Ocean Trawl Fishery
There are two sectors to the NSW Ocean Trawl Fishery: the prawn trawl sector and the fish trawl sector. Both sectors use similar gear, the otter trawl net, and many of the fishers endorsed for fish trawling are also endorsed for prawn trawling.
The fishery produces high quality fresh seafood predominately for the domestic market. The major species taken in the Ocean Trawl Fishery include school whiting (comprising of stout whiting and red spot whiting), eastern king, school and royal red prawns, tiger flathead, silver trevally, various species of sharks and rays, squid, octopus and bugs.
Managing the fishery
A comprehensive Fishery Management Strategy has been prepared for the Ocean Trawl Fishery and was approved by the Minister for Primary Industries in January 2007. The Strategy includes a description of the fishery and the management arrangements that apply or are proposed. Before the Strategy was finalised, a draft strategy was subject to a comprehensive environmental impact assessment process under the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. The Environmental Impact Statement was publicly exhibited in August 2004.
The Ocean Trawl Fishery is a share management fishery. This means that commercial fishers must hold sufficient shares to be eligible for an endorsement to operate in the fishery. An endorsement authorises the use of specific gear to take fish for sale from certain waters. The rules and regulations that apply to the fishery are contained in the Strategy and within the share management plan (www.legislation.nsw.gov.au) the Fisheries Management Act 1994 No 38 (www.legislation.nsw.gov.au) the Fisheries Management (General) Regulation 2002 (www.legislation.nsw.gov.au) and Fisheries Management (Supporting Plan) Regulation 2006 (www.legislation.nsw.gov.au).
The fishery is currently managed by input controls which limit the fishing capacity of the fleet by indirectly controlling the amount of fish caught. These controls include restrictions on the number of endorsements, the size and engine capacity of boats, the design and dimensions of trawl nets, and the waters that may be worked.
The five types of trawling endorsements in NSW ocean waters are listed below. They specify the methods that may be used and the waters in which fishing may be conducted.
Prawn Trawling Sector
The prawn trawl sector is the State's most valuable fishery. Prawn trawlers use prawn trawl nets to target prawns and school whiting. Incidental catches of other species of fish may also be landed.
Types of endorsements in this sector are:
1. Ocean Prawn Trawl (Inshore) - In the inshore sector of the fishery (from the coast to three nautical miles to sea spanning NSW waters from the Queensland border in the north to the Victorian border in the south). The main species harvested are school prawns, school whiting and eastern king prawns.
2. Ocean Prawn Trawl (Offshore) - This sector of the fishery operates in NSW waters north of Barrenjoey Head between 3 nautical miles and the 280 metre (150 fathom) depth contour. The main species harvested are eastern king prawns and school whiting.
3. Ocean Prawn Trawl (Deepwater) - This sector of the fishery operates in NSW waters north of Barrenjoey Head between the 280 metre (150 fathom) depth contour and the 4000 metre depth contour (approximately 80 nautical miles to sea). The main species harvested are royal red and scarlet prawns in depths between 200 and 350 fathoms.
Fish Trawling Sector
Target species include silver trevally, tiger flathead, southern calamari, school whiting (comprising of stout whiting and red spot whiting) and a number of shark and ray species.
Types of endorsements in this sector are:
4. Ocean Fish Trawl (North) - This sector of the fishery operates in waters between the coastal baseline and the 4000 metre depth contour (approximately 80 nautical miles to sea), between Smoky Cape (South West Rocks) in the north and Barrenjoey Head (Sydney) in the south.
5. Ocean Fish Trawl (South) - This sector of the fishery operates in waters between the coastal baseline and 3 nautical miles to sea, south of Barrenjoey Head (Sydney). This sector is the only one of the sectors within the Ocean Trawl Fishery that is not managed under the share management framework. Instead, this sector is managed under a Southern Fish Trawl Restricted Fishery framework.
Key changes to the management arrangements
Some of the key changes that will be introduced to the Ocean Trawl Fishery sector as a result of the fishery management strategy include:
- Closing all waters outside the 1100m depth contour to all forms of trawling
- Mapping the major trawl grounds
- Preventing trawling on reefs and establishing refuge areas where needed
- Enhancing the closures initiated by industry to protect juvenile king prawns
- Working with other stakeholder groups to reduce impacts on juvenile prawns and protect estuarine habitats important to prawn stocks
- Reducing the number of endorsements using minimum shareholding requirements
- Implementing a scheme that limits the number of days/nights each boat can operate annually, and linking these to shareholdings
- Improvements to the selectivity of the nets for catching target species
- Development and implementation of more effective Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRDs) to reduce incidental catch of non-target fish species
- Promoting cost effective and efficient management of the fishery
- Developing a code of practice for the fishery to promote best practice activities
- Improved monitoring and reporting of fishing activity
- Ongoing performance monitoring and review.
Note that ocean prawn trawl sector of the fishery does not encompass estuary waters. See Estuary Prawn Trawl Fishery for information on that fishery.
Contact
For further information contact the Ocean Trawl Fishery Manager on +61 2 9527 8411.
