof2009/2010shouldbereferredtotheIFAACtoprovidetheMinisterwithadviceonanappropriateresolution.

Recommendation 3. Allocationsshouldbebasedonthepredictedproportionalcatchsharesin2009/2010.

Recommendation 4. Thecustomaryfishinginitialallocationshouldbeonetonne.

Recommendation 5. Therecreationalsector’sallocationshouldbe–basedontheDepartmentofFisheriespredictionsofcatch

sharesin2009/2010–4.9percentoveralland7.5percentinthesouthernregion(ZoneC)and0.9percentinthenorthernregion(ZonesA/B).

Recommendation 6. Thecommercialsector’sallocationshouldbe–basedontheDepartmentofFisheriespredictionsofcatchshares

in2009/2010–95.1percentoveralland92.5percentinthesouthernregion(ZoneC)and99.1percentinthenorthernregion(ZonesA/B).

Recommendation 7. Sectorsmaytakegreaterthantheirinitialallocationswithoutanypenaltyuntil2009/2010subjecttocompliance

withsustainabilitycriteria.

Recommendation 8. Areallocationmechanismshouldbeimplementedforthewesternrocklobsterresource,asamatterofprioritybut

nolaterthan2009/2010.

Recommendation 9. ThattheExecutiveDirectoroftheDepartmentofFisheriesdevelop,inconsultationwithstakeholders,the

necessaryregulatorystructurestogiveeffecttotheGovernment’sIFMpoliciescontainedinGuidingprinciplesviiandx(seesection3.1.2).

1 COMMITTEE’S DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS

� INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT DRAFT ALLOCATION REPORT

Note 1:TheIFAACnotestheMinisterforFisheries’viewthatthereshouldbeanallocationforcustomaryfishingandthatcustomaryfishingaccessrightsshouldbegivenpriorityoverallotherfishingaccess.

Note 2:TheIFAACnotestheMinister’sadviceregardinganallocationfornon-extractiveusersoftheresourceandinaccordancewiththeMinister’spositiononthismatteritwillnotberecommendinganallocationtonon-extractiveusers.

Note �:TheIFAACnotesthatallocationsmayneedfurtheradjustmentinthefutureifmoreaccurateinformationbecomesavailableontherecreationalcatch,howevertheperiodforadjustmentshouldnotextendbeyond2009/2010.TheIFAACseekssubmissionsonhowthismightbecarriedout.

Note �:TheIFAACwouldwelcomecommentsonrelevanteconomic,social,culturalandenvironmentalissuesandhowthesemightbeincorporatedintoIntegratedFisheriesManagement(IFM).

Note �:TheIFAACisprovidingadviceonallocationsofthewesternrocklobsterresourceovertheareathatexistswithintheboundariesoftheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFisheryonly(i.e.betweenExmouthGulfandAugustaextendingseawards200nauticalmiles).

Note �:TheIFAACnotestheMinisterialadvicereferredtoinsection3.2.1andhasincludedrecreationalfishingbyindigenouspeople,asdistinctfromcustomary,aspartoftherecreationalallocation.

Note 7:TheIFAACnotesthathistoricallytherehasbeennoaccesstowesternrocklobsterforcommercialaquaculturepurposesandarrangementsforaccessarecontainedinMinisterialPolicyGuidelineNo.20(DepartmentofFisheries,2004).

Note 8:TheIFAACwelcomesfurtherinformationastothecustomarytakeofwesternrocklobsterthroughsubmissionsonthisreport.TheIFAACnotesthatthedemandsofIFM(IFMGovernmentPolicy,paragraph18,AppendixA)willnecessarilyrequiremoreresearchandmonitoringofthecustomarytake.

Note 9:Thatwhereasector’sallocationislessthan0.1percentofthetotalcatchtheIFAAChasadoptedtheapproachofspecifyingtheallocationbyquantityratherthanproportion.

Note 10:TheIFAACnotesthattheDepartmentofFisherieshasproposedthattheperformanceindicatorforasector’scatchshouldbetheaverageofthatsector’sproportionofthecatchoverathree-yearperiod.

1.1 Items Noted by IFAAC

WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER RESOURCE 7

IntegratedFisheriesManagement(IFM)isaninitiativeaimedataddressingtheissueofhowfishresourcesinWesternAustraliacanbebestsharedbetweencompetinguserswithinthebroadcontextof“EcologicallySustainableDevelopment”,orESD.

TheMinisterforFisheriesestablishedtheIntegratedFisheriesManagementAllocationAdvisoryCommittee(IFAAC),underSection42oftheFish Resources Management Act 1994(FRMA),in2004toinvestigateIFMresourceallocationissuesandmakerecommendationstohimonoptimalresourceuse.

TheIFAAChaspreparedthisreport,thefirstinaseries,whichdocumentsthecommittee’sinitialpositiononallocationsforthewesternrocklobsterresource,alongwiththereasonsforitsconclusions.ThisreportfollowstheIFAAC’spreliminaryinvestigationofthewesternrocklobsterresourcesharingissuesandconsultationwithstakeholders.

Thereportisbeingreleasedforathree-monthpubliccommentperiodtofacilitatediscussionandencouragecommentonhowthewesternrocklobsterresourceshouldbesharedbetweencompetingusers(commercial,recreationalandindigenous).Attheconclusionofthecommentperiod,theIFAACwillconsiderallsubmissionsandfinaliseitsadvicetotheMinisterforFisheriesonallocationsforthewesternrocklobsterresource.

TheIFAACexpectstoprovidethisadviceinearly2006.

FollowingthereceiptoftheIFAAC’sadvice,theMinisterforFisheries,consistentwiththeGovernment’spolicy,willdeterminetheallocationstosectors.

2 INTRODUCTION

8 INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT DRAFT ALLOCATION REPORT

ThemostrecentdevelopmentinthemanagementoffisheriesinWesternAustraliaistheintroductionofIFM.

Insummary,IFMinvolves:

• settingthesustainableharvestlevel(SHL)ofeachresourcethatallowsforanecologicallysustainableleveloffishing;

• allocatingexplicitcatchsharesforusebyindigenous,recreationalandcommercialfishers;

• continualmonitoringofeachsector’sharvestedcatch;

• managingeachsectorwithinitsallocatedcatchshare;and

• developingmechanismstoenablethereallocationofcatchsharesbetweensectors.

�.1 The IFAACThemembersoftheIFAACareMrMurrayJorgensen(Chair),MrNormanHalseandProfessorGeorgeKailis.

MurrayJorgensenhasbeenChairoftheForestProductsCommissionforthepastfouryearsandhasdemonstratedastrongbackgroundinnaturalresourcemanagement.MrJorgensenhasaprovenbackgroundinvariousbusinessventuresasachairmanandconsultantandhasextensiveexperienceinlocalgovernment,includingfiveyearsasShireClerkattheShireofManjimupand10yearsasChiefExecutiveOfficeroftheTownofAlbany.

GeorgeKailisisProfessorofManagementattheUniversityofNotreDameinFremantleandisaDirectoroftheMGKailisGroup.Hehashadextensive

experienceongovernment,scienceandindustrybodiesatastate,nationalandinternationallevel.ProfessorKailisiscurrentlyChairoftheCockburnSoundManagementCouncil,ChairoftheAustralianSeafoodIndustryCouncilNativeTitleWorkingGroup,andamemberofthePearlingIndustryAdvisoryCommittee.HehaspreviouslybeenDirectoroftheAustralianFisheriesManagementAuthorityandtheFisheriesResearchandDevelopmentCorporation.

NormanHalseisakeenrecreationalfisher,conservationistandresearcher.MrHalseworkedforWesternAustralia’sDepartmentofAgriculturefor40years,hiscareerculminatingasthatdepartment’sDirectorGeneral.HisconservationinterestsincludedservingaspastPresidentoftheConservationCouncilofWA,asChairmanoftheNationalParksandConservationAuthorityandasamemberoftheEnvironmentalProtectionAuthority.MrHalsehasastronginterestinrecreationalfishing,asdemonstratedbyhisserviceasapastChair,andcurrentboardmember,ofpeakbodyRecfishwest.

�.1.1 Conflict of InterestIfamemberhadaconflictofinterestinanymattertobeconsideredbytheIFAAC,thememberdisclosedtheinterest,thedisclosurewasrecordedintheminutesofthecommitteeandthememberdidnotvoteonthematter.

ItshouldbenotedthateachmemberoftheIFAACholdsacurrentrecreationalrocklobsterlicenceandthatGeorgeKailishasaninterestinthecommercialrocklobsterindustryasashareholderandDirectoroftheMGKailisGroup.

3 BACKGROUND


�.1.2 Guiding principlesTheMinisterprovidedtheIFAACwiththefollowingGuiding Principles and Terms of Reference.

Governmenthasadoptedtheprinciples,outlinedbelow,asthebasisforIFM(AppendixA).TheIFAACshouldensurethatanyadvicetotheMinisterforFisheriesisconsistentwiththeseprinciples:

i. FishresourcesareacommonpropertyresourcemanagedbytheGovernmentforthebenefitofpresentandfuturegenerations;

ii. Sustainabilityisparamountandecologicalrequirementsmustbeconsideredinthedeterminationofappropriateharvestlevels;

iii. Decisionsmustbemadeonbestavailableinformationandwherethisinformationisuncertain,unreliable,inadequateornotavailable,aprecautionaryapproachadoptedtomanagerisktofishstocks,marinecommunitiesandtheenvironment.Theabsenceof,oranyuncertaintyin,informationshouldnotbeusedasareasonfordelayingorfailingtomakeadecision;

iv. Aharvestlevel,thatincorporatestotalmortality,shouldbesetforeachfishery1andtheallocationdesignatedforusebyeachgroupshouldbemadeexplicit;

v. Allocationstousergroupsshouldaccountforthetotalmortalityonfishresourcesresultingfromtheactivitiesofeachgroup,includingbycatchandmortalityofreleasedfish;

vi. Thetotalharvestacrossallusergroupsshouldnotexceedtheprescribedharvestlevel.Ifthisoccurs,stepsconsistentwiththeimpactsofeachusergroupshouldbetakentoreducethetaketoalevelthatdoesnotcompromisefuturesustainability;

vii. Appropriatemanagementstructuresandprocessesshouldbeintroducedtomanageeachusergroupwithintheirprescribedallocation.Theseshouldincorporatepre-determinedactionsthatareinvokedifthatgroup’scatchincreasesaboveitsallocation;

viii. AllocationdecisionsshouldaimtoachievetheoptimalbenefittotheWesternAustraliancommunityfromtheuseoffishstocksandtakeaccountofeconomic,social,culturalandenvironmentalfactors.Realistically,thiswilltaketimetoachieveandtheimplementationoftheseobjectivesislikelytobeincrementalovertime;

ix. Allocationstousergroupsshouldgenerallybemadeonaproportionalbasistoaccountfornaturalvariationsinfishpopulations.Thisgeneralprincipleshouldnot,however,precludealternativearrangementsinafisherywherepriorityaccessforaparticularusergroup(s)maybedetermined.Itshouldremainopentogovernmentpolicytodeterminethepriorityuseoffishresourceswherethereisaclearcasetodoso;and

x. Managementarrangementsmustprovideuserswiththeopportunitytoaccesstheirallocation.Thereshouldbealimitedcapacityfortransferringallocationsunutilisedbyasectorforthatsector’suseinfutureyears,providedtheoutcomedoesnotaffectresourcesustainability.

1 Fishery is defined under the FRMA as one or more stocks or parts of stocks of fish that can be treated as a unit for the purposes of conservation or management; and a class of fishing activities in respect of those stocks or parts of stocks of fish.


�.1.� The IFAAC’s Terms of ReferenceTakingintoaccounttheprinciplesdetailedabove,theIFAACistoinvestigatefisheriesresourceallocationsissues,andprovideadviceandrecommendationstotheMinisteronmattersrelatedtooptimalresourceuse,andinparticularprovideadviceon:

i. allocationsbetweengroups(sectors)withintheharvestlimitsdeterminedforeachfishery;

ii. strategiestoovercomeallocationandaccessissuesarisingfromtemporalandspatialcompetitionforfishatalocal/regionallevel;

iii. allocationissueswithinafisheriessectorasreferredbytheMinisterforFisheries;

iv. morespecificprinciples(thandetailedabove)toprovidefurtherguidancearoundallocationdecisionsforindividualfisheries;and

v. othermattersconcerningtheintegratedmanagementoffisheriesasreferredbytheMinisterforFisheries.

Inthefirstinstance,theMinisterforFisherieshasrequestedtheIFAACtoprovideadviceandrecommendationsonallocationspertainingtotheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery,AbaloneManagedFishery(withemphasisonthePerthmetropolitanfishery),andWestCoastDemersalFinfishFishery(withemphasisondhufish,baldchingroperandsnapper).

TheIFMGovernmentPolicyreleasedinOctober2004(AppendixA)hasbeentheprincipalsourceofguidancefortheIFAACindevelopingitsrecommendationsonsectoralallocations.TheMinisterforFisherieshasalsoprovidedtheIFAACwithadditionaladviceonvariousIFMissues,andIFAAChastakenthisadviceintoaccountinitsdeliberations.Theseissuesarediscussedinsection3.2.

UndertheIFMGovernmentPolicy(Paragraph11,AppendixA),theMinisterdeterminestheprocessandtimeframesforresolvingallocationsofeachfishresourcesbasedontheadviceoftheIFAAC.TheMinisterhasapprovedafour-stageIFMallocationprocessdevelopedbytheIFAAC(AppendixB).


Thefourstagesinvolve:

A. determiningtheneedforaformalallocationprocessinafishery;

B. developmentofanIntegratedFisheriesManagementReportbytheDepartmentofFisheries;

C. theintegratedfisheriesallocationprocess,whichincludes:

Box 1 Fisheries Management Paper 192AnIFMreportforthewesternrocklobsterresource,Fisheries Management Paper No.192 (FMP.192),wasreleasedbytheDepartmentofFisheriesinApril2005.ThatpaperincludesareportonthesustainabilityofthefisheryandastatementonthesustainableharvestlevelasrequiredundertheIFMGovernmentPolicy(seeparagraphs6&7,AppendixA)andinformationthataddressesthebroaderrequirementsforreportingunderanEcologicallySustainableDevelopmentframework.

Otherkeydocumentsonthewesternrocklobstersustainabilityincludethe State of the Fisheries and Western Rock Lobster Sustainability ReportpreparedbytheDepartmentofFisheriesfortheCommonwealthDepartmentofEnvironmentandHeritage.

TheExecutiveDirector,DepartmentofFisheries,undertheIFMpolicyhastheresponsibilityforapprovingasustainabilityreportforeachfisherywhichincludesaclearstatementonthesustainableharvestlevels.Theharvestlevelsforthewesternrocklobsterresourcearegiveninsection8.7ofFMPNo.192.TheExecutiveDirectoroftheDepartmentofFisherieshassetthesustainableharvestlevelforwesternrocklobstertakenbyallsectorsasarangebetween9,500tonnesand15,000tonnes.

TheobjectivesforthemanagementofthecommercialfisheryaregiveninFMPNo.192(p.21).Thebiologicalobjectiveisto:

Ensure the abundance of breeding lobsters is maintained or returned to, as the case may be, at or above the levels in 1980, which is estimated to be about 20 per cent of the unfished parental biomass.

