INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT · INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT Prepared by the Integrated...

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INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENTALLOCATION REPORT - WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER RESOURCE

Prepared by the Integrated Fisheries Allocation Advisory Committee

for the Minister for Fisheries,current as at June 2006

Fisheries Management Paper No. 218FEBRUARY 2007

ISSN 0819-4327

INTEG

RATED

FISHERIES M

AN

AG

EMEN

T – ALLO

CA

TION

REPORT - W

ESTERN RO

CK LO

BSTER RESOU

RCE

INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

Prepared by the Integrated Fisheries Allocation Advisory Committee for the Minister for Fisheries,

current as at June 2006

ALLOCATION REPORT – WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER RESOURCE

Fisheries Management Paper No. 218

FEBRUARY 2007

ISSN 0819-4327

Contents

WesteRn RoCK LoBsteR ResoURCe �WesteRn RoCK LoBsteR ResoURCe �

1 summaryofrECommENDaTIoNs.......................................................................................................4

1.1 Notes.............................................................................................................................................52 INTroDuCTIoN.......................................................................................................................................6

2.1 Process/consultation.....................................................................................................................62.2 Submissions...................................................................................................................................7

3 BaCKGrouND.........................................................................................................................................8

3.1 TheIntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisoryCommittee..................................................................83.1.1 Membership.......................................................................................................................83.1.2 ConflictofInterest..............................................................................................................83.1.3 Guidingprinciples...............................................................................................................93.1.4 TheIFAAC’sTermsofReference...........................................................................................9

3.2 Ministerialadvice.........................................................................................................................103.2.1 Customaryallocation........................................................................................................103.2.2 Formalisingcatchsharesovertheperiod1997-2001..........................................................103.2.3 Allocationtothenon-fishingsector.....................................................................................10

3.3 AdditionalGuidingPrinciplesAdoptedbytheIFAAC.......................................................................113.3.1 Datauncertainty...............................................................................................................113.3.2 Optimisingbenefittothecommunity..................................................................................12

3.4 DescriptionoftheFishery.............................................................................................................123.5 DescriptionoftheSectors............................................................................................................14

3.5.1 Customary.......................................................................................................................143.5.2 Recreational.....................................................................................................................143.5.3 Commercial......................................................................................................................15

4 CaTCHINformaTIoN............................................................................................................................16

4.1 Customary...................................................................................................................................164.2 Recreational.................................................................................................................................164.3 Commercial..................................................................................................................................174.4 Catchshares................................................................................................................................18

5 KEyaLLoCaTIoNIssuEs.....................................................................................................................20

5.1 Allocationsatthemacrolevel.......................................................................................................205.1.1 Background......................................................................................................................205.1.2 Discussion.......................................................................................................................21

5.2 Smallerscalespatialand/ortemporalallocations..........................................................................225.3 Re-allocation................................................................................................................................23

6 aLLoCaTIoNs.......................................................................................................................................24

6.1 Customary...................................................................................................................................246.2 Recreationalandcommercialsectors............................................................................................25

6.2.1 Option4..........................................................................................................................256.2.2 Options1and2...............................................................................................................266.2.3 Option3..........................................................................................................................26

6.3 Decisionrulespriorto2009/10....................................................................................................277 oTHErIssuEs......................................................................................................................................28

7.1 Monitoringallocations..................................................................................................................287.2 Managementofallocations...........................................................................................................287.3 Governanceandinstitutionalarrangements...................................................................................297.4 Broaderlegislativearrangements..................................................................................................30

