Trawl Whiting Harvest Strategy Working Group

The Trawl Whiting Harvest Strategy Working Group was established in September 2020 to steer a collaborative process to develop a formal harvest strategy for Trawl Whiting, a component of the Ocean Trawl Fishery in New South Wales.

The Working Group process engaged industry, independent experts and key stakeholders in the design and development process, with public consultation also undertaken to ensure the views of all interested stakeholders were taken into account.

The Working Group was established as a sub-committee of the Commercial Fishing NSW Advisory Council (CommFish NSW). The appointed members and Chairperson provided decades of knowledge and experience to the Working Group and development of the harvest strategy.

Independent members of the working group included:

• Chairperson - Mr Peter Neville

Mr Neville has extensive fisheries management experience in Australia. He has chaired advisory bodies for several State and Territory governments and for the Commonwealth.

• Independent Scientist - Professor Tony Smith AM

Prof. Smith has extensive experience in fisheries stock assessment and harvest strategy development. He was a member of the group that developed the National Harvest Strategy Guidelines.

• Independent Economist – Dr Julian Morison

Dr Morison has over 30 years’ experience as an agricultural and natural resource economist, providing advice on economic aspects of fisheries management.

Other members of the Working Group included:

• Mr Brett Bollinger – NSW Ocean Trawl Fishery member
• Mr Frank Musumeci – NSW Ocean Trawl Fishery member
• Mr Gregory Parker – NSW Ocean Trawl Fishery member
• Mr Michael Pinzone – NSW Ocean Trawl Fishery member
• Prof Stephan Schnierer– NSW Aboriginal Fisheries Advisory Council member
• Mr Darren Ward – CommFish NSW member
• Ms Patricia Beatty – Professional Fisher’s Association member
• Ms Jo Starling – RFNSW member
• Dr Natalie Moltschaniwskyj (Director of DPI Fisheries Research) – DPI Fisheries Scientist
• Mr Darren Hale (Senior Fisheries Manager) – DPI Fisheries Manager

Trawl Whiting Harvest Strategy Working Group Terms Of Reference (PDF, 675.62 KB)

Meeting Summaries

Meeting 1 - 20 November 2020 -  Online

• Chair's Summary - Meeting 1 (PDF, 71.51 KB)

Meeting 2 - 3 & 4 December 2020 - Ballina

• Chair's Summary - Meeting 2 (PDF, 80.36 KB)

Meeting 3 - 17 December 2020 - Online

• Chair's Summary - Meeting 3 (PDF, 76.66 KB)

Meeting 4 - 21 January 2021 - Online

• Chair's Summary - Meeting 4 (PDF, 79.8 KB)

Meeting 5 - 4 March 2021 - Online

• Chair's Summary - Meeting 5 (PDF, 237.25 KB)

Meeting 6 - 13 April 2021 - Online

• Chair's Summary - Meeting 6 (PDF, 101.04 KB)

Meeting 7 - 2 & 3 June 2021 - Ballina

• Chair's Summary - Meeting 7 (PDF, 78.19 KB)

Meeting 8 - 4 August 2021 - Online

• Chair's Summary - Meeting 8 (PDF, 72.93 KB)

Final Chair's Summary

• Final Chair's Summary (PDF, 108.2 KB)

Public Consultation

Public submissions for the Draft NSW Trawl Whiting Harvest Strategy were invited from 1 October and closed 31 October 2021. Feedback was invited using an online form available on the DPI website, and all feedback was considered. The Harvest Strategy is now finalised.