Inpractice,theDepartmentmanagestheexploitationrateofwesternrocklobsterthroughtheuseofcontrolsonfishingeffortandbiologicalcontrols(suchassizelimits,takingsetoseandtarspot),toensurethatthebiologicalobjectiveismetandcatchesaresustainable.Recently,adraftdecisionrulesframeworkhasbeendevelopedforthefishery,primarilyaimedatensuringthatthebreedingstockineachofthethreemanagementzonesisaboveacertainlevel.Forthecommercialfishery,themanagementarrangementsareprovidedintheWest Coast Rock Lobster Management Plan.Asthemanagementsystemisbasedoninputcontrolsasdistinctfromoutputcontrols(quotas)thereisnoreferencetoasustainableharvestlevelinthemanagementplan.

Therecreationalrocklobsterfishingsectoriscontrolledbyregulation.Underpresentmanagement,thereisnocaponthetakeofrocklobsterbytherecreationalsector.

FurtherinformationonIFMcanbeobtainedfromtheDepartmentofFisherieson(08)94827333orbyvisitingthewebsiteat:www.fish.wa.gov.au.

Source:DepartmentofFisheries,GovernmentofWesternAustralia

Step1. Investigationoftheallocationissue;

Step2. IFAACsettlingadraftallocationreportandreleasesitforpubliccomment;

Step3. IFAACrecommendingallocationstotheMinisterforFisheries;

Step4. TheMinisterdeterminingallocations;and

D. determiningmechanismsforfutureallocationsbetweensectors.


Inthecaseofthewesternrocklobsterresource,thefirststage(pointAabove)oftheprocesswasunnecessary,astheMinisterforFisherieshasalreadyrequestedthattheIFAACprovidehimwithadviceandrecommendationsonallocations.

ThesecondstageoftheprocesswascompletedinApril2005,whentheDepartmentofFisheriesreleasedFisheriesManagementPaperNo.192, Integrated Fisheries Management Report Western Rock Lobster Resource (FMPNo.192),(DepartmentofFisheries,2005).FMPNo.192hasbeentheprincipalsourceofinformationusedbytheIFAACinitsconsiderationoftheallocationsforthewesternrocklobsterresource(seeBox1).

Duringitsinvestigationofallocationissues(StageC,Step1oftheprocess–seeabove)theIFAACsoughtwrittensubmissionsfromkeystakeholdersonissuesrelatedtoallocationandprovidedanopportunityforthemtomakeaverbalpresentationtothecommittee.StakeholdersubmissionscanbeobtainedfromthesourcesprovidedinAppendixC.TheIFAACacknowledgesthatnotallstakeholdershavehadanopportunitytomakesubmissions.TherecommendationsinthisdraftallocationreportshouldbetakenonlyastheinitialviewoftheIFAAC,publishedtoassistindebateandinguidingthoseinterestedinmakingasubmissiontotheIFAAC.

�.2 Ministerial AdviceInadditiontousingtheIFMGovernmentPolicy(AppendixA)initsdeliberations,theIFFAAChasbeenprovidedadditionalguidancebytheMinisterforFisheriesonanindigenousallocation;thereferenceperiod1997–2001;andonallocationstonon-extractiveuses.ThisadviceandtheIFAAC’sresponsearesummarisedbelow.

�.2.1 Customary allocationTheMinisterforFisheriesprovidedguidancewithrespecttothecustomaryfishingsectorinalettertotheIFAAC(seeAppendixD).ThekeypointtheMinistermadeinhisletterwasthatheexpectedthattheIFAACwouldrecommendsomeallocationforcustomaryfishingofinshorespecies.

TheMinisteralsonotedthathesupportedrecommendation13ofthedraftAboriginalFishingStrategy,whichstates:

Within any given fisheries allocation framework developed in Western Australia, customary fishing access rights should be given priority over all other fishing access, including commercial and recreational fishing.

CustomaryfishingwasdescribedbytheMinisterasthefishingactivityofindigenouspeoplewhohavearight(inaccordancewithAboriginallawandcustoms)tofishinacustomarymanner.HecommentedfurtherthatnotallindigenouspeoplearepermittedtoundertakecustomaryfishinginallareasofthestateunderAboriginallawandcustom.

Note 1:TheIFAACnotestheMinisterforFisheries’viewthatthereshouldbeanallocationforcustomaryfishingandthatcustomaryfishingaccessrightsshouldbegivenpriorityoverallotherfishingaccess.

WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER RESOURCE 1�

�.2.2 Formalising catch shares over the period 1997–2001

TheIFAACatitsmeetingofthe6JanuaryproposedthefollowingapproachinrelationtoParagraph19oftheIFMGovernmentPolicyregardingthedatestobeusedasabasisfordevelopingrecommendationsonallocations:

1. TheIFAACwillmakeanassessmentof1997–2001catchshares,asabasisforfutureallocationdiscussions(Paragraph19,IFMGovernmentPolicy,AppendixA).

2. Inmakingitsrecommendationforallocation,theIFAACwillapplythebroaderprinciplesintheIFMGovernmentPolicy,inparticularParagraph5(Paragraph5containstheGuidingPrincipleswhicharereproducedatsection3.1.2).

TheMinister’sresponsetotheIFAAC’sadvicewas*:

“…I appove of IFAAC proceeding to consider allocations on the basis of the resolution it made on the 6 January regarding this matter.”

�.2.� Allocation to the non-fishing sectorTheConservationCouncilofWesternAustraliasuggestedthattherewasalackofclarityaboutthestandingandroleofthenon-extractivesectorsintheIFMallocationprocess.

TheIFAACsoughtguidancefromtheMinisterforFisheriesonwhetherheexpectedthatthecommitteewouldprovidearecommendationonallocationstonon-extractiveusersoftheresource.

TheMinisterrespondedbyadvisingthat:

1. TheIFMinitiativewasdesignedtodetermineallocationsbetweencommercial,recreational(includingcharter)andindigenoussectorsthatareextractiveusers;and

2. HewasnotseekingarecommendationfromtheIFAAConallocationstonon-extractiveusersoftheresources(AppendixE).

�.� Additional Guiding Principles Adopted by the IFAAC

TheIFAACwill,inaccordancewithitstermsofreference,bemakingrecommendationsoninitialallocationsforwesternrocklobstertoeachofthesectors.OtherallocationprinciplesthattheIFAAChasconsideredorthathavebeenbroughttotheIFAAC’sattention,inadditiontothosereferredtopreviously(sections3.1and3.2)thathaveabearingonitsdeliberations,arediscussedbelow.

TheIFAACwasguidedbythefollowingprinciplesinrelationtoconsideringallocationoptions.TheseprinciplesmayevolveovertimeintomoregenerallyacceptedprinciplesinrelationtotheIFAAC’stasks,butinthefirstinstancetheyapplyonlyforwesternrocklobster,whichisafishery,whichisclassifiedas‘fullyexploited’(FMPNo.192).

1. Theapproachshouldbepragmaticandincremental;

2. Therewasaneedtomakeexplicitallocations(asdistinctfrommakingageneralstatementofprincipleabouthowallocationsshouldbemade);

3. Allocationsshouldnothavetheeffectofmerelydeferringadecisionindefinitely;

4. Recommendationsthatamounttoachangetocatchsharesasassessedinthe1997–2001periodneedtobeexplainedonthebasisofthe‘GuidingPrinciples’,(particularlyGuidingprincipleviii,seesection3.1.2);

Note 2.TheIFAACnotestheMinister’sadviceregardinganallocationfornon-extractiveusersoftheresourceandinaccordancewiththeMinister’spositiononthismatteritwillnotberecommendinganallocationtonon-extractiveusers.

* Extract from letter from the Minister to the IFAAC of 1 April 2005.

1� INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT DRAFT ALLOCATION REPORT

5. Thatuntiltherearere-allocationmechanisms,theIFAACshouldbecautiousinmakingrecommendationsthatwouldhavetheeffectofimmediatelyandsignificantlyimpactingonasector;and

6. Re-allocationmechanismsshouldbedevelopedwithinaspecifiedtimeframe,whichbasedonstakeholdercommentsshouldbesetatnotmorethanfiveyearsforwesternrocklobster.

�.�.1 Data uncertaintyTheIFMGovernmentPolicy,19(AppendixA)statescatchshares:

… will be formalised using the best available information during the five-year period from 1997–2001.

TheIFAAChasusedtheDepartment’s‘Best Estimates of the WRL Recreational Catch’(AppendixF)initsconsiderationofallocations.TheIFAACrecognisesthatresearchwillcontinueonthebestmethodtoestimatetherecreationalcatchand,infuture,itispossiblethattheremaybeafurthermodificationoftherecreationalcatchestimatesforthereferenceperiod.

TheIFAAChasinterpretedtheintentionexpressedinthequoteaboveasthatthestatus quo asat1997–2001shouldbethebaseoffutureallocationdiscussions.Intheeventthattheestimatesforthisreferenceperiodareshowntohavebeeninerror,thenthisisasufficientlyrelevantconsiderationtowarranttheadjustmentoftheinitialallocationunderIFM.Thereis,however,alsoacompellingpublicinterestintheneedtoprovidelong-termcertaintyunderIFM.Accordingly,thisopportunityforadjustmentshouldnotcontinueindefinitelyandareasonable‘sunsetperiod’offiveyearsshouldbesufficientforthispurpose.TheIFAACwouldbeinterestedinreceivingsubmissionsonhowanysuchadjustmentmightbeeffectedinpractice.

�.�.2 Optimising benefit to the communityGuidingpolicyviii(seesection3.1.2)oftheIFMGovernmentPolicystates:

Allocation decisions should aim to achieve the optimal benefit to the Western Australian community for the use of fish stocks and take account of economic, social, cultural and environmental factors. Realistically, this will take time to achieve and the implementation of these objectives is likely to be incremental over time.

TheIFAACnotesthatthereisnoquantitativeassessmentinFMPNo.192whichassistsindeterminingtheoptimalbenefittotheWesternAustraliancommunitytakingintoaccounteconomic,social,culturalandenvironmentalfactors.

TheExecutiveDirectoroftheDepartmentofFisheriesstatedthatshouldtheIFAACrequire“informationonstrategiesforoptimisingneteconomicbenefitsfortheStatethenfurtherworkisrequired”thenthereisapossibilityofcommissioningareportonthistopic.However,anysuchreportwouldneedtoalsodealwiththeproblemofhowtooptimisesocialbenefits.Formalquantitativeassessmentofsocialbenefitsisnotyetcommonlypracticed.

Asocialstudyisunderwayaspartofthereviewofthemanagementarrangementsforthecommercialfishery,buttheresultsarenotavailableatthistime.Giventhefocusofthatstudyisonthecommercialsectormanagementarrangements,itmayhavelimitedapplicationtotheconsiderationofallocationsbetweensectors.

Note �.TheIFAACnotesthatallocationsmayneedfurtheradjustmentinthefutureifmoreaccurateinformationbecomesavailableontherecreationalcatch,howevertheperiodforadjustmentshouldnotextendbeyond2009/2010.TheIFAACseekssubmissionsonhowthismightbecarriedout.


NospecificmentionismadeinFMPNo.192astoculturalfactors,otherthanthoserelatingtocustomaryfishing.

Giventhattherewillbenoallocationfornon-extractiveusers,theIFAACisoftheviewthatenvironmentalfactorsshouldlargelybetakenintoaccountthroughsettingthesustainableharvestlevel(SHL)andotherprocesses.TheConservationCouncilofWesternAustraliahasraisedsomespecificissuestodowithenvironmentalissuesandmadesomesuggestionsregardingmanagementchanges.ThesehavebeenreferredtotheExecutiveDirectoroftheDepartmentofFisheriesforconsideration.

Althoughthereisinsufficientinformationavailabletoenableacommunitybenefitoptimisationprocessforallocationbetweensectorsinthewesternrocklobsterfishery,theIFAACrecognisesthatitmustgiveconsiderationtothisissue.Thewesternrocklobstercommercialfisheryisaveryvaluablefisheryandcreateseconomicbenefitandsocialbenefittothatsectionofthecommunityinvolvedintheindustry.

Incomparisontherecreationalfisheryforwesternrocklobsterinvolvesasmallereconomicactivitybutcreatesasocialbenefittothelargernumberofpeopleinvolved.

Intheabsenceofappropriateinformation,theIFAACdidnotfinditpossibletocometoanyconclusiononthecomparativebenefitsofthesetwofisheriestothecommunityasawhole.

TheIFMprocessrequiresanallocationtoeachsectorsothattheresponsibilityforsustainablemanagementcanbefairlyapportionedbetweensectors.Upuntilthepresenttimethecommercialsectorhashadtobeartheprimeresponsibilityformakinganycatchadjustmentsforsustainabilitymanagement.

Therecreationalcatchhasbeenincreasingoveraboutthelastfiftyyearsbutonlyreached3.9percentofthetotalcatchin2002/03.Intheirpreliminarysubmission,RecfishwestpointedoutthatastheWesternAustralianpopulationgrows,newfisherswillwanttoparticipateinthisfisherysotheincreaseinrecreationaltakecanbeexpectedtocontinue.

Nevertheless,theprinciplesofIntegratedFisheriesManagementmakeitclearthatspecificsharesforeachsectorshouldbedetermined.Thestakeholders’viewsonthisallocationreflectedtheirinterestsbutdidnotsuggestanyspecificcriteriathatshouldbeusedtodeterminethoseshares.

ThisIFMallocationisseenasanessentialfirststepthatwillfacilitateprogresstowardtheobjectivesoutlinedintheIFMGovernmentPolicy.TheGovernment’spolicyrecognisestheproblemoflackofinformationonsocial,economic,culturalandenvironmentalfactors(seeGuidingprincipleviii,section3.1.2).

�.� Description of the FisheryThewesternrocklobsterresourceextendsprimarilyoverthecontinentalshelfareaoffthewestcoastofWesternAustraliabetweenExmouthGulfandAugusta.ExmouthGulfandAugustaarethenorthernandsouthernboundariesofthecommercialfishery–theWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery(WCRLMF).

TheWCRLMFistheareaoverwhichtheIFAACisprovidingadviceonwesternrocklobsterallocations.AlthoughwesternrocklobsterarefoundinlowerdensitiesalongthesouthcoasttotheeastofAugustaandoccasionallynorthofExmouththecommitteewillnotbemakingallocationsforthatcomponentoftheresourceaspartofthisprocess.

TheWCRLMFisthemostvaluablesinglespeciesfisheryinAustralia(worthbetween$A200and$A400millionannually)withanaveragecatchofaround11,000tonnes.

Note �.TheIFAACwouldwelcomecommentsonrelevanteconomic,social,culturalandenvironmentalissuesandhowthesemightbeincorporatedintoIFM.


Tofishcommerciallyinthisfishery,apersonmustholdaWCRLMFlicence.Thenumberoftheselicenceshasbeenlimitedsince1963,whenlicencenumbersandunitsofentitlementwerefrozen.

ThecommercialfisheryisdividedintothreeZones–A,BandC.ZoneAlicenseesmayfishinZoneBfrom15Novemberto15March.2ThefishingseasonintheWCRLMFrunsfrom15Novemberto30Junethefollowingyear,withZoneAopenfrom15Marchto30June.

Commercialfishersareonlypermittedtousebaitedpots,whichtheyusuallyhauldaily.

Thecommercialfisheryismanagedusinginputcontrols.Theprimarymanagementmethodisalimitonthetotalnumberofpots,whichplacesanoverallcaponeffort.EntitlementsaretransferableunderwhatisknownasanIndividuallyTransferableEffortsystem.