8 rEfErENCEs........................................................................................................................................30

appendixa Integratedfisheriesmanagement–GovernmentPolicy1october2004...............................33appendixB IntegratedfisheriesmanagementallocationProcess...........................................................36appendixC stakeholdersubmissionsinstep1oftheIfaaCallocationProcesses................................38appendixD IfaaCConsultationProcess...................................................................................................39appendixE ListofnamesofallsubmissionsfortheWesternrockLobsterDraftallocationreport.....40appendixf Letterfromtheminister8December2004–Customaryfishing...........................................41appendixG Letterfromtheminister17may2005:Ifmprocess–Conservationsector.........................43appendixH Pro-formaletteranddatasenttostakeholders-bestestimatesofwesternrock lobsterrecreationalcatch......................................................................................................46appendixI Long-TermGrowthTrendsInrecreationalrockLobsterCatchresearchDivision, Departmentoffisheries,16June2005.................................................................................50appendixJ resultsofthe2004/05recreationalsurveys.......................................................................56appendixK Proposedconsultativecommitteemembershipandtermsofreference...............................61appendixL aBBrEVIaTIoNs......................................................................................................................62

InteGRAteD FIsHeRIes MAnAGeMent ALLoCAtIon RePoRt�

Therecommendationsinthisallocationreportaresummarisedbelow.Attheendofeachrecommendation,thenumberofthepagewheretherecommendationappearsinthedocumentisgiven.

Recommendation 1 Page

(a)ThatallocationintheWesternRockLobsterFisheryproceedonthebasisoftheinformationmadeavailabletotheIFAACasofMay2006,inaccordancewithGuidingPrinciple(iii)1.

(b)ThattheMinistersupportstheIFAACseekingfurthersubmissionsfromrelevantpartiesandrecommendingtotheMinisterthattheallocationsbeadjustedintheeventthatDepartmentofFisheriesinvestigationssuggestthattherelationshipbetweenthemailsurveyandthephonediarysurveyusedintheAllocationReportdoesnotreflecttherealrelationship......................................................................... 12

Recommendation 2

ThattheallocationsshouldbeoverthetotalareaoftheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery.................21

Recommendation 3

Thataconsultativecommitteebeformedtodiscussandnegotiatesolutionstointer-sectoralconflictissuessuchasspatialandtemporalseparation.ThecommitteeshouldprovideareporttotheIFAAConitsrecommendationswithin12monthsofitsfirstmeeting..................................................................................23

Recommendation 4

Thatare-allocationmechanismbedevelopedandreadyforimplementationforthewesternrocklobsterresourceby2009/2010...............................................................................................................................23

Recommendation 5

ThattheCustomaryfishinginitialallocationshouldbeonetonne....................................................................24

Recommendation 6

Thattherecreationalandcommercialsector’sallocationsshouldbemadeonthepredictedproportionalcatchsharesin2009/2010(thatis4.9percentand95.1percentrespectively)..........................27

Recommendation 7

Thatsectorsshouldnotberequiredtobemanagedtotherecommendedcatchproportionspriorto2009/2010,subjecttothetotaltakenotimpactingonthesustainabilityofthestock......................................27

Recommendation 8

ThattheDepartmentofFisheriesberequestedtodevelop,inconsultationwithstakeholdersoverthenexttwoyears,thedecisionrulesframeworkformanagementofwesternrocklobsterallocations.Thisframeworkwillneedtobeoperationalby2009/2010-theseasoninwhichtheIFAAChasrecommendedallocationsbecomebinding.....................................................................................................29

Recommendation 9

ThattheExecutiveDirectoroftheDepartmentofFisheriesberequestedtodevelop,inconsultationwithstakeholders,thenecessaryinstitutionalandgovernancearrangementstogiveeffecttotheGovernment’sIFMpoliciescontainedinGuidingPrinciplesvii2andx3(seesection3.1.3).......................................................30

Recommendation 10

ThattheDepartmentofFisheriesberequestedtogiveconsiderationtothenecessarylegislativechangesandtimelinestogiveeffecttothefuturemanagementoffisheriesunderIFM...................................................30

1 summaryofrECommENDaTIoNs

1 (iii)Decisionsmustbemadeonthebestavailableinformationandwherethisinformationisuncertain,unreliable,inadequateornotavailableaprecautionaryapproach will be adopted to manage risk to fish stocks, marine communities and the environment. The absence of or uncertainity in information should not be used as a reason for delaying or failing to make a decision.

