Question - Calimari - Restrictions Skewed to Recreational Fishers

Thursday 25 May 2023

Ms ARMITAGE question to MINISTER for PRIMARY INDUSTRIES and WATER, Ms PALMER

[2.38 p.m.]

(1)     As it would appear recreational fishers are taking a small proportion of the overall calamari catch, why are the proposed management controls significantly disadvantaging recreational fishers but putting no constraint on commercial fishers?

(2)     Can you advise why there was only a five‑week closure for the calamari spawning season when the Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee recommended a six‑week closure, especially considering that this committee advised that five weeks would not provide sufficient protection for the spawning biomass? 

(3)     How many commercial scalefish licence holders will be eligible for the new licence types - north-east and north-west - and what impact will that have on reducing the commercial catch? 

(4)     Why is the Government not proposing changes that would constrain the commercial calamari catch to the maximum sustainable yield, 33 tonnes for the north coast, as identified by IMAS? 

(5)     Why has a commercial catch cap, or total allowable catch - TAC - not been applied to the calamari sector, especially a pre‑spawning catch cap to protect spawning biomass?

ANSWER

I thank the member for her question.

(1)     Calamari is a shared resource which is increasingly important to both recreational and commercial fishers.  The three most recent statewide recreational fishing surveys, conducted in 2007-08, 2012-13 and 2017-18, indicate that the recreational take of calamari was 30‑50 per cent of commercial harvest in those years.  Based on an understanding of average recreational daily catches, it is estimated that the proposed recreational bag limit reduction will decrease overall recreational catches by 5‑10 per cent. 

The proposed commercial licensing arrangements are estimated to reduce commercial access by around 80 per cent - a significant reduction in the number of commercial vessels targeting calamari on the north coast. 

Consultation is currently underway on the proposed rules.  Submissions that are received will be considered by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania before those final recommendations are made to me. 

(2)     Calamari peak spawning activity on the north coast is likely to occur in October but it is influenced by a range of factors, including environmental ones, and experiences spatial and temporal variations on the north coast.  The 2022 north coast calamari closure was brought forward to include an extra week from 23 September 2022 to 31 October 2022 to provide additional protection during the main spawning activity. 

In considering the available scientific advice, the department recommended the traditional October spawning closure be brought forward by an additional week to late September to provide additional protection to early spawning and the potential aggregation of animals pre‑spawning.  This was considered more effective than extending the closure into November by an additional week, as was suggested by the Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee, as scientific advice at the time indicated that most spawning would be completed and that calamari begin to die naturally after spawning.  Therefore, a five‑week closure was recommended by the department to provide additional protection for calamari to aggregate and spawn while still allowing the opportunity for fishing activity to occur in acknowledgement of the short season - generally late August to December - and weather constraining fishing efforts. 

I am advised that the department is still consulting with the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) on closure options for the coming season and will also consider inputs to those settings that have been provided through the current rules consultation process. 

(3)     The department's modelling indicates that the proposed management changes are expected to reduce the number of licences that can target calamari on the north coast by 60‑80 per cent.  Subject to whether the draft scalefish rules are adopted or modified, the number of licences available would be subject to an application process. 

It is important to remember that an investment warning was issued to all commercial calamari licence holders on 23 August 2018 to let them know that the calamari management arrangements for the north coast were being reviewed.  Since the warning was issued, there has been an increase in the number of commercial fishers targeting calamari on the north coast.  That is despite the investment warning issued on 23 August 2018.

The reference period and catch history criteria outlined in consultation documents intend to reduce the number of fishers targeting calamari to pre‑2018 levels.  Again, consultation is underway on the proposed management changes and you can go to the website to participate in that process.  That is how the department will be basing its recommendations to bring back to me as the minister. 

(4)     In 2018, again, an investment warning was issued to advise that the calamari management arrangements were being reviewed.  This was followed by extensive engagement with the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, relevant peak bodies, advisory committees and commercial licence holders to identify potential management actions.  This culminated in a non-statutory public consultation of recreational and commercial fishers in October 2021 on management options for calamari.  Various management options were considered through this process and I am advised each report is available on the Fishing Tasmania website.

Proposed licencing arrangements outlined in the Scalefish Fishery Rules Review Public Consultation Paper 2023 are intended to return commercial catch and effort to sustainable levels.  Consultation is underway there.

(5)     I understand that squid are a short-lived species which generally have a lifespan of about one year.  Their populations can fluctuate widely and recruitment from year to year can be extremely variable.  The variability provides a challenge to management.  To be able to set effective total allowable catch limits (TACs) would require expensive and resource-intensive surveys each year in advance of the spawning season.

More critically, to monitor the fishery in real time to ensure these limits are not exceeded would require a level of catch reporting that cannot be achieved with current paper-based reporting methods.  By the time it was identified that limits had been exceeded, it would be too late to do anything about it.

The Fisheries Digital Transition Project that is being implemented by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania will provide further insights into whether alternative and more cost-effective, real-time monitoring systems are a feasible management tool into the future.

The draft rule amendments are out for public consultation and went out on 20 April.  This is an open, consultative process and all stakeholders are encouraged to provide formal feedback that will be considered before any final decision is made.

As part of this consultation process, it has been quite extensive and we have had our department go to different communities because we understand the level of interest in this and conduct sessions with the public.  Several in that team came down with COVID‑19 and so a number of those sessions were cancelled.  To ensure that each area and regional area of Tasmania had the opportunity to feed into that and to get more information, I decided to extend the consultation process by a week until 5 June.