HoldersofrecreationalrocklobsterlicenseesarealsopermittedtotakewesternrocklobsterwithintheboundariesoftheWCRLMF.Inpractice,themajorityofrecreationalrocklobsterfishingistargetedtonearshorewatersoflessthan18metresindepth,whereasthecommercialfisheryoperatesovertheentirearea.Recreationalfishersmayusepotsordiveforlobsters,exceptintheAbrolhosIslands(ZoneA)wherepotsaretheonlypermissiblemethod.

�.� Description of the Sectors

�.�.1 Customary TheMinisterforFisheriesusedtheterm“customaryfishingsector”to:

… describe the activity of indigenous people who have a right (in accordance with Aboriginal law and customs) to fish in a customary manner.

Headdedtotheabovedescriptionthat:Customary Fishing applies within a sustainable fisheries management framework to persons of Aboriginal descent; fishing in accordance with the traditional law and custom of the area being fished; and fishing for the purposes of satisfying non-commercial personal, domestic, ceremonial, educational or communal needs.

TheNationalNativeTitleTribunal(NNTT,2005)drewattentiontothedistinctiontheDepartmentofFisheriesmakesbetweencustomaryfishingbyAboriginalpeopleandrecreationalfishingbyAboriginalpeople.ItnotesthatundertheDepartment’sconstructofcustomaryfishing,Aboriginalpeopleare:

… taking marine resources for practices that reinforce cultural identity and tradition

andinAboriginalrecreationalfishing,theyare:… exercising the same right as non-indigenous Australians to take fish, governed by the same laws and regulations.

TheNNTTintheirsubmissionsuggestedthatindigenousacceptanceofwhatcanbetakentobeanarrowdefinitionofwhatcustomaryfishingrepresentswascontingentonotherstrategiesbeinginplacetoassistindigenouspeopletotakeadvantageofopportunitiesinthemarinesector.TheNNTTalsoadvisedtheIFAACthattheappropriatenessofsuchadefinitionwaspartofongoingdiscussionsandnegotiationsatanationalandstatelevel.

2 The industry is currently considering a change to the period to 15 November to 1 March.

Note �.TheIFAACisprovidingadviceonallocationsofthewesternrocklobsterresourceovertheareathatexistswithintheboundariesoftheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFisheryonly(i.e.betweenExmouthGulfandAugustaextendingseawardsfor200nauticalmiles).


TheIFAACacceptstheviewthatadistinctioncanbedrawnbetweencustomaryfishingandrecreationalfishingbyindigenouspeople;andthatnotallindigenousrecreationalfishersarefishingforcustomarypurposes.

�.�.2 RecreationalRecreationalfishingforrocklobsterrequireseitherarocklobsterrecreationallicenceoranumbrellalicencepermittingaccesstoalllicensedrecreationalfishingactivity.3Thereisnolimittothenumberofrecreationallicencesissued.

Licencesareissuedfora12-monthperiodfromthedateofissueonapplicationandpaymentof$31foraspecificrocklobsterlicence,and$72foranumbrellalicence.In2002–03,about40,000rocklobsterrecreationallicences(around27,000specificand13,000umbrella)wereissued,withabout71percentbeingused.Anyoneotherthanholdersofcommercialfishinglicencesmayapplyforarecreationalrocklobsterlicence.

Theprimarymethodusedbyrecreationalfisherstotakewesternrocklobsterisbypots;howeverrecreationaldiverstakeaboutathirdoftherecreationalcatch.Potfishersspendmoretimefishingthandivers,althoughthecatchrateofdiversisabouttwicethatofpotting(FMPNo.192,p.55).

Charterboatoperatorsprovideaplatformforrecreationaldiverstotakerocklobsters.Thesamelimitsofeightlobstersperlicenseeperdayand16lobstersperboatapplytocharterboatsandotherrecreationalboats.Thetakeofwesternrocklobsterfromdivecharterboatsisverysmall.

FurtherdetailsoftherecreationalsectorareavailablefromFMPNo.192.

�.�.� Commercial TheIFAACconsidersthecommercialsectortocomprisethoseoperationsthatareofacommercialnature.Forthewesternrocklobsterresource,commercialoperationsincludethewildcapturesectorandtheaquaculturesector.

�.�.�.1 Commercial fishing sector CommercialfishingforwesternrocklobsterismanagedunderThe West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery Management Plan 1993(inconjunctionwiththeFish Resources Management Act 1994andregulations),withfishershavingtoholdaWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFisheryLicence.

Therearecurrently601licensees,ofwhich545operatedtheirlicencein2004–05.Thereare69,282unitsallocatedtolicensees.Undercurrentmanagementarrangementsthisallocationallowsfor56,813potstobeusedbylicensees.

Foreachzone,thenumbersoflicencesandpotsthatcanbeusedaregivenintheTable1below.

Table1:NumbersofManagedFisheriesLicences(MFLs)andPotsbyZonefortheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery

Zone MFLs Pots

A/B 300 27,509

C 301 29,304

Total 601 56,813

Commercialfisherylicencesarerenewedannuallyafterlicenseeshavepaidtheannualaccessfee.Thefeewas$134perunitforthe2004–05season.FurtherdetailsofthecommercialfishingsectorareprovidedinFMPNo.192.

Note �.TheIFAACnotestheMinisterialadvicereferredtoinsection3.2.1andhasincludedrecreationalfishingbyindigenouspeople,asdistinctfromcustomary,aspartoftherecreationalallocation.

3 Aboriginal persons are not required to hold a recreational fishing licence under s. 6 of the FRMA


�.�.�.2 Aquaculture TheDepartmentofFisherieshasmadenoreferenceinFMPNo.192totheaquacultureofwesternrocklobster.However,theDepartmenthasreleasedFisheriesManagementPaperNo.122Opportunities for the Holding/Fattening/Processing and Aquaculture of Western Rock Lobster (Panulirus cygnus)(DoF,1998),whichwasdesignedtoserveasapolicyframeworkfordealingwithfutureapplicationstohold/fatten/processandaquaculturewesternrocklobsterandadministerexistingpractices.

Subsequently,in2004theDepartmentofFisheriesreleasedMinisterialPolicyGuidelineNo.20Assessment of Applications for Authorisations with Regards to Rock Lobster Aquaculture(DepartmentofFisheries,2004),whichoutlinedmatterstheMinisterconsideredimportantwhenassessingapplicationsforauthorisationsandimposinglicenceconditions.

Asthemostpromisingapproachtowesternrocklobsteraquacultureisthegrow-outofpueruluscollectedfromthewild,Ministerial Policy Guideline No. 20madereferencetothequantityofpuerulusthatcouldbeharvestedinanyyear(maximumof300,000)andunderwhatauthority(Ministerialexemption).

ThereisnohistoryofaccesstowesternrocklobsterforacommercialaquacultureoperationinWesternAustraliaandtheindustryisyettodevelop.Thepresentfocusofactivityisonresearchanddevelopment.TheAquacultureCouncilofWesternAustralia,initssubmissiontotheIFAAC,proposedthatallIFMfishstockallocationsneedtomakeprovisionforbothbroodandseedstock.

Asitmaybesometimebeforeaviablecommercialoperationisestablished,andthemostpromisingapproachisthroughthecollectionofpuerulus–atotallyprotectedfishundertheFRMA,theIFAACdoesnotintendtorecommendanallocationtotheaquaculturesector.

Note 7.TheIFAACnotesthathistoricallytherehasbeennoaccesstowesternrocklobsterforcommercialaquaculturepurposesandarrangementsforaccessarecontainedinMinisterial Policy Guideline No. 20(DepartmentofFisheries,2004).


TheprincipalsourceofdatathattheIFAAChasusedinconsideringitsadviceonallocationsisFMP No.192.ImportantadditionalinformationhasbecomeavailabletotheIFAACsincethereleaseofFMP No.192andisgivenintheDepartmentofFisheries’paperentitledBest Estimates of the Western Rock Lobster Recreational Catch(AppendixF).

TheDepartmentofFisherieshasalsoprovidedestimatesoftherecreationalproportionofthecatch,givencertainassumptionswhicharedescribedinthepaperentitledLong-Term Growth Trends In Recreational Rock Lobster Catch(AppendixG).

�.1 CustomaryTheDepartmentofFisheriesdidnotprovideanyspecificinformationastocustomaryfishing(seesection3.4.1fordefinition)forwesternrocklobsterinFMP No.192.

TheNNTThaskindlyprovidedtotheIFAACaresearchreportonindigenousfisheriesonthewestandsouth-westcoasts(Wright,2005).Anappendixtothatreportcontainedreferencestocustomaryfishinginthesouth-westofWesternAustralia.Exceptforonesingleandrelativelyrecentreference,therewasnospecificmentionofthetakeofwesternrocklobster.

TheIFAACthereforehasnospecificinformationavailabletoitatthisstageonthecatchfromcustomaryfishing.

4 CATCH INFORMATION

Note 8.TheIFAACwelcomesfurtherinformationastothecustomarytakeofwesternrocklobsterthroughsubmissionsonthisreport.TheIFAACnotesthatthedemandsofIFM(IFMGovernmentPolicy,paragraph18,AppendixA)willnecessarilyrequiremoreresearchandmonitoringofthecustomarytake.


�.2 Recreational TherecreationalcatchofwesternrocklobsterisdescribedinFMP No.192,mostlyintermsofthedataobtainedfromthemailsurveysthathavebeencarriedoutfrom1986/87.

Datawereavailablefrom1986/87to2003/04atthetimeofpreparingthisreport.However,itwasstatedinFMP No.192thatitwasbelievedthatamoreaccurateestimateoftherecreationalcatchwasprovidedbythephonediarysurveymethodwhichhadbeencarriedoutontwooccasions–2000/01and2001/02–andwhichisbeingcarriedoutagainin2004/05.

AttherequestoftheIFAAC,on10May2005theExecutiveDirectoroftheDepartmentofFisheriesprovidedthecommitteewithapaperfromtheResearchDivision–Best Estimates of the Western Rock Lobster Recreational Catch(AppendixF).Thisresearchpaperindicatedthatthemailsurveyover-estimatedtherecreationalcatchbyafactorof1.90(SE:0.3).Itisarguedthatthisover-estimationresultsfromacombinationofrecallandnon-responsebias.TheDepartment’spositionisthat:

… the best estimates of the recreational catch of western rock lobster over the last 17 years are obtained by using the mail survey data which has been suitably adjusted using the calculated level of bias.

TheestimatesoftherecreationalcatchbyzoneusingtheadjusteddataaregiveninTable2opposite.

Table2:Recreationalcatchestimatesintonnes,fromeachzonewithintheWesternRockLobsterManagedFisheryfrom1996/97to2003/04

SeasonZones

ZoneA/B ZoneC Total

1996/97 41 121 161

1997/98 63 192 255

1998/99 61 268 329

1999/00 53 340 392

2000/01 38 259 296

2001/02 53 234 287

2002/03 63 406 468

2003/04 59 369 428

TheIFAACnotesthatbecausethesesurveysarebasedonrandomlysamplingrecreationallicenceholders,therecreationalcatchmaybeslightlyunderestimated,asindigenousrecreationalfishersareabletotakewesternrocklobsterwithoutholdingalicence.

�.� Commercial ThecommercialcatchinformationisgiveninFMP No.192.Thesourcesofdataforthecommercialfisheryarestatutorymonthlyreturnsthatarevalidatedagainstvoluntarydailylogbooks(filledoutbyaroundathirdofthefleet)andinformationprovidedbyrocklobsterprocessors.Thecommercialcatchbyzonefortheperiodsince1997/98isprovidedinTable3overthepage(source:FMPNo.192,Table4,p.524).

4 The catch data for 1996/97 has been added to this table for consistency and Big Bank included in the Zone B catch.


Table3:Commercialfishingcatches,intonnes,fromeachzonewithintheWesternRockLobsterManagedFisheryfrom1997/98to2003/04

SeasonZones

ZoneA ZoneB ZoneC Total

1996/97 1,824 3,619 4,458 9,901

1997/98 1,792 3,582 5,104 10,478

1998/99 1,945 4,197 6,867 13,009

1999/00 1,714 4,197 8,203 14,433

2000/01 1,672 3,504 6,089 11,273

2001/02 1,634 2,815 4,517 8,983

2002/03 1,713 3,254 6,420 11,387

2003/04 1,884 3,520 8,160 13,564

�.� Catch shares

Thefollowingtable(Table4)providesdataontherecreationalcatchasaproportionofthetotalcatchfortheperiodfrom1996/97–2000/01(fulldataisprovidedinAppendixF).

Table4:EstimatedrecreationalwesternrocklobstercatchasapercentageofthetotalcatchforzonesA/BandCandallzones.

SeasonRecreational%ofthecatch

ZoneA/B ZoneC ALLZones

1996/97 0.7 2.6 1.5

1997/98 1.2 3.6 2.4

1998/99 1.0 3.8 2.5

1999/00 0.8 4.0 2.6

2000/01 0.7 4.1 2.5

2001/02 1.2 4.9 3.1

2002/03 1.2 5.9 3.9

2003/04 1.1 4.3 3.1

Source:Bestestimatesofthewesternrocklobstercatch(AppendixF)

Theestimatesoftherecreationalproportionofthetotalwesternrocklobstercatchinthereferenceperiod,1996/97–2000/01(IFMGovernmentPolicy,paragraph19,AppendixA)forallregionshasrangedbetween1.5percentand2.6percent,withanaverageof2.3percent(Table4).

Forthethreeseasonsthatdataisavailablesince2000/01,therecreationalproportionofthecatchhasincreasedtobetween3.1percentand3.9percentofthetotalcatch.Therecreationalproportionofthecatchispredictedtodeclinefrom3.5percentto2.6percentovertheperiod2004/2005to2006/07(AppendixF).

TheestimatesoftherecreationalproportionofthecatchinthereferenceperiodforZonesA/Bcombinedhaverangedbetween0.7percentand1.2percent,withanaverageof0.9percent(Table4).ForZoneCtheestimateshaverangedbetween2.6percentand4.1percent,withanaverageof3.6percent.

RecreationalfishersinZoneCtakeahigherproportionofthetotalcatchthaninZonesA/Bcombined.Onaverage,overtheperiod1997to2001recreationalfisherstook3.6percentofthecatchinZoneC,comparedwith0.9percentinZonesA/B.Thisistobeexpected,giventhatthemajorityofthepopulationlivesinthePerthmetropolitanarea(withinZoneC).

Forthethreeseasonsthatdataisavailablesince2000/01,therecreationalproportionofthecatchinZoneChasrangedbetween4.3percentand5.9percent,andinZonesA/Bbetween1.1percentand1.2percent.

Therecreationalproportionofthecatchispredictedtodeclinefrom5.4percentto4.7percentinZoneCovertheperiod2004/05to2006/07(AppendixF).TheexpectedproportioninZoneA/Bisstableatbetween0.9percentand1percent.

TheIFAACnotesthatmostoftherecreationalfishingactivityisinwatersshallowerthan18metres.

Incorporatingtheadjustmentforthephonediarymethod,therecreationalcatchhasbeenestimatedtobeapproximately12.5percentofthecommercialcatchinthePerthmetropolitanandRottnestareaswaters,increasingto35percentofthecommercialcatchinwatersshallowerthan18metres(FMP No.192,p.59).


Indeterminingitsdraftrecommendationsontheallocations,theIFAACwasmindfulthatitsrecommendationsarebeingmadeforthepurposesoutlinedinsection3.1.2andnotforsustainabilitypurposeswhichtheMinisterforFisheriesandtheExecutiveDirectorhaveresponsibilityforundertheFish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA).