2 (vii) Appropriate management structures and processes should be introduced to manage each user group within their prescribed allocation. These should incorporate pre-determined actions that are involved if that group’s catch increases above its allocation.

3 (x) Managerial arrangement must provide users with the opportunity to access their allocation. There should be limited capacity for transferring allocations un-utilised by a sector for that sector’s use in future years, provided the outcome does not affect resource sustainability.

WesteRn RoCK LoBsteR ResoURCe �

1.1NotesThefollowingnotesprovideadditionalinformationonthebasisforsomeoftheCommittee’srecommendations.

note 1:TheIFAACnotestheMinisterforFisheries’viewthatthereshouldbeanallocationforCustomaryfishingandthatCustomaryfishingaccessrightsshouldbegivenpriorityoverallotherfishingaccess.

note 2: TheIFAACnotestheMinister’sadviceregardinganallocationfornon-extractiveusersoftheresourceand,inaccordancewiththeMinister’spositiononthismatter,itwillnotberecommendinganallocationtonon-extractiveusers.

note �: TheIFAACisprovidingadviceonallocationsofthewesternrocklobsterresourcethatiscurrentlypermittedtobetakenlegallyintheareathatexistswithintheboundariesoftheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFisheryonly(i.e.betweenExmouthGulfandAugusta,extendingseawardsfor200nauticalmiles).

note 7: TheIFAAChasadoptedtheapproachofspecifyingreallocationbyquantityratherthanasaproportionwhereasector’sallocationislessthan0.1percentofthetotalcatch.

note 8: TheIFAACnotesthatintheeventthatimprovedestimatesoftherecreationalcatchresultinachangetothe4.9percentrecreationalallocationusedtoestimatetheCustomarytake,theremayneedtobeanadjustmenttotheallocationrecommendedforCustomaryfishing.

note 9: ThattheIFAACendorsesasastartingpointtheDepartmentofFisheries’proposedapproachtomanagingallocations,usingthefive-yearmovingaverageasaperformanceindicator.

note �: TheIFAACnotesthathistoricallytherehasbeennoaccesstowesternrocklobsterforcommercialaquaculturepurposesandarrangementsforaccessarecontainedinMinisterialPolicyGuidelineNo.20(DepartmentofFisheries,2004).

note 6:TheIFAACwillmakearecommendationtotheMinisteroninshoreresource-sharingissuesfollowingreceiptoftheconsultativecommittee’sreport.

note �: TheIFAAChasincludedrecreationalfishingbyIndigenouspeople,asdistinctfromCustomaryfishing,aspartofthebroadrecreationalallocation,consistentwiththeMinisterialadvicereferredtoinsection3.2.3.

InteGRAteD FIsHeRIes MAnAGeMent ALLoCAtIon RePoRt6

Thisreport,preparedbytheIntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisoryCommittee(IFAAC),containsthecommittee’sadviceandrecommendationstotheMinisterforFisheriesonallocationsforthewesternrocklobsterresource.Thesettingofexplicitallocationstosectors(Customary,recreationalandcommercial)isintegraltoIntegratedFisheriesManagement(IFM)inWesternAustralia.

TheIFAAC,consistentwithitstermsofreference(seesection3.1.4),commenceditsinvestigationsofallocationsfortheState’swesternrocklobsterresourceinlate2004.TheprocessusebytheIFAACtodevelopitsrecommendationsisexplainedbelow.

2.1Process/consultationTheprocesstheIFAAChasusedtopreparethisfinalreportissummariseddiagrammaticallybelow.

2 INTroDuCTIoN

Thefourstagesinvolve:

A. determiningtheneedforaformalallocationprocessinafishery.

B. developmentofanIFMreportontheresourcebytheDepartmentofFisheries.

C. theIFMallocationprocess,whichincludes:

Step1. investigationoftheallocationissue;

Step2. IFAACsettlingadraftallocationreport andreleasingitforpubliccomment;

Step3. IFAACrecommendingallocationsto theMinisterforFisheries;and

Step4. theMinisterdeterminingallocations.

D. determiningmechanismsforfutureallocationsbetweensectors.

Inthecaseofwesternrocklobster,thefirststage(pointAabove)oftheprocesswasunnecessary,astheMinisterforFisherieshadalreadyrequestedthattheIFAACprovidehimwithadviceandrecommendationsonallocations.

ThesecondstageoftheprocesswascompletedinApril2005,whentheDepartmentofFisheriesreleasedFisheriesManagementPaperNo.192,Integrated Fisheries Management Report, Western Rock Lobster Resource (FMPNo.192),(DepartmentofFisheries,2005).FMPNo.192,togetherwithappendicesHandIofthisdocument(FMPNo.218)havebeentheprincipalsourceofinformationusedbytheIFAACinitsconsiderationoftheallocationsforthewesternrocklobsterresource(seeBox1).

Duringitsinitialinvestigationofallocationissues(StageC,Step1oftheprocess–seeabove)theIFAACsoughtwrittensubmissionsfromkeystakeholdersonissuesrelatedtoallocationandprovidedanopportunityforthemtomakeaverbalpresentationtothecommittee.StakeholdersubmissionsinthisstepcanbeobtainedfromthesourcesprovidedinAppendixC.

TheIFAAC’sdraftallocationreportonwesternrocklobsterwasreleasedinOctober2005asthebasisforconsultation.TheIFAACalsoarrangedforpublicmeetingstobrieffishersandinterestedmembersof

Release of resource report by the Department of Fisheries in April 2005

Investigation of allocation issues

Release of draft allocation report by IFAAC in October 2005

Public comment period November 2005 to March 2006

Review of submissions

Final report delivered to the Minister for Fisheries

UndertheWAGovernment’spolicyonIFM(Paragraph11,AppendixA),theMinisterdeterminestheprocessandtimeframesforresolvingallocationsofeachfishresource,basedontheadviceoftheIFAAC.TheMinisterhasapprovedafour-stageIFMallocationprocessdevelopedbytheIFAAC(AppendixB).

WesteRn RoCK LoBsteR ResoURCe 7

thecommunityonthecommittee’srecommendations.TheapproachtakentoconsultationisprovidedindetailinAppendixD.

TheapproachtheIFAACtooktodealingwiththesubmissionsthatitreceivedfollowingthereleaseofitsdraftreport(StageC,Step2)isexplainedinthenextsection.

2.2submissionsTheIFAACreceived47submissionsonitsdraftallocationreportforwesternrocklobsterthatwasreleasedinOctober2005forpubliccomment.AlistofthosepeopleororganisationswhomadeasubmissionareprovidedinAppendixE.

AreferenceisonlymadetosubmissionsinthetextofthisreportwherenecessarytoprovidefurtherbackgroundtotheIFAAC’sdeliberationsorwhereitledtotheCommitteechangingarecommendationcontainedinitsdraftallocationreport.

Box 1 Fisheries Management Paper no. 192AnIFMreportforthewesternrocklobsterresource,FisheriesManagementPaperNo.192(FMPNo.192),wasreleasedbytheDepartmentofFisheriesinApril2005.ThispaperincludesareportonthesustainabilityofthefisheryandastatementonthesustainableharvestlevelasrequiredundertheWAGovernment’spolicyonIFM(seeparagraphs6and7,AppendixA)andinformationthataddressesthebroaderrequirementsforreportingunderanEcologicallySustainableDevelopment(ESD)framework.