Asaprecursortoprovidingitsadviceontheactualallocations,theIFAACconsideredthatitneededtoresolvethefollowingissues,astheyhadbeenraisedbystakeholdersintheirsubmissions:

• thespatialscaleofallocationsatthemacrolevel(i.e.shouldtheallocationsbebyzoneorallzonescombined?);

• thequestionofwhetherthereshouldtherebesmall-scaleand/ortemporalallocations;and

• themethodofsettingallocations.

Eachissueisdiscussedbelow.

�.1 Spatial allocation optionsCurrently,thecommercialfisheryisdividedintothreezonesformanagementpurposes:ZonesAandB(inthenorth)andC(inthesouth).Commercialfishingentitlementsarefixedforthenorthernandthesouthernzones.

Generally,thesamemanagementrulesapplytoallthreezonesapartfromafewexceptions,suchasthemaximumsizeruleforwesternrocklobsters(105mminthenorthand110mminthesouth).

TheIFAACunderstandsthatthissituationislikelytochangeinthenearfuturewhenproposedchangestoreducefishingeffortbyabout15percentinthenorthareexpectedtobeintroducedforsustainabilityreasons.Thesechangesinmanagementforthenorth,

separatetothatofthesouth,representasignificantshiftinmanagementdirection–movingfromawhole-of-fisherybasistomanagementonazonebasis.

Therecreationalfisheryforwesternrocklobsterisnotmanagedbyzone.Thesamerecreationalrulesapplyacrossthewholeofthecommercialfisheryapartfromtheexceptionmentionedabove.

ThemetropolitancoastfromMandurahtoTwoRockswouldappeartobestrepresentthemajorwesternrocklobsterrecreationalfishery.However,theIFAACdecidedthatthecreationofaseparatefishingregionfortheareawouldimposesubstantialproblemsforcommercialfishersandtheDepartmentofFisheriesasthemanagementagency.

IntheIFAAC’sview,atthemacroscale,thepragmaticoptionsaretoeithersettheallocationsacrossthewholeoftheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFisheryortoprovideforanallocationfortworegions,i.e.byanorthernregion(ZonesA/B)andasouthernregion(ZoneC).Eachoptionisdiscussedbelow.

�.1.1 Allocation over the whole of the west coast rock lobster managed fishery

Underthisoption,proportionalcatchshareswouldbesetacrossthewholeofthefishery.

TheDepartmentofFisherieshasapreferenceforthisoptionbecauseithasthefollowingadvantages:

• Managementcanrespondefficientlyandeffectivelytocircumstancesastheychange;

• Costscouldbecontainedatareasonablelevel–otheroptionsaremoreexpensivetoimplement;

• Therewouldbeminimaldisruptiontocurrentmanagementtoimplementallocations;

5 ALLOCATION OPTIONS


• Therewouldbeminimaladditionalrecreationalfishinginformationrequirementsasinformationwouldonlyberequiredatawholeoffisherylevel;

• Recreationallicensingdoesnotneedtobecarriedoutonazonebasis;and

• Anti-competitiveissuesdonotarise.

Noneofthemajorstakeholderssupportedthisoption.

�.1.2 Allocation based on regions Underthisoption,proportionalcatchshareswouldbesetforthenorthernregion(ZonesA/B)andthesouthernregion(ZoneC)oftheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery.

Ofthetotalrecreationalcatch(acrossthewholeWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery)usingthe2003/04catchestimates(Table2,section4.2),14percentistakeninthenorthand86percentistakeninthesouth5.

ItcouldbeexpectedthatwithagrowingpopulationinthePerthmetropolitanarea,theproportionoftherecreational‘take’inthesouthwillbegreaterthan86percentinthefuture.

Allocationsbyzonehavetheadvantageoflimitingtheimpactmanagementactioninoneregionwouldhaveonrecreationalfishersintheotherregion.

TheIFAACanticipatesthatthemovetowardsseparatemanagementbyzoneforthecommercialfisherywillcontinueandallocationsbyzonewouldbeconducivetothismanagementapproach.TheIFAACalsoidentifiedthatmanagementbyzonewouldbemorelikelytofacilitatethedevelopmentandimplementationofre-allocationmechanismsovertime.

Forinstance,underascenariowheretherecreationalsectorsoughtanincreasedcatchshareinZoneCastheresultofincreasingparticipationandneededtoacquireaccesstocommercialfisheryentitlementsitwouldbeappropriatetoremovethecommercialentitlementsfromthatzone.

Thekeycommercialandrecreationalrepresentativebodiessupportanallocationbyregion.

TheDepartmentofFisheriesinitssubmission(AppendixCforsource)commentedthatanallocationbyzoneis:

… more complicated to manage in that separate estimates of the recreational catch would be needed for the north and south regions. It also has the disadvantage that future management may need to be regionally (zone) based rather than a whole-of-fishery.

IntheverbalsubmissionbyMrPeterMillington(DirectorofFisheriesManagementServices)itappearedtotheIFAACthat,notwithstandingthecommentabove,themainconcernwiththeDepartmentofFisherieswasthecreationofamultiplicityofsmallerandnovelzones,ratherthanthemajorzonesonwhichthecommercialfisheryisalreadybased.

TheIFAAChasbeenadvisedbytheDepartmentofFisheriesthatitwouldincuradditionalcostsofabout$15,000perannumasaconsequenceofallocationsbeingmadebyregions.

DiscussionAlthoughtheIFAACdoesnothavearoleinmanagingallocations,asthisisanoperationalmatterfortheDepartmentofFisheries,themanagementimplicationsofallocationsareapracticalconsiderationthattheIFAACneedstobeawareofindeterminingitsadviceonallocations.

5 The Department of Fisheries in their submission reported that the average has been 20% in the North and 80% in the South over the last 10 years


Inmovingtoamorecomplicatedmanagementmodel(tworegions)forrecreationalfishing,thecommitteeneededtobeconvincedthattheadvantagesweresufficienttooutweighthedisadvantages.Theadvantagesofmovingtoaregionalallocationarethatitis:

• Consistentwiththemanagementarrangementsthatalreadyexistforthecommercialfishery;

• Complementsthedraftdecisionrulesframeworkforthefisherywhichrelatestomanagingthebreedingstockaboveacertainlevelineachzone;

• BasedonthecommentsbyWAFICandRecfishwesttotheIFAAC,itislikelythat–inthelongerterm–itmaybeeasiertoimplementareallocationmechanismunderregionalmanagement;and

• Ithasthesupportofthemajorstakeholders.

Someofthedisadvantagesofmovingtoaregionalallocationare:

• Therecouldbeadditionalcostsmainlyassociatedwithmonitoringandcomplianceofaround$15,000;and

• Inthelongtermrecreationallicensingmaybecomemorecomplicated.

Giventherelativeadvantagesanddisadvantages,theIFAACconcludedthatatthisstageanallocationbyregionwasitspreferredspatialscaleofallocationatthemacrolevel.

TheIFAACacknowledgesthatneitheroptionaddressestheissuesoftemporalandspatialcompetitionatalocal/regionallevel.

Recommendation 1. That allocations should be over two regions of the West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery – the northern region (Zone A/B) and the southern region (Zone C).

�.1.� Small scale spatial and/or temporal allocations

UnderitstermsofreferencetheIFAACisrequiredto,amongotherthings,provideadviceonstrategiestoovercomeallocationandaccessissuesarisingfromtemporalandspatialcompetitionforfishatalocal/regionallevel(seesection3.1.2).

AllmajorstakeholdershavereferredtotheissueofspatialandtemporalcompetitioninZoneCforinshore“white”lobstersduringNovember/Januaryasamajorresourcesharingconflict.Inacommentinitssubmission,Recfishwestprovidedthefollowingdescriptionoftheissue:

…that the resource sharing issue with western rock lobsters is essentially an inshore, C Zone, “whites” problem.

TheWesternRockLobsterCouncil(WRLC)alsoidentified:

… significant spatial conflict during the “whites” run in C Zone…

Oneobviousstrategytoovercomecompetitionorthistypeofresourcesharingissue,giventhatvirtuallyallrecreationallobsterfishingiscarriedoutinonlyasmallpartoftheareafishedbythecommercialindustryandinrelativelyshortperiodsoftime,istousespatialandtemporalclosurestoeliminatetheconflict.

Recreationallobsterfishingiscarriedoutinwaterlessthan18metresdeepandisconcentratedonthePerthmetropolitancoast,plussomemuchsmallerconcentrationsofactivityatJurienBay,DongaraandGeraldton.

Ifrecreationalfisherscontinuetooperateinasmallpartofthefishedarea,theycanbeexpectedtoincreasinglycompetewithoneanotherothersothatevenoveralongperioditisnotlikelytheywilltakealargeproportionofthecatch.


TheRecreationalFishingAdvisoryCommitteehasproposedthattheIFAACshouldconsiderimplementingthefollowingsmallspatialclosuresasawayofresolvingresource-sharingconflicts:

• athree-nauticalmileclosurebetweenHillarysandTwoRocks;

• aclosurearoundBoullangerIsland(offJurienBay);and

• increasingtheRottnestclosureto1,500metres.

Initssubmission,RecfishwestrequestedtheIFAACtopropose:

…explicit directions to accommodate the inshore take of the less valuable “whites” in the early part of Zone C by spatial management. … Recognition must be given to the importance of recreational fishing near major access points, especially in Zone C.

Giventheveryseasonalnatureandlimitedareaofrecreationalfishing,itmaybepossibletointroducespatialclosuressuchasthosedescribedaboveforlimitedperiodsoftime.Inreturn,recreationalfisherscouldseektointroduceothermanagementmeasurestorestricttheirfishingeffortifitprovedthattheywereexceedingtheirallocationattheregionallevel.

TheDepartmentofFisheries’adviceisthatspatialandtemporalsolutionswouldbecostlytoimplementfromacomplianceviewpoint,giventhatcommercialwesternrocklobsterfishingvesselscurrentlyarenotrequiredtohaveaVesselMonitoringSystem(VMS)installedandgenerallythereisalackofglobalpositioningdevicesonrecreationalfishingvessels.

Giventhesubmissionsfrommoststakeholdergroups,theIFAAChasformedaviewthatgenuineresourcesharingconflictdoesexistinsomeinshoreareas,particularlyinZoneCintheNovembertoJanuaryperiod.TheIFAACbelievestheremaybemeritinsupportingrecreationalfishingpriorityareascreatedbyspatialortemporalexclusionsofcommercialfishers.However,FMP No.192doesnotprovidesufficientinformationtoassesstheimpactofintroducingtheclosure.

TheIFAACalsonotedthattherehasnotbeenathoroughanalysisofthemanagementimplicationsandcompliancecosts.

Intheabsenceoftheaboveinformation,theIFAACconcludedthatitwouldbeinappropriatetorecommendfinescalespatialand/ortemporalallocationsinitsinitialallocationrecommendation.SuchadecisioncouldhavesignificantimpactsonstakeholdersandtherequirementtoinvestigatethemeritsofeachcasecouldsignificantlydelaytheimplementationofIFMforthewesternrocklobsterresource.

TheIFAAC’sviewisthatoncetheinitialallocationunderIFMhasbeendetermined,localconflictssuchasthoseonin-shorereefsnearpopulationcentresandthe“whitesrun”inNovember/Januaryaremorelikelytobeabletoberesolved.TheIFAACexpectsthatwhensectorsareassuredoftheirshareoftheresourcethatconflictsuchasthe“whitesrun”canberesolvedthroughnegotiation.

BoththeWesternAustralianFishingIndustryCouncil(WAFIC)andtheWesternRockLobsterCommittee(WRLC)supportthisview,statingthatinitialallocations:

…should (eventually) act to create incentives for sector groups to achieve their aspirations through better use of allocated shares rather than constantly lobbying for Government intervention to expropriate other sector’s shares.

Recfishwest,inaddressingtheprinciplesforresourceallocation,providesausefulinsightonthisissue.Itstatedthat:

The extent to which the IFAC (sic) considers the spatial and temporal implication of its determination needs careful consideration. While the allocation process must be aware of issues such as the importance of the inshore “whites” rock lobster catch in C zone as a part of the allocation question, the extent to which this is the role for applied management after the allocation has been made has yet to be fully defined.


BothWAFICandtheWRLCsupportedandencouragedthedevelopmentofforumswheregenuinenegotiationscanoccurbetweenpartiestoresolveresourcesharingconflicts,andforsectorstomaximisethebenefitsfromtheirallocation.TheRecreationalFishingAdvisoryCommittee(RFAC)referredtosomeoftheshortcomingsinthecurrentconsultativeframeworkunderIFM.

Recommendation 2. That the western rock lobster management advisory process be reformed so as to encourage all sectors (commercial, recreational and indigenous) to discuss and negotiate inter-sectoral issues such as spatial and temporal separation, as well as processes for resolving intra-sectoral management issues. Outstanding matters as of 2009/2010 should be referred to the IFAAC to provide the Minister with advice on an appropriate resolution.

�.2 Proportional catch share options Thereareanumberofmethodsthatcanbeusedtodeterminetheallocationsforthecommercialandrecreationalsectorsattheregionallevel.ThefollowingfouroptionswereconsideredbytheIFAAC:

1. attheaverageproportionovertheperiod1997–2001(referenceperiod);

2. attheaverageproportionofthelastthreeseasons(status quo);

3. attheproportionitisexpectedtobein2009/2010,allowingforgrowthinlinewiththelong-termtrendinrecreationalcatchshare;and

4. ataproportionwhichwillallowforlong-termgrowthinpopulationandestimatedgrowthinrecreationalactivity.

Eachoftheseoptionsisdiscussedinthecontextofwhattheallocationswouldbeataregionallevelandallregionscombined.

�.2.1 Option 1 – at the average proportion over the period 1997–2001

TheIFMGovernmentPolicystatesthatcatchsharesshouldbeformalisedovertheperiod1997–2001andanallocationbasedonthiscriteriacouldbeconsideredtobeconsistentwiththepolicy(paragraph19AppendixA).Usingthebestavailabledata,thiswouldequatetothefollowingallocationsfortherecreationalsectorforeachoftheregions(seeTable4,p19):

South 3.6percentNorth 0.9percentOverall 2.3percent

Introducingtheseallocationscouldbequitedisruptivefortherecreationalsectorinthesouthernregion,astheDepartment’spredictionisthatwithouttheimplementationofIFMtherecreationalsector’sproportionofthecatchinthesouthernregionwouldbe4.7percentin2006/07(Table2AppendixF).

Tomanagetherecreationalsectorto3.6percent(whichisa23percentreductioninproportionalshare,basedontheestimated2006/07proportion)wouldrequireanimmediateandsubstantialreductioninrecreationalfishingeffort.

AstheDepartment’spredictedrecreationalproportionalshareforthe“northernregion”in2006/07(0.9percent)isthesameastheallocationunderthisoption,itislikelythatnochangeinrecreationalfishingeffortwouldberequiredforthenorthernregionin2006/07ifthisoptionwereadopted.

TheWRLChasproposedthisoptionbeadoptedfortheinitialallocation,andthisoptionisalsosupportedbyWAFIC.However,theWRLCacknowledgesthattofacilitateasmoothtransitiontoIFMthere:

…may be a case to reallocate a small percentage of the commercial sector’s share of lobsters in the southern zone to the recreational sector.


�.2.2 Option 2 – at the average proportion of the last three seasons (2001/02–200�/0�)

AstheDepartmentofFisheriesproposesathree-yearaveragetomonitortherecreationalcatch,thisaveragecouldbeusedtosettheproportionnowasitaccountsforrecentincreasesinrecreationalcatchesandrepresentsthestatus quo.Theaverageofthelastthreeseasons(2001/02to2003/04Table4,p19)wouldresultinthefollowingallocationsfortherecreationalsectorforeachoftheregions:


Theperiod2001/02to2003/04includesthe2002/03seasoninwhichtherecreationalsector(inbothregions)hastakenthehighestproportionofthecatchthatithastakenhistorically,asaproportionoftheoverallcatch.

Overthenexttwoseasons(2005/06and2006/07)theoverallcatchispredictedtodecline,asistherecreationalproportionofthecatch(from3.3percentto2.6percent).However,inthesouthernregiontherecreationalproportionofthecatchisexpectedtoincreasein2005/06to5.6percentandthendeclineto4.7percentin2006/07(Table2,AppendixF).

Inthenorthernregiontherecreationalproportionofthecatchisexpectedtodecreasein2005/06to1.0percentandthendeclineto0.9percentin2006/07.

Allocationsbasedonthisoptionwouldnotseemtodisadvantagetherecreationalsectorinthe2006/07season.

Ifthisallocationoptionwereintroducedforthe2006/07season,thecommercialsector,basedontheDepartment’sestimate,wouldexceeditsallocationinthatseason.GiventherequirementunderIFMforasectortobemanagedwithinits“prescribedallocation”(Guidingprinciplevii,seesection3.1.2)someadjustmentsmaybenecessaryforthatperiod.

�.2.� Option � – at the proportion catch shares are expected to be at the introduction of a re-allocation mechanism (2009/2010)

Thedifficultywiththeoptionsaboveisthattheirintroductionin2006/07willresultintheneedforimmediatemanagementintervention,aheadofthedevelopmentandagreementbetweenthesectorsandGovernmentonareallocationmechanism.Itshouldalsobenotedthatthecommercialfisheryisinthemiddleofamajormanagementreview.Thereviewisexpectedtobecompletedbytheendof2006.6Iftheoutcomeofthereviewisthatthefisheryshouldmovefromaninputtoanoutputmanagementregime,thenitislikelytotakeseveralyearstoimplementsuchachange.

TheIFAACbelievesintheprincipleofendeavouringtoavoidrecommendationsthatwouldhavetheeffectofimmediatelyandsignificantlyimpactingonasectorbeforethereisare-allocationmechanismavailableandthishasrelevancetothewesternrocklobsterallocation.

TheIFAACisofaviewthatapragmaticandincrementalapproach,inaccordancewiththeprinciplesdevelopedearlier,wouldbetodelaytheimplementationofaproportionalallocationdecisionuntilanappropriatere-allocationmechanismisadopted.

Thegrowthinparticipationinrecreationalrocklobsterfishinghasmeantthattherecreationalproportionofthecatchisalreadysignificantlyhigherthanduringthe1997/2001referenceperiod.

TheIFAAChasreceivedadvicefromtheDepartmentofFisheriesthattherecreationalproportionofthetotalcatchinZoneCwillberelativelystable,andthattherecreationalcatchinabsolutetermswillberelativelylow,until2007/2008.Giventhisadvice,itistheIFAAC’sviewthatitislikelythatanyadjustmenttothecommercialsector’sfishingeffortpriorto2009/2010wouldbetheresultofanincreaseincommercialeffortratherthananincreaseinrecreationaleffort.

6 In March 2002 the Minister informed the industry of the review process and timeframes.


Box 2 Alternative method of calculating the catch shares by region in 2009/2010Thefollowingmethodisanalternativewayofestimatingtheproportionalcatchsharesbyregionin2009/2010tothatusedbytheDepartmentofFisheries.ThemethodisbasedontheDepartment’s2009/2010estimateofthecatchproportionforallregionscombined(AppendixG)andthefollowinginformationextractedfromFMPNo.192andothersources.

InformationTheestimatedrecreationalproportionofthecatchforallregionsin2009/2010=4.9percent.(Table1,AppendixG)

Overthelast10years:

Theaveragetotalcatchfromallsectors=11,500tonnes

Theestimatedaveragecommercialcatch=10,936tonnes

Theestimatedaveragerecreationalcatch=564tonnes

Theaverageproportionofthecommercialcatchtakenineachregionbythecommercialsectorovertheperiod1997to2004was:

Forthenorthernregion–46percent

Forthesouthernregion–54percent

Therecreationalcatchin2009/2010usingtheestimateinTable3fromAppendixGwouldbe:

Forthenorthernregion–53tonnes

Forthesouthernregion(564t–53t)–511tonnes

EstimatesBasedontheaboveinformationthecommercialcatchcanbeestimatedforeachoftheregionsbymultiplyingtheestimatedtotalcatchofeachsectorbytheestimatedregionalproportion.Therecreationalcatchproportionforeachregioncanthenbecalculatedbydividingtherecreationalcatchbythetotalcatch.

North South Combined

Commercialcatch(tonnes) 5,031 5,906 10,937

Recreationalcatch(tonnes) 53 511 564

TotalCatch(tonnes) 5,084 6,417 11,501

Recreationalproportion(%) 1.0 8.0 4.9

ThismethodofestimatingtheproportionoftherecreationalcatchprovideshigherestimatesoftherecreationalcatchproportionbyregionwhencomparedwiththemodellingtechniquesusedbytheDepartmenti.e.forthenorthernregion1.0%comparedwith0.9%,andforthesouthernregion8.0%comparedwith7.5%.

Source:DepartmentofFisheries,GovernmentofWesternAustralia

�0 INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT DRAFT ALLOCATION REPORT

TheIFAAChasthereforeproposedproportionalallocationsfor2009/2010 asthisisthefirstyearinwhichare-allocationmechanismcouldbereasonablyexpectedtobeavailable.Thistimeframeiswithinthefive-yeartimeframespecifiedbytheIFAAC(seesection3.3,point6).

Itshouldbenotedthattheconceptofsettingatargetabovethe1997/2001levelissupportedbybothRecfishwestandRFAC.

BasedontheanalysisprovidedbytheDepartmentofFisheries(AppendixG)theproportionoftherecreationalsector’scatchin2009/2010wouldbe:


TheIFAACnotesthatthereareothermethodsthatcouldbeusedtoestimatetheproportionoftherecreationalcatchineachoftheregionsin2009/2010.AnexampleofanalternativemethodisprovidedinBox2.

AlthoughthisoptionislikelytoresultinalowerpercentageallocationunderIFMforthecommercialsectorthanoptions1and2,effectiveimplementationofIFMunderitwill,inthelongterm,improvethecertaintysurroundingmanagementarrangementsforthecommercialsector.

Fortheperiodupto2009/2010thecommercialfisheryshouldnotbedisadvantaged,providedthereisnosignificantdecreaseinthecommercialsector’seffort,astherecreationalproportionofthetotalcatchispredictedtodecreaseatleastforthenexttwoseasons.

TheIFAACisoftheviewthatOption3isunlikelytoimpactsignificantlyonthecommercialfisheryuntil2009/2010.Althoughthereisadifferencebetweenrelativecatchsharesin1997–2001tothatprojectedfor2009/2010,thereisanoffsettingbenefittothecommercialsectorfromimprovedcertaintyastoitscatchshare.

Giventheabove,theIFAAChasformedtheviewthatOption3doesnotappeartorequireafullinvestigationof“optimalbenefits”(seesection3.3)relatingtotheshiftincatchshares.

�.2.� Option � – at a proportion which will allow for long term growth in population and estimated growth in recreational fishing activity.

Recfishwesthasproposedthattherecreationalsectorbeallowedtogrowincrementallyuntilitreachesaproportionaltakeoftwiceitscurrent“real”catchshareoritsprojectedcatchesafter20years,whicheveristhegreatest,toaccommodatethenaturalgrowthintherecreationalsector.BasedonthelatestinformationoncatchesfromtheDepartmentofFisheries,anoverallallocationof8percentofthesustainableharvestlevelfortheresourcewouldbeequivalenttoabouttwiceitscurrentcatchshare.

TheRFAChasproposedahigherinitialallocationof10percentforrecreationalfishersacrossthefishery,oralternativelyifthereisanallocationbyzones,of20percentofthecatchinZoneCand5percentofthecatchinZoneB.

Recfishwestproposesthatshouldrecreationalcatchesnotmeettheselevels,thecommercialsectorwouldnotbeexpectedtopayacontributionforthe“share”itwouldhavecaught.

ImplementationofRecfishwest’sandRFAC’sproposalswouldresultinthefollowingallocations:

Recfishwest RFAC

South Notavailable 20percent

North Notavailable 5percent

Overall 8percent 10percent

WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER RESOURCE �1

TheIFAACwasmindfulthatanytargetneededtobearealisticandmeaningfulsothattheallocationswouldrepresentthelikelysectorshareswithinareasonabletimeframe(sayfiveyears).Ifthetargetweresettoohigh–forexample8percent(Recfishwest)or10percent(RFAC)–oncurrentgrowthprojectionstheimplementationofIFMwouldeffectivelybedeferredformanyyears.

ThisisnotseenbytheIFAACasbeingconsistentwithIFMprinciplesortheGovernment’sintentioninrelationtotheimplementationofIFM.

Inaddition,itisarguablethattheRecfishwestandRFACpropositionswouldamounttoasignificantchangetocatchsharescomparedwiththe1996/97–2000/01referenceperiod.Accordingly,anysuchsignificantchangewouldneedtobefullyjustifiedintermsofachievingan“optimalbenefittotheWesternAustraliancommunity”(Guidingprincipleviii,seesection3.1.2.).Asnotedabove,FMP No.192onlyincludesgeneralinformationastosocial,economicandotherissues.

DiscussionAsummaryofeachofthefouroptionsisprovidedinTable5below:

Table5:Recreationalsector’sproportionalallocationforeachallocationoptionbyregion.

Region

RecreationalSector’sProportionoftheCatch(%)Option1

(96/97–00/01)WAFIC&WRLC

Option2(01/02–03/04)

Option3(2009/2010)

Option4Recfishwest(20years)

RFAC

South 3.6 5.0 7.5 NA 20North 0.9 1.2 0.9 NA 5Overall 2.3 3.4 4.9 8 10

Ofthefouroptionsdiscussedabove,theIFAACprefersOption3,thatissettingtheproportionalcatchsharesatwhattheyareexpectedtobein2009/2010.Thisrepresentsanincrementalandpragmaticapproachthatproducesanallocationthatwillbebindinginareasonabletimeframe,whileallowingatransitionperiodthatshouldnotsignificantlydisadvantageeithersectorandthedevelopmentandimplementationofareallocationmechanism.

Settingtheallocationatthislevelshouldcreatetheenvironmentthatwillsubsequentlyencouragenegotiationbetweensectorstoaddressresource-sharingconflicts,suchasthecompetitiononthe“whitesrun”inZoneC.

Recommendation 3. Allocations should be made on the predicted proportional catch shares in 2009/2010.


�.1 CustomaryTheIFAAChastakenapragmaticapproachtodeterminingtheallocationforcustomaryfishing,giventheadvicefromtheMinisterforFisheries(AppendixD)andthepolicyof,ononehand,makingapriorityallocationand,ontheother,thelackofdataavailableonthecustomaryfishingforwesternrocklobster.

TheDepartmentofFisherieshasestimatedtheproportionofindigenouspeoplethatresideincoastalareasbetweenKalbarriandAugustatobeabout1.7percent.Assumingthattheindigenouspopulationparticipateinrecreationalfishingatthesamerateasthenon-indigenouspopulation,thetakebyindigenouspeoplewouldbeequivalenttoabout1.7percentoftherecreationaltake.

Partofthis1.7percentwouldbeattributedtorecreationalfishingbyAboriginalpeople,whilepartwouldbeattributedtocustomaryfishingbyAboriginalpeople.

Thepartofthe1.7percentattributedtocustomaryfishingbyAboriginalpeopleisestimatedbytheDepartmentofFisheriestobeapproximately10percent,basedondepartmentalofficers’discussionswithstakeholders.Inotherwords,itisassumedthat10percentofrocklobsterfishingbyAboriginalpeopleisforcustomarypurposes,whiletheother90percentisforrecreationalpurposes.

Anallocationof0.17percentoftherecreationalproportionofthecatchwouldbeequivalentto0.0085percentofthetotalcatch,assuminganallocationof4.9percenttotherecreationalsectorunderoptionthreeofTable5.

TheIFAACbelievesthatnotwithstandingGuidingprincipleix(seesection3.1.2),asthisaverysmallpercentageofthewesternrocklobstercatchitshould

adoptapragmaticapproachtosettingtheallocationforcustomaryfishing,inaccordancewiththeIFAAC’sAdditionalGuidingPrinciple1(seesection3.3).

TheprinciplethattheIFAAChasadoptedtodealwiththismatteristomakeallocationsasa quantity ofthecatchwherethetakeislessthan0.1percentoftheproportionofthetotalcatch.Inthiscase,asthecatchfluctuatesconsiderablyforwesternrocklobster,theaveragecatchoverthelast10yearsof11,500tonneswasconsideredtobeappropriatetouseasabasistocalculatetheallocation.

Usingthismethod,anallocationof1tonne(0.0085percentof11,500tonnes)wouldbetheinitialprioritycustomaryallocationfortheindigenoussector,notingthatthiswillbesubjecttoreviewasmoreinformationbecomesavailableoncustomaryfishingbyindigenouspeople.

IntheabsenceofbetterevidencetheIFAACconsidersthiswouldbeareasonablestartingpointforaninitialallocationforcustomarypurposesforwesternrocklobster.TheIFAACacknowledgesthatotherspeciesmaybeattributedadifferentproportionforcustomaryfishing.Inmakingajudgmentaboutthisproportion,inthiscasetheIFAAC’sfocuswasonestablishinganallocationinthefirstinstance,whichcouldbevalidatedovertimeandreadjustedifnecessary.

Itisimportanttonotethatasthecustomaryfishingallocation(asrecommended)isaseparateandverysmallallocationthatiscurrentlyunreported,itwillhavenosubstantiveimpactontheinitialallocationsofthewesternrocklobsterresourcetothecommercialandrecreationalfishingsectors.

6 ALLOCATIONS

WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER RESOURCE ��

Recommendation 4. The customary fishing initial allocation should be one tonne.

�.2 RecreationalTheDepartmentofFisherieshasadvisedtheIFAACthattherecreationalproportionofthecatchispredictedtobe4.9percentoveralland0.9percentinthenorthernregionand7.5percentinthesouthernregionin2009/2010(Table5).Thisis0.3percentbelowthecurrentrecreationalproportionofthecatch(Option2inTable5)inthenorthand2.5percentaboveinthesouth.Whilsttheallocationallowsforsomegrowth,itisanticipatedthattheseallocationscouldbeexpectedtorequiremanagementtoreducerecreationaleffortorshiftsinsectorshareswithinareasonabletimeframe.

Recommendation 5. The recreational sector’s allocation should be – based on the Department of Fisheries predictions of catch shares in 2009/2010 – 4.9 per cent overall and 7.5 per cent in the southern region (Zone C) and 0.9 per cent in the northern region (Zones A/B).

�.� CommercialGiventheallocationfortherecreationalsectorinsection6.2,itfollowsthattheallocationforthecommercialsectorshouldbe95.1percentoveralland92.5percentinthesouthernregionand99.1percentinthenorthernregion.

Recommendation 6. The commercial sector’s allocation should be – based on the Department of Fisheries predictions of catch shares in 2009/2010 – 95.1 per cent overall and 92.5 per cent in the southern region (Zone C) and 99.1% in the northern region (Zones A/B).