Otherkeydocumentsonthewesternrocklobstersustainabilityincludetheannual State of the Fisheries Report andtheWestern Rock Lobster Sustainability Report preparedbytheDepartmentofFisheriesfortheCommonwealthDepartmentofEnvironmentandHeritage.TheExecutiveDirector,DepartmentofFisheries,undertheIFMpolicy,hastheresponsibilityforapprovingasustainabilityreportforeachfisherywhichincludesaclearstatementonthesustainableharvestlevelsoftheparticularfishery.

Theharvestlevelsforthewesternrocklobsterresourcearegiveninsection8.7ofFMPNo.192.TheExecutiveDirectoroftheDepartmentofFisherieshassetthe(overall)sustainableharvestlevelforwesternrocklobster(i.e.thecatchtakenbyallsectors)intherangebetween9,500tonnesand15,000tonnes.

TheobjectivesforthemanagementofthecommercialfisheryaregiveninFMPNo.192(page21).Thebiologicalobjectiveisto:

“Ensuretheabundanceofbreedinglobstersismaintainedorreturnedto,asthecasemaybe,atorabovethelevelsin1980,whichisestimatedtobeabout20percentoftheunfishedparentalbiomass.”

Inpractice,theDepartmentofFisheriesmanagestheexploitationrateofwesternrocklobsterthroughtheuseofcontrolsonfishingeffortandbiologicalcontrols(suchassizelimitsandpreventingthetakeofsetoseandtar-spottedlobsters)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


TheintroductionofIntegratedFisheriesManagement(IFM)isthemostrecentdevelopmentinthemanagementoffisheriesinWesternAustralia.IFMisaninitiativeaimedataddressingtheissueofhowfishresourcesinWesternAustraliacanbebestsharedbetweencompetinguserswithinthebroadcontextof“EcologicallySustainableDevelopment”,orESD.

Insummary,IFMinvolves:

• settingasustainableharvestlevel(SHL)ofeachresourcethatallowsforanecologicallysustainableleveloffishing;

• allocatingexplicitcatchsharesforusebyIndigenous,recreationalandcommercialfishers;

• continualmonitoringofeachsector’sharvestedcatch;

• managingeachsectorwithinitsallocatedcatchshare;and

• developingmechanismstoenablethere-allocationofcatchsharesbetweensectors.

TheWAGovernment,inits2005electioncommitments,listedwesternrocklobsterasoneofthefirstfourfishresourcestobebroughtundertheIFMframework.

3.1TheIntegratedfisheriesallocationadvisoryCommittee

TheGovernmentreleaseditsIFMPolicyinOctober2004.ThepolicyreferstotheestablishmentofanIFAACtoprovidetheMinisterforFisherieswithadviceonallocationsforfishresources(paragraph8to13).

TheMinisterforFisheriesestablishedtheIFAACunderSection42oftheFish Resources Management Act 1994(FRMA),in2004toinvestigateIFMresourceallocationissuesandmakerecommendationstohimonoptimalresourceuse.

3.1.1 membershipThemembersoftheIFAACareMrJimMcKiernan(Chair),MrNormanHalseandProfessorGeorgeKailis.

MrMcKiernanrepresentedWesternAustraliaintheAustralianParliamentfornearly18years.Duringthis

3 BaCKGrouND

timeheservedupon,andwasChairofanumberofSenateandotherParliamentarycommittees.MrMcKiernanhasconsiderableexperienceininteractingwithcommunitygroupsandstakeholders.HeisasessionalmemberoftheStateAdministrativeTribunal,aJusticeofthePeaceandamemberoftheboardoftheDisabilityServicesCommission.MrMcKiernanreplacedtheinauguralIFAACChairMrMurrayJorgensenon1March2006.

GeorgeKailisisProfessorofManagementandExecutiveDeanoftheCollegeofBusinessoftheUniversityofNotreDameandisalsoaDirectoroftheMGKailisGroup.Hehashadextensiveexperienceongovernment,scienceandindustrybodiesatastate,nationalandinternationallevel.ProfessorKailisistheChairoftheAustralianSeafoodIndustry’sNativeTitleWorkingGroup,amemberofthePearlingIndustryAdvisoryCommitteeandisontheFederalGovernment’sNationalOceansAdvisoryGroup.HehaspreviouslybeenaDirectorofboththeAustralianFisheriesManagementAuthorityandtheFisheriesResearchandDevelopmentCorporation.