�.� Decision rules prior to 2009/2010TheIFAACnotesthatmanagementarrangementsmustprovideuserswiththeopportunitytoaccesstheirallocation(Guidingprinciple,x,seesection3.1.2)andshouldbeintroducedtomanageeachusergroupwithintheirprescribedallocation(Guidingprinciplevii,seesection3.1.2).

Providedusershavetheopportunitytoaccesstheirallocationpriorto2009/2010,theIFAACdoesnotexpectthatsectorsshouldberequiredtobemanagedtotherecommendedlevelspriorto2009/2010,subjecttothetotaltakenotimpactingonthesustainabilityofthestock.

Inpractice,thismaymeanthatthecommercialsectorwouldtakegreaterthan92.5percentofthecatchinZoneCinlinewiththeDepartment’spredictionthattherecreationalproportionofthecatchwilldeclineoverthenexttwoseasons(AppendixF).However,giventhattheproportionisbeingsetabovethereferenceperiodandthecurrentlevel,allowingthecommercialsectortotakegreaterthan92.5percentinZoneCintheperiodupto2009/10wouldoffsettosomeextenttheimpactofsettingtheproportionatthepredictedlevelin2009/2010.

Note 9Thatwhereasector’sallocationislessthan0.1percentofthetotalcatch,theIFAAChasadoptedtheapproachofspecifyingtheallocationbyquantityratherthanproportion.

�� INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT DRAFT ALLOCATION REPORT

Recommendation 7. Sectors may take greater than their initial allocations without any penalty until 2009/2010 subject to compliance with sustainability criteria.

�.� Reallocation TheimplementationofareallocationmechanismisintegraltotheIFMprocess.Inparticular,thereallocationmechanismwillbeessentialformeetingtheobjectiveofoptimaluseovertime.

Theproposedrecommendedarrangementsarecontingentontheimplementationofanappropriatemechanismassoonaspossiblebutnolaterthan2009/10.Itshouldbenotedthatshouldsuchamechanismnotbeadopted,theneachsectorwouldbeexpectedtobemanagedwithinitscatchsharefromthattimeforwardinaccordancewithGuidingprinciplevii(seesection3.1.2.).

TheIFMGovernmentPolicy(paragraph16,AppendixA)statesthat:

Priority will be given to investigating the potential development of a market-based system to achieve reallocations, along with due consideration of social equity considerations, as soon as practical …

Anumberofstakeholdersmadereferencetomarket-basedreallocationmechanismsintheirsubmissions.

Theuseofmarketsystemscouldhaveapplicationinmorethanoneofthepossibleallocationapproachesdiscussedabove.Market-basedmechanismscouldhaveimmediateapplicationinthewesternrocklobsterfisherybecausethereisalreadyanestablishedmarketforthesaleorleasingofcatchingrightsinthefishery.

Anothercharacteristicoftherocklobsterfishery,whichmakesitapossiblecandidateforamarket-basedsystem,isthattherecreationalsectoralreadyhasaformallicensesysteminplace,whichwouldenablecontributionstobecollectedtowardsanappropriatefund.

Forexample,thewaysuchasystemcouldworkisthatifafter2009/2010therecreationalsectorhadexceededitsIFMallocation,theGovernmentonbehalfoftherecreationalsectorcouldgointothemarketandtradecommercialpotentitlementsequivalenttowhatwasrequiredtoallowforadditionalrecreationalcatchshare.Theprocesswouldworkinreverseifthecommercialsectorexceededitsallocationofthecatchshare.

TheWRLC,initssubmission,hasproposedthatthereallocationmodelcouldhavethefollowingfeatures:

• two-waybasedonareviewofsocio-economicconsiderationsovertime;

• market-basedtradingeffortbetweensectors,usingaconversionfactorbetweensectors;

• governmententeringthemarketonbehalfofrecreationalfishers;and

• governmentmanagingthepurchaseofrecreationaleffortbythecommercialsector.

Inordertoensurethatareallocationmechanismisintroducedwithinareasonabletimeframe,theIFAACwillbecooperatingwiththeDepartmentofFisheriestodevelop,asamatterofpriority,areallocationmechanismforconsiderationbytheMinister.

Recommendation 8. A reallocation mechanism should be implemented for the western rock lobster resource, as a matter of priority, but no later than 2009/2010.


7.1 Monitoring allocationsTheIFAACrecognisesthatthelowerpercentageoftherocklobstercatchtakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedontheadjusteddata,maysurprisesomestakeholdersbecausetheinformationthathasbeenuseduntilveryrecently(March,2005)isfromtheunadjustedmailsurveyresults(seesection4.2).Afewyearsagothemailsurveyresultswereactuallyadjustedupwardsinatleastsomepresentations,sothatevenhigherpercentageswouldhavebeenquotedattimes.Whenallocationsarebeingconsidered,theIFAACbelievesitisimportantthatstakeholdershaveclarityaboutthesematters.

Atthisstage,thephonediarysurveymethodisbelievedtoprovidethemostaccurateestimateoftherecreationalcatch.However,theIFAACacknowledgesthatmoreaccuratemethodsmaybedevelopedovertime.Shouldthisbethecase,theIFAACbelievesthestakeholdersshouldbeconsultedpriortotheadoptionofnewsurveytechniques.

TheDepartmentofFisheriesinitssubmissionreferredtothedifficultyofyear-to-yearvariationindataasexploitationandcatchesshareschange,simplyduetochangingabundancefromrecruitmentandthespatialdistributionofeachsectoracrossthefishery.TheIFAAC’sviewisthatitwasneverintendedthatresourcereallocationneedstorespondonareal-timebasisbutdealwithtrendsintheutilisationoffishtowardsmakinglong-termadjustmentsbetweensectorstoreflectlong-termchanges.

Thechallengewillbetofindasetofprinciples/performanceindicatorsthataccountforyear-to-yearvariationincatchessoastoattempttosetlongertermadjustmentbusinessrulesforeachofthesectors.

7 OTHER ISSUES


7.2 Management of allocationsThetworelevantpoliciesregardingmanagementofallocationsare:

GuidingPrinciplevii(seesection3.1.2)statesthat:Appropriate management structures should be introduced to manage each user group within their prescribed allocation. These should include predetermined actions that are invoked in that group’s catch increases above its allocation.

AndGuidingprinciplex(seesection3.1.2)statesthat:Management arrangements must provide users with the opportunity to access their allocation…

TheIFAACrealisesthatmanagementisaroleoftheMinisterandtheDepartmentofFisheries.However,asstakeholdershavereferredtotheseissues,theIFAAChasprovidedabriefdiscussionofthemandarecommendedwayforward.

AllmajorstakeholdershavereferredtotheneedtohaveappropriatemanagementstructuresinplacetotakeadvantageoftheopportunitiesthatIFMwillprovidetosectors.

TheNNTThas,inparticular,identified:…the absence of a means for consistent informed input from indigenous people is a major impediment to the development an effective IFM system.

TheDepartmentofFisheries’managementfunctionsareoftencarriedoutinconsultationwithstakeholders’representativesandthroughMinisterialadvisorycommittees.Forinstance,theRockLobsterIndustryAdvisoryCommittee(RLIAC)isthestatutorycommitteeundersection29oftheFRMAestablishedtoprovideadvicetotheMinisterforFisheriesonrocklobstermanagementissues.

TheRFACisanotherstatutorycommitteeestablishedundersection33oftheFRMAthatprovidesadvicetotheMinisterforFisheriesonallrecreationalfisheries,includingrocklobster.

RepresentativebodiessuchasRecfishwest,theWRLCandtheWesternRockLobsterDevelopmentAssociationalsoprovide“input”intowesternrocklobstermanagementissues.

OneoftheoutcomesexpectedtoflowfromthedeterminationofallocationsundertheIFMprocessisthateachsectortakesagreaterresponsibilityformaximisingthebenefitfromtheirallocation.Therecreationalsectorinparticularmayalsobeexpectedtobenefitfrommoredirectinvolvementinthemanagementoftheirallocation.Appropriatestructuresalsoneedtobeinplaceinrelationtocustomaryparticipation.

Theexistingmanagementstructuresmaynotbethemostappropriateforthesepurposesandthereisaneedtodeterminewhatchanges,ifany,arerequiredtocurrentinstitutionalarrangements.ForthisreasontheIFAACsupportsareviewofmanagementstructuresandinstitutionstodeterminewhetherthereisneedforchangetoenablethesectorstohavemoreinvolvementinthedevelopmentoffuturemanagementarrangementsunderIFM.

TheIFAACinsection7.4hasmadearecommendationonthemanagementofallocationsupto2009/2010butacknowledgesthatfurtherpolicydevelopmentisrequiredandthatthemanagementoftheallocationsbeyond2009/2010requiresconsiderablepolicydevelopment.TheIFFACencouragestheDepartmentofFisheriesto,inconsultationwithstakeholders,commencedevelopingtheappropriatemanagementstructuresandmanagementarrangementsthatwilldealeffectivelywiththeseimportantmattersassoonaspossible.

Recommendation 9. That the Executive Director of the Department of Fisheries develop, in consultation with stakeholders, the necessary regulatory structures to give effect to the Government’s IFM policies contained in Guiding principles vii and x (see section 3.1.2).


7.� Broader legislative arrangementsTheWAFIChasmadethepoint,initssubmissiontotheIFAAC,thatincorporationofdecisionsaroundallocationsandpoliciesadoptedbyGovernmentthroughlegislationisextremelyimportant,asitdemonstratestothecommunitythattheGovernmentisseriousaboutthisinitiative.Further,WAFICarguesthattheimplementationofallocationdecisionsinlegislationwillalsoprovideaddedsecurityandconfidencetosectorsabouttheiraccesstotheirshareoftheresourceandproposestheintroductionofaMinisterialPolicyGuideline.

ThisviewisconsistentwiththeIFMGovernmentPolicy(paragraph9,AppendixA),whichstatesthat:

Allocation processes will be developed in the context of policy guidelines set by the Minister. In the longer term, it may be desirable to amend the FRMA to incorporate allocation processes.

TheIFAACconsidersthatthisisamatterthatisalreadycoveredbytheGovernmentPolicyonIFM,whichwasreleasedin2004andthetimingofthedevelopmentofaMinisterialPolicyGuidelineisamatterfortheMinisterforFisheries.

Recommendation 10 The IFAAC recommends the Department of Fisheries give consideration to the necessary legislative changes and timeline to effect the future management of fisheries under IFM.


REFERENCES

Department of Fisheries, Western Australia, website: www.fish.wa.gov.au

Department of Fisheries, 2004, Assessment of Applications for Authorisations with Regards to Rock Lobster Aquaculture, Ministerial Policy Guideline No.20, Perth, Western Australia, p.9.

Department of Fisheries, 2005, Integrated Fisheries Management Report Western Rock Lobster Resource, Fisheries Management Paper, No.192, Perth, Western Australia, p.101.

Fisheries WA, 1998, Opportunities for the Holding/Fattening/Processing and Aquaculture of Western Rock Lobster (Panulirus cygnus), Fisheries Management Paper No.122, Perth, Western Australia, p.22.

National Native Title Tribunal, 2005, National Indigenous Fishing Technical Working Group, website: www.nntt.gov.au, Accessed June, 2005.

Wright, G, 2005, An overview of the evidence for Indigenous fisheries on the west and south coasts of Western Australia, National Native Title Tribunal, Research Report, p.11.

APPENDICES


General1. TheGovernmentiscommittedtothe

implementationofanintegratedmanagementsystemforthesustainablemanagementofWesternAustralia’sfisheries.

2. Theintegratedmanagementsystemwillbeopenandtransparent,accessibleandinclusiveandflexible.

Information requirements3. Thedevelopmentandfundingofanappropriate

researchandmonitoringprogramencompassingallusergroupsisessentialtoprovidethenecessaryinformationforsustainabilityandallocationissuestobeaddressedunderanintegratedframework.Thisprogramwillbeprogressivelyphased-inoveranumberofyearsasmorefisheriesarebroughtundertheintegratedmanagementframework.

4. TheDepartmentofFisherieswill,inconsultationwithusergroups,investigateoptionsforstandardisingcatchinformationbetweensectors,notingthatthescalefordatacollectionandreportingmustbeappropriateforeachparticularfishery.

Guiding principles for management5. Thefollowingprincipleswillbeadopted

(byincorporatingthemintoeitherlegislation,MinisterialPolicyGuidelinesorpolicyasappropriate)asthebasisforintegratedfisheriesmanagement.

i) FishresourcesareacommonpropertyresourcemanagedbytheGovernmentforthebenefitofpresentandfuturegenerations.

ii) Sustainabilityisparamountandecologicalrequirementsmustbeconsideredinthedeterminationofappropriateharvestlevels.

iii) Decisionsmustbemadeonbestavailableinformationandwherethisinformationisuncertain,unreliable,inadequateornotavailable,aprecautionaryapproachadoptedtomanagerisktofishstocks,marinecommunitiesandtheenvironment.Theabsenceof,oranyuncertaintyin,informationshouldnotbeusedasareasonfordelayingorfailingtomakeadecision.

iv) Aharvestlevel,thatincorporatestotalmortality,shouldbesetforeachfishery1andtheallocationdesignatedforusebyeachgroupshouldbemadeexplicit.

v) Allocationstousergroupsshouldaccountforthetotalmortalityonfishresourcesresultingfromtheactivitiesofeachgroup,includingbycatchandmortalityofreleasedfish.

vi) Thetotalharvestacrossallusergroupsshouldnotexceedtheprescribedharvestlevel.Ifthisoccurs,stepsconsistentwiththeimpactsofeachusergroupshouldbetakentoreducethetaketoalevelthatdoesnotcompromisefuturesustainability.

vii) Appropriatemanagementstructuresandprocessesshouldbeintroducedtomanageeachusergroupwithintheirprescribedallocation.Theseshouldincorporatepre-determinedactionsthatareinvokedifthatgroup’scatchincreasesaboveitsallocation.

APPENDIx AIntegrated Fisheries Management – Government Policy 1 October 200�

1 Fishery is defined under the FRMA as one or more stocks or parts of stocks of fish that can be treated as a unit for the purposes of conservation or management; and a class of fishing activities in respect of those stocks or parts of stocks of fish.


viii) AllocationdecisionsshouldaimtoachievetheoptimalbenefittotheWesternAustraliancommunityfromtheuseoffishstocksandtakeaccountofeconomic,social,culturalandenvironmentalfactors.Realistically,thiswilltaketimetoachieveandtheimplementationoftheseobjectivesislikelytobeincrementalovertime.

ix) Allocationstousergroupsshouldgenerallybemadeonaproportionalbasistoaccountfornaturalvariationsinfishpopulations.Thisgeneralprincipleshouldnothoweverprecludealternativearrangementsinafisherywherepriorityaccessforaparticularusergroup(s)maybedetermined.Itshouldremainopentogovernmentpolicytodeterminethepriorityuseoffishresourceswherethereisaclearcasetodoso.

x) Managementarrangementsmustprovideuserswiththeopportunitytoaccesstheirallocation.Thereshouldbealimitedcapacityfortransferringallocationsunutilisedbyasectorforthatsector’suseinfutureyears,providedtheoutcomedoesnotaffectresourcesustainability.

Morespecificprinciplestoprovidefurtherguidancearoundallocationdecisionsmayalsobeestablishedforindividualfisheries.

Sustainable harvest levels6. Asustainabilityreportwillbepreparedfor

eachfisheryinaccordancewiththe‘PolicyfortheimplementationofecologicallysustainabledevelopmentforfisheriesandaquacultureinWesternAustralia’.

7. TheExecutiveDirector,DepartmentofFisheries,willapproveasustainabilityreportforeachfishery,whichincludesaclearstatementontheharvestlevel.

Allocation processes8. AnIntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisory

Committeewillbeestablishedunders42oftheFish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA)toinvestigateresourceallocationissuesandmakerecommendationsonoptimalresourceusetotheMinisterforFisheriesincluding:

i) allocationsbetweengroupswithintheharvestlimitsdeterminedforeachfishery;

ii) strategiestoovercomeallocationandaccessissuesarisingfromtemporalandspatialcompetitionatalocal/regionallevel;

iii) allocationissueswithinasectorasreferredbytheMinisterforFisheries;

iv) morespecificprinciplestoprovidefurtherguidancearoundallocationdecisionsforindividualfisheries;and

v) othermattersconcerningtheintegratedmanagementoffisheriesasreferredbytheMinisterforFisheries.

9. AllocationprocesseswillbedevelopedinthecontextofpolicyguidelinessetbytheMinister.Inthelonger-term,itmaybedesirabletoamendtheFRMAtoincorporateallocationprocesses.

10. TheIntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisoryCommitteewillgenerallycompriseachairpersonandtwomembers.

11. TheMinisterwillberesponsiblefordeterminingtheprocessandtimeframesforresolvingallocationissuesineachfisherybasedonadvicefromtheIntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisoryCommittee.

12. TheMinisterwillprovideastatementofdecisiononannouncementofhisdeterminationinanallocationmatter.


13. TheMinistermaymakepublictheCommittee’sreportatthesametimehisstatementofdecisionisreleased.

Compensation14. Whereareallocationofresourcesfromone

usergrouptoanotherresultsindemonstrablefinanciallosstoalicensedfisherman,inprinciplethereshouldbeconsiderationofcompensation.Compensationmaytakevariousformsanddesirablydoesnotnecessarilyinvolvethepaymentofmoney.TheDepartmentofFisherieswillreviewthescopeoftheFisheries Adjustment Scheme Act 1987toensureitcontainssufficientflexibilitytoencompasstheseprinciplesunderanintegratedmanagementsystem.

15. Casesforcompensationshouldbeassessedontheirmerits.

16. Prioritywillbegiventoinvestigatingthepotentialdevelopmentofmarketbasedsystemstoachievereallocations,alongwithdueconsiderationofsocialequityconsiderations,assoonaspractical.Clearly,considerationofanymarketbasedsystemwillbebasedonitsmerit.

17. Nocompensationshouldbepayablewhereadjustmentsaremadeforsustainabilityreasons.

Effective sectoral management18. TheGovernmentiscommittedtointroducing

moreeffectivemanagementacrossallfisheries.Theimplementationofmoreeffectivesectoralarrangementsinwhichthecatchofasectorcanbecontainedisanessentialfirststepintheintroductionofanewintegratedmanagementsystemwithinwhichallocationissuesmaybeaddressed.Intheinterim,eachsectorwillcontinuetobemanagedresponsiblywithin

currentcatchrangesandshouldthecatchofasectoralterdisproportionatelytothatofothersectors,theMinisterwilltakeappropriatemanagementactiontoaddressthis.

19. Itisimportanttoformaliseexistingsharesasabasisforfutureallocationsdiscussions.Thesewillbeformalisedonthebasisofproportionalcatchsharesusingthebestavailableinformationduringthefiveyearperiodfrom1997to2001.

20. RecreationalfishingplansfortheWestCoastandGascoyneregionswillbeimplementedwitheffectfrom1October2003toprovideamoreeffectiveframeworkformanagingrecreationalfisheries.AreviewoftheNorthandSouthCoastregionsisalsounderway.

21. Areviewofthecommercialwetlinefisheryhascommenced.Managementoutcomesmustinvolvetheremovalofexcessfishingcapacityfromthefisheryandtheestablishmentofadedicatedcommercialfisherywithclearentrycriteriaandanappropriatelimitoncatchineachbioregion.

Funding22. Theinitiativecanbecommencedwithin

the2004/05budgethoweverresourcingrequirementswillincreaseasmorefisheriesarebroughtunderaintegratedframework.FuturefundingwillbeconsideredthroughtheGovernmentbudgetprocess.

23. TheGovernmentwillconsiderseekinggreatercontributionsfromallusersovertimecorrespondingtogrowingcertainty/securityoveraccessasallocationmodelsareimplementedineachfishery.


Integrated Fisheries Management Allocation Process

IntroductionGovernmentPolicy2004onIntegratedFisheryManagement(IFM)statesthattheMinisterwilldeterminetheprocessandtimeframesforresolvingallocationineachfisherybasedontheadviceoftheIntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisoryCommittee(IFAAC).

A. Determining the Need for a Formal Allocation process in a Fishery

TheMinisterforFisherieshasrequestedthatIFAACbeginwiththeWesternRockLobsterFishery,AbaloneFisheryandtheWestCoastDemersalFinfishFishery.

InthefuturetheIFAACwillconsultbroadlyastofisheriesthatshouldbeincludedintheIFMprocessandadvisetheMinisterforFisheriesaccordingly.

B. Development of an Integrated Fishery Management Fishery Report – Department of Fisheries

Thesettingofsustainableharvestlevelsisfundamentaltoensuresustainablemanagement.AnIntegratedFisheriesManagementFisheryReportwillbepreparedbytheDepartmentofFisheriesforeachfisherythatistobesubjecttotheIFMprocess(IFMGovernmentPolicy,2004,paragraphs6&7).

Thereportswillcontaindetailssuchas:

• Thecurrentmanagementpracticeswithinthefishery;

• Historicalcatchlevelsorestimatesofcatchtakenbyeachsector;

APPENDIx BINTEGRATED FISHERIES ALLOCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE

• Thebiologyofthefishspeciesinvolved;

• Thesustainableharvestleveloftheresource;and

• Otherrelevantdatasuchasregionalemployment,economicandsocial/lifestyleissues.

Inshortthereportshouldbearobustsummaryofthefactsaboutthefishery.

TheDepartment,indevelopingthesereports,willconsultwiththekeystakeholdergroups.TheIFMreportwillbeapprovedbytheExecutiveDirector,DepartmentofFisheriesandwillincludeaclearstatementofthesustainableharvestlevel.

C. The Integrated Fisheries Allocation Process.Step 1 – Investigation of the allocation issueIFAACwillreceivetheIFMReportandthenconductpreliminaryinvestigationsintotheallocationissueby:

• SeekingsubmissionsandconsultingwiththepeakstakeholdergroupssuchtheWesternAustralianFishingIndustryCouncil,Recfishwest,ConservationCouncilofWesternAustraliaandbodiesrepresentingIndigenousinterests.

• Drawingontheknowledge,data,technicalmaterialandexperienceavailablewithregardtotheparticularfisherybothfromtheDepartmentofFisheriesandasappropriatefromothersources.

• Identifyingareasofagreementanddisagreementbetweenthedifferentparties.

Aspartofitsconsiderations,IFAACmayrequesttheDepartmentofFisheriestofurtheradviseontheecological,economicandsocialimpactsofanyproposedchangeinresourceallocation.Followingtheseactions,IFAACwillformaliseitsinitialposition.


Step 2 – IFAAC settles draft allocation report and releases for public comment.OnceIFAAChascometoaninitialpositionwithregardtoallocation,thiswillbedocumented,alongwiththereasonsforitsconclusions,andwillrecommendtotheMinisterthatitbereleasedasa‘draftallocationpaper’forpubliccomment,invitingsubmissions.

Thisstageintheprocesswillallowthoseinvolvedinfishing,managingandresearchingthefishery,aswellasthoseinthewidercommunitywhomayhaveaspecificinterestinthisfisherytoprovideadditionalinput.Dependingonthecircumstancesoftheparticularfishery,IFAACmayholdoraskDepartmentalOfficerstoundertakemeetingsinrelevantmetropolitanandregionallocationstoenableindustry,recreationalfishersandcommunitymemberstoinputtheirviewsintotheIFAACprocess.

Thecommentperiodwillbenormallyforaperiodofthreemonths.

Step � – IFAAC recommends an allocation to the Minister for FisheriesOncethecommentperiodhasclosed,andIFAAChasconsideredthesubmissionsreceivedIFAACwillfinaliseitspositionandsubmitafinalallocationreporttotheMinister.

Step � – Determination by the Minister (IFM Government Policy, 200�, paragraph 12)TheMinisterforFisheriesisresponsibleforconsideringtherecommendationsofIFAACanddeterminingtheallocations.Theallocationsarelikelytobefixedforaperiodofaboutfiveyears.

TheMinisterhasagreedtoprovideastatementofdecisiononannouncementofhisdeterminationinanallocationmatter.TheMinistermaymakepublicIFAAC’sreportatthesametimeashisstatementofdecisionisreleased.(IFMGovernmentPolicy,2004,paragraphs11,12&13)

D. Mechanisms for future allocations between sectors (IFM Government Policy 1�)

TheTooheyreportstatesthatthe‘Communityexpectationsanddemandsovertheuseoffishresourceswillchangeovertimesoanintegratedframeworkmustallowforadjustmentsinallocationstooccur,bothwithinandbetweensectors’.IFMGovernmentPolicyparagraph16statesthatprioritywillbegiventoinvestigatingthedevelopmentofamarketbasedsystemtoachievereallocations,alongwithsocialequityconsiderations,assoonaspractical.

IFAACproposestoinvestigatepossiblemechanisms,consultwithstakeholdersonproposalsthroughapublicprocessandprovideadvicetotheMinisteronpreferredoptions.InformulatingitsrecommendationsIFAACwillhaveregardtoGovernmentPolicyParagraphs14to17.


Aquaculture Council of Western AustraliaContact: MrDanMachinPhone: 94928814

Charter Boat Owners & Operators AssociationContact: MrRickReidPhone: 0418992383

Department of Fisherieshttp://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/op/op021/fop021.pdf

National Native Title TribunalContact: GuyWrightPhone: 92689700

Recfishwesthttp://www.recfishwest.org.au/SubIFMLobsterFMP192.htm

Recreational Fishing Advisory CommitteeContact: DougBathgatePhone: 94827332

WA Fishing Industry Councilhttp://www.wafic.com.au/images/139-IFAAC_WRL_WAFIC_submission_12_May_2005.pdf

Western Rock Lobster Councilhttp://www.rocklobsterwa.com/

APPENDIx CSource for Stakeholder submissions to the IFAAC


APPENDIx D


APPENDIx E


APPENDIx F[This letter and following data was sent to key stakeholders]

Dear

Best Estimates of the Western Rock Lobster Recreational CatchIntheIntegrated Fisheries Management Report: Western Rock Lobster Resource(FisheriesManagementPaperNo.192)theDepartmentprovidedestimatesoftherecreationalcatchbasedonboththeDepartmentofFisheriesmailsurveyandthephonediarysurvey.

TheIntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisoryCommittee(IFAAC)hasaskedmetoprovideabriefpaperonthepreferredsurveymethodologyandbestestimateofrecreationalcatch.TheDepartment’sresponsetothisrequestisattached.IhavecopiedittoyousothatyoucanconsideritinthefinalisationofanysubmissionyoumaymaketoIFAAC.

Theattachedindicatesthatthephonediarysurveyprovidesthemostaccurateestimateofrecreationalcatch.TheResearchDivisionhasadjustedpastmailsurveyestimatesoftherecreationalsectorcatchtakingintoaccountthebiasthatwasidentifiedinthemailsurveyresults.TheDepartment’sResearchDivision’sadviceisthatthebasisforsuchanadjustmentissoundbecauseitisbelievedthatthemailsurveyresultsfromthepastarestillvalidinshowinghistoricaltrends,buttheyneedadjustmenttoshowtheactuallevelsofcatchmoreaccurately.

Ofcourse,theadjustmenthasn’tchangedtheactual(physical)sizeofthecatchbytherecreationalsector–itjustprovidesamoreaccurateestimateofitsmagnitude.

TheDepartmentwillbeproposinginitssubmissiontoIFAACthattheadjustedrecreationalcatchestimateshouldbeusedasthebasisforframingIFAAC’sdraftallocationrecommendationstotheMinisterforFisheries.TheDepartmentwillalsorecommendthatallocationdecisionsshouldspecifythemethodofestimationusedtodeterminetheallocationandtrackperformanceagainstthemovertime.

Yourssincerely

PETERROGERSEXECUTIVEDIRECTOR

10May2005


BEST ESTIMATES OF THE WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER RECREATIONAL CATCHResearch Division, Department of Fisheries, 200�

BackgroundThecatchofwesternrocklobster(WRL)bytherecreationalsectorhasbeenestimatedusinganumberofmethodsduringthelast20years.Theseincludecreelsurveys,mailsurveys,phonerecallsurveysandphonediarysurveys.Eachoftheseestimationmethodshasadvantagesanddisadvantagesbothrelatedtothecostsofundertakingthesurveysinordertoproduceanestimatewithappropriatelevelsofprecision,butalsointermsofthedifferencesinthelevelofbiasassociatedwiththeestimationmethodology(i.e.howaccurateisthemethod).

Theestimationmethodwiththelongesttimeseriesistheendofseasonmailsurvey,whichhasbeeninoperationforthepast17years.Thismethodinvolvesthedistributionofletterstoarandomselectionoflicenceholdersrequestingtheyreturninformationontheircatchandeffortforthepastseason.Suchsurveys,whichrequireindividualstorecalltheiractivitiesoverabouta12-monthperiod,arenowknowntoproducerecallbiasesintheestimatestheygenerate(generallyoverestimatingbyafactorofabout2)andarealsoaffectedbynon-responsebias(respondentsfishingactivitymaybedifferenttonon-respondentsfishingactivity).Thebiasis,however,generallyconsistentthroughtimeandthereforethechangesinthecalculatedestimatesamongyearscanprovideanaccuraterecordofthetrendincatches.

MethodsDetermination of the level of biasIntwoseparateyears,aphonediarysurveywasundertakenwitharandomselectionoflicenceholdersconcurrentwiththemailsurvey.Thesediary-basedsurveysprovidemoreaccurateestimatesbecauseofthecombinationoftheverylownon-responserate,plustheyinvolveindividualsfillinginadiaryoftheirfishingactivitieswhoarethencalledonceamonthto

obtainthedata.Thisgreatlyreducestherecallbias.Thediarymethodgeneratedestimatesthatwereabouthalfthelevelofthemailsurvey–whichisconsistentwiththeexpectedbiasofthemailsurveys(asimilarlevelofbiashasalsobeenfoundfortheTasmanianrecreationallobsterfishery).

Fromthetwocomparisons,acorrectionfactorof1.90(SE:0.3)wasdeterminedusingalinearregressionmethod.However,asthereareonlytwodatapoints,thisvalueshouldbetreatedaspreliminary.Afurthercomparisonyearwillbeavailableafterthe2004/05season,followingwhichtherewillbearecalculationofthecorrectionfactor.

Results Historical CatchesGiventheaboveresult,thebestestimatesoftherecreationalcatchofWRLoverthelast17yearsareobtainedbyusingthemailsurveydatawhichhavebeensuitablyadjustedusingthecalculatedlevelofbias.ThesedataareshownbelowinFig.1.

Therecreationalcatch,likethecommercialcatch,undergoesrelativelylargefluctuationsamongstyearsdependingupontherelativelevelofrecruitmentthatoccurredthreetofouryearspreviously(asmeasuredbythepuerulussettlementindex).Therehas,however,beenanunderlyinglong-termtrendforincreasedrecreationalcatches,whichhaverisenaboutfour-foldoverthisperiodduetoalong-termincreaseineffort(about4%peryear).Thus,therecreationalcatch(usingtheadjustedmailsurveyresults)hasincreasedfromabout120tonnesinthemid1980stolevelsthatcurrentlyexceed400tonnes(Table1).


ThepercentageofthetotalWRLcatchtakenbytherecreationalsectorhasalsoincreasedfromabout1%inthemid1980stolevelsthatnowexceed3%.Duringthereferenceperiod(1997/98–2001/02)therecreationaltakevariedbetween2.3–3.1%ofthetotallobstercatch(Fig.2).InZoneA&B,therecreationalcatchhasremainedalmostconstantatabout1%ofthetotalforthesezoneswhereastherecreationalcatchinZoneCdisplaysbothannualvariationsandalongertermincreasefrom2%inthemid80stothecurrentlevelsof5–6%(Fig.3).

Forecasted CatchesTherelationshipsbetweenpuerulussettlementindices(combinedwithexpectedlevelsofeffort)andboththerecreationalandcommercialcatchesthreetofouryearslaterhavebeendevelopedandarereportedannuallyintheStateofFisheriesReports.Thepredictionsforthethreeyearperiodforwhichpuerulussettlementiscurrentlyavailablesuggestthattherecreationalcatchwillbeatrelativelysimilarlevelsin2004/05,atabout460tonnes,butwilldeclineineachofthefollowingtwoyearsgiventhelowerpuerulussettlementlevelsthatoccurredduringthe2001–2004period.

Thus,whilsttheproportionofthetotalcatchcaughtbytherecreationalsectorislikelytoincreasetoapproximately3.5%in2004/05,thiswill,assumingnomajormanagementchanges,probablydeclineinthefollowingyearstolevelsbelow3%.

Management ImplicationsGiventhecurrentmethodsusedformonitoringthesizeoftheWRLspawningstock,thechangesinthetwoestimatesofrecreationalcatchhavevirtuallynoimpactontheassessmentofthecurrentstatusofthisstock.Therefore,therewillbenodirectflow-onmanagementimplicationsfromtheseadjustments.

Figure1Plotsoftherecreationalcatchestimates(thicklines)forwesternrocklobsterbaseduponboththe‘rawestimates’fromthemailsurveyandtheadjustedestimatescalculatedfromthe‘phonediarybased’correctionfactor.The95%confidenceintervalsarealsopresented(thinlines).Theforecastrecreationalcatchesfor2004/05–2006/07arebasedonpuerulussettlementlevelsfortheperiod2001–2004.


Figure2Theproportion(%)ofthetotalwesternrocklobstercatchtakenbyrecreationalfishersusingtheadjustedrecreationalcatchestimates.Thetwoverticaldottedlinesindicatethereferenceperiod1997–2001.Theforecastpercentagesarebasedontheexpectedcommercialandrecreationalcatchesforthenextthreeseasons(2004/05–2006/07seeabove).

Figure3Theproportion(%)ofthetotalwesternrocklobstercatchtakenbyrecreationalfishersusingtheadjustedrecreationalcatchestimatesinZonesBandZoneC.Theforecastpercentagesarebasedontheexpectedcommercialandrecreationalcatchesforthenextthreeseasons(2004/05–2006/07).NotetherecreationalcatchinZoneAisminimalandisincludedinzoneB.

Table1Thebestestimatesofthetotalrecreationallobstercatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydata.Thedatafor2004/05–06/07(initalics)areprojecteddatabaseduponpuerulussettlementdataandexpectedlevelsofeffortandapplyingthecorrectionfactortotheprojectionsgiveninTable11oftheIFMreport(whichwereroundedtothenearest100tonne).

YearRecreational

Catch(tonnes)%oftotal

lobstercatch

1996/97 161 1.5

1997/98 255 2.4

1998/99 329 2.5

1999/00 392 2.6

2000/01 296 2.5

2001/02 287 3.1

2002/03 468 3.9

2003/04 428 3.1

2004/05 474 3.5

2005/06 368 3.3

2006/07 263 2.6


Table2ThebestestimatesofthetotalrecreationallobstercatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchforZonesA&BandCcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydata.Thedatafor2004/05–06/07(initalics)areprojecteddatabaseduponpuerulussettlementdataandexpectedlevelsofeffortandapplyingthecorrectionfactortotheprojectionsgiveninTable11oftheIFMreport(whichwereroundedtothenearest100tonne).

YearRecreationalCatch(tonnes) %oftotallobstercatch

ZoneC ZonesA&B ZoneC ZonesA&B

1996/97 121 41 2.6 0.7

1997/98 192 63 3.6 1.2

1998/99 268 61 3.8 1.0

1999/00 340 53 4.0 0.8

2000/01 259 38 4.1 0.7

2001/02 234 53 4.9 1.2

2002/03 406 63 5.9 1.2

2003/04 369 59 4.3 1.1

2004/05 421 53 5.4 0.9

2005/06 316 53 5.6 1.0

2006/07 210 53 4.7 0.9


APPENDIx GLong-Term Growth Trends In Recreational Rock Lobster Catch Research Division, Department of Fisheries, 1� June 200�

List of figuresFigure1Estimatedrecreationalcatchforwesternrocklobster(solidline).95%confidenceintervalshavealsobeenincluded.Forecastshavebeenincludedforseasons2004/05to2007/08(dashedline).

Figure2Modelledandactualestimatesfortheproportionoftotalcatchtakenbyrecreationalfishers.Seasons1986/87to2003/04havebeenusedtoconstructthemodel.PuerulusindexP(t-3),(t-4)wasused.



Figure5ModelledandactualestimatesfortheproportionoftotalcatchtakenbyrecreationalfishersforzoneC.Seasons1986/87to2003/04havebeenusedtoconstructthemodel.PuerulusindexP(t-3),(t-4)wasused.



Figure8ModelledandactualestimatesfortheproportionoftotalcatchtakenbyrecreationalfishersforzoneB.Seasons1986/87to2003/04havebeenusedtoconstructthemodel.PuerulusindexP(t-3),(t-4)wasused.

List of tablesTable1Estimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydata.Thedatafor2004/05–2007/08areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09–2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87–2003/04.

Table2EstimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydataforzoneC.Thedatafor2004/05–2007/08(initalics)areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09–2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87–2003/04.

Table3EstimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydataforzoneB.Thedatafor2004/05–2007/08(initalics)areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09–2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87–2003/04.


Long-term growth trend in recreational rock lobster catch Draft 1� June 200�

BackgroundThisdocumentprovidestheFisheriesResearchadviceonexpectedlong-termtrendsinthepercentofrecreationalcatchasrequestedbyIFAACintheirletterof10June2005.

MethodsInformationonpuerulussettlementsatAlkimosupto2004/05,havebeenusedtopredicttherecreationalandcommercialcatchto2007/08.The2004/05Alkimospuerulussettlementdataalsoprovidesapreliminaryindicatoroftherecreationalcatchin2008/09,asmostoftheseasonscatchtakenbytherecreationalsectorismadeintheearlypartoftheseason(Nov–Jan).Unlikepredictionsfortherecreationalsector,predictionsforthecommercialcatchrequireboththe2004/05and2005/06puerulussettlement.Sincethe2005/06puerulussettlementisnotavailableithasnotbeenpossibletopredictthecommercialcatchin2008/09.

IFAAChasalsorequestedinformationon2009/10and2010/11.Theonlycommentthatcanbemadeontherecreationalcatchin2009/10isthatthepuerulussettlementin2005/06willbeapart-contributortothiscatchandthattheLeeuwinCurrentduring2005affectsthelevelofsettlementin2005/06.GiventhattheLeeuwinCurrentin2005hasbeenofaveragestrengththenwecanexpectanaveragelevelofsettlementin2005/06.

Thereisnobasisforpredictingtherecreationalrocklobsterin2010/11basedonpuerulussettlementdata.Thusestimatesofpercentrecreationalcatchfor2008/09to2010/11arebasedonthelong-termtrendingrowthoftherecreationaleffortunderthecurrentlevelofmanagementandaveragepuerulussettlementbasedonlast10years.

Thepredictionoftheexpectedtrendinpercentofrecreationalcatchhasbeenbasedonthefollowingdatasets(asrequestedbyIFAAC):(a)1986/87–2003/04actualcatches;(b)1996/97–2007/08usingactualandpredictedcatches.The1986/87–2007/08datasetusingactualandpredictedcatcheshasalsobeenanalyzed.The1996/97–2001/02datasetwasconsideredtooshortatimeseriestoprovideabasisforpredictingthetrendinpercentrecreationalcatch.

Therelationshipexaminedtoassessthetrendinpercentofrecreationalcatch(P.catt)withtheannualtrend(T)andthepuerulussettlement3and4years(Pt-3,t-4)beforewas:

P.catt=exp(a+b*T+d*log(Pt-3,t-4))(1)

TheanalysishasbeenundertakenforthewholefisheryandbyZonesA/BcombinedandZoneC.

Therecreationalcatchdatainthisdocumentareallbasedonthemailsurveydataadjustedfortherecallbiasthathasbeenestimatedfromthephonediarysurvey.

ResultsOverall fisheryThepuerulusdatafor2004/05indicatesanimprovementinrecreationalcatchisexpectedin2007/08and2008/09aftertheexpectedpredictedlowcatchofabout260tin2006/07(Fig.1).Thetrendinpercentrecreationalcatchalsoshowsanincreasein2007/08.Thepredictedpercentagesfor2004/05to2007/08basedonpuerulussettlementarealsoshown.


Therelationshipbasedonequation1andthe1986/87to2003/04dataindicatesthatthetimetrendissignificantbutthepuerulussettlementisnotsignificant(Fig.2)fortheproportionofcatchthatisrecreational.Theexpectedpercentagesfor2008/09to2010/11arebasedonthelong-termtrendineffortandassumingaveragepuerulussettlementandthecurrentmanagementrules(Table1).

Timetrendbeing“significant”indicatesitishelpfulin“prediction”whilstpuerulussettlement“notsignificant”meansthatitisnot.

Forecastsweremadeusingthemodelconstructedfromdataofseasons1986/87throughto2003/04sinceitprovidesareasonablenumberdatapointstoestimaterequiredcoefficientsandthisseriesalsorepresentsrealdata.

Therelationshipbasedonequation1andthe1986/87to2007/08and1996/97to2007/08actualandpredicteddataindicatesthatthetimetrendandthepuerulussettlementaresignificant(Fig.3and4respectively).Theexpectedrecreationalpercentagesfor2008/09to2010/11arebasedonthelong-termtrendandassumingaveragepuerulussettlement.

Zones A/B and CTheproportionofcatchthatisrecreationalforZoneCshowsasimilartrendtothewholefisherycatchdataduetotheremovalofarelativelyconstantcatchintheZonesA/B(Fig.5to7).Therelationshipbasedonequation1andthe1986/87to2003/04dataindicatesthatthetimetrendissignificantbutthepuerulussettlementisnotsignificant(Fig.5).Theexpectedpercentagesfor2008/09to2010/11arebasedonthelong-termtrendandassumingaveragepuerulussettlementandthecurrentmanagementrules(Table2).NotethattheproportionofrecreationalcatchinZoneC(Figs.5to7)issubstantiallyhigherthanforthewholefishery(Figs.2to4).ThisisbecausemostoftherecreationalcatchismadeinthisZone,butonaverageonlyhalfofthecommercialcatchoccursinZoneC.

TherecreationalcatchforZonesA/Bdoesnotshowanysignificanttrendbasedonthe1986/87to2003/04dataandhencethemeancatch(53t)representing0.94%(+/–0.40confidencelimits)providesareasonableindicatoroffuturecatchesunderaveragepuerulussettlement,noincreaseineffortandthecurrentmanagementrules(Fig.8,Table3).

Figure1Estimatedrecreationalcatchforwesternrocklobster(solidline).95%confidenceintervalshavealsobeenincluded.Forecastshavebeenincludedforseasons2004/05to2007/08(dashedline).


Figure2Modelledandactualestimatesfortheproportionoftotalcatchtakenbyrecreationalfishers.Seasons1986/87to2003/04havebeenusedtoconstructthemodel.PuerulusindexP(t-3),(t-4)

wasused.

Formula: p.cat ~ exp(a + b * t + d * log34Alk)Parameters: Value Std. Error t value a –0.147367 0.1675280 –0.879657b 0.063977 0.0102768 6.225380d 0.058069 0.0605989 0.958252


Formula: p.cat ~ exp(a + b * t + d * log34Alk)Parameters: Value Std. Error t value a –0.2768800 0.13983300 –1.98008b 0.0520754 0.00536996 9.69754d 0.1352060 0.03278680 4.12378

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Formula: p.cat ~ exp(a + b * t + d * log34Alk) Value Std. Error t value a –0.2079070 0.3479620 –0.597498b 0.0492245 0.0137591 3.577600d 0.1303040 0.0492811 2.644100

Table1Estimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydata.Thedatafor2004/05–2007/08areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09–2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87–2003/04.

SeasonRecreational


lobstercatch

1996/97 161 1.5

1997/98 255 2.4

1998/99 329 2.5

1999/00 392 2.6

2000/01 296 2.5

2001/02 287 3.1

2002/03 468 3.9

2003/04 428 3.1

2004/05 474 3.5

2005/06 368 3.3

2006/07 263 2.6

2007/08 320 3.1

2008/09 ? 4.6

2009/10 ? 4.9

2010/11 ? 5.2

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Formula: p.cat ~ exp(a + b * t + d * log34Alk)Parameters: Value Std. Error t value a 0.3300490 0.1812870 1.82059b 0.0660851 0.0112898 5.85351d 0.0306277 0.0659951 0.46409



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Table2EstimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydataforzoneC.Thedatafor2004/05–2007/08(initalics)areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09–2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87–2003/04.

SeasonRecreational


lobstercatch

1996/97 121 2.6

1997/98 192 3.6

1998/99 268 3.8

1999/00 340 4.0

2000/01 259 4.1

2001/02 234 4.9

2002/03 406 5.9

2003/04 369 4.3

2004/05 421 5.4

2005/06 316 5.6

2006/07 210 4.7

2007/08 270 5.6

2008/09 ? 7.0

2009/10 ? 7.5

2010/11 ? 8.0

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Figure8ModelledandactualestimatesfortheproportionoftotalcatchtakenbyrecreationalfishersforzoneB.Seasons1986/87to2003/04havebeenusedtoconstructthemodel.PuerulusindexP(t-3),(t-4)wasused.

Formula: p.cat ~ intercept

Coefficients:

Value Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|)

(Intercept) 0.9415 0.0491 19.1839 0.0000

Table3EstimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydataforzoneB.Thedatafor2004/05–2007/08(initalics)areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09–2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87–2003/04.

SeasonRecreational


lobstercatch

1996/97 41 0.7

1997/98 63 1.2

1998/99 61 1.0

1999/00 53 0.8

2000/01 38 0.7

2001/02 53 1.2

2002/03 63 1.2

2003/04 59 1.1

2004/05 53 0.9

2005/06 53 1.0

2006/07 53 0.9

2007/08 53 0.9

2008/09 53 0.9

2009/10 53 0.9

2010/11 53 0.9

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integrated fisheries management · 2012. 7. 13. · australian fisheries management authority and...

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