MrNormanHalseisakeenrecreationalfisher,conservationistandresearcher.MrHalseworkedforWesternAustralia’sDepartmentofAgriculturefor40years,hiscareerculminatingasthatDepartment’sDirectorGeneral.HisconservationinterestsincludedservingaspastPresidentoftheConservationCouncilofWA,asChairmanoftheNationalParksandConservationAuthorityandasamemberoftheEnvironmentalProtectionAuthority.MrHalsehasastronginterestinrecreationalfishing,asdemonstratedbyhisserviceasapastChair,andcurrentboardmember,ofpeakbodyRecfishwest.

3.1.2 ConflictofInterestIfamemberhadaconflictofinterestinanymattertobeconsideredbytheIFAAC,thememberdisclosedtheinterest,thedisclosurewasrecordedintheminutesofthecommitteemeetingandthememberdidnotvoteonthematter.

ItshouldbenotedthattwomembersandthepreviousChairmanoftheIFAACholdacurrentrecreationalrocklobsterlicenceandthatProfessorGeorgeKailishasaninterestinthecommercialrocklobsterindustryasashareholderandDirectoroftheMGKailisGroup.


3.1.3 GuidingprinciplesTheMinisterprovidedtheIFAACwiththefollowingGuiding Principles and Terms of Reference.TheWAGovernmenthasadoptedtheprinciples,outlinedbelow,asthebasisforIFM(AppendixA).TheIFAACshouldensurethatanyadvicetotheMinisterforFisheriesisconsistentwiththeseprinciples:

i. FishresourcesareacommonpropertyresourcemanagedbytheGovernmentforthebenefitofpresentandfuturegenerations.

ii. Sustainabilityisparamountandecologicalrequirementsmustbeconsideredinthedeterminationofappropriateharvestlevels.

iii. Decisionsmustbemadeonthebestavailableinformationandwherethisinformationisuncertain,unreliable,inadequateornotavailable,aprecautionaryapproachwillbeadoptedtomanagerisktofishstocks,marinecommunitiesandtheenvironment.Theabsenceof,oranyuncertaintyin,informationshouldnotbeusedasareasonfordelayingorfailingtomakeadecision.

iv. Aharvestlevelthatincorporatestotalmortalityshouldbesetforeachfishery4andtheallocationdesignatedforusebyeachgroupshouldbemadeexplicit.

v. Allocationstousergroupsshouldaccountforthetotalmortalityonfishresourcesresultingfromtheactivitiesofeachgroup,includingbycatchandmortalityofreleasedfish.

vi. Thetotalharvestacrossallusergroupsshouldnotexceedtheprescribedharvestlevel.Ifthisoccurs,stepsconsistentwiththeimpactsofeachusergroupshouldbetakentoreducethetaketoalevelthatdoesnotcompromisefuturesustainability.

vii. Appropriatemanagementstructuresandprocessesshouldbeintroducedtomanageeachusergroupwithintheirprescribedallocation.Theseshouldincorporatepre-determinedactionsthatareinvokedifthatgroup’scatchincreasesaboveitsallocation.

viii. AllocationdecisionsshouldaimtoachievetheoptimalbenefittotheWesternAustraliancommunityfromtheuseoffishstocksandtakeaccountofeconomic,social,culturalandenvironmentalfactors.Realistically,thiswilltake

timetoachieveandtheimplementationoftheseobjectivesislikelytobeincrementalovertime.

ix. Allocationstousergroupsshouldgenerallybemadeonaproportionalbasistoaccountfornaturalvariationsinfishpopulations.Thisgeneralprincipleshouldnot,however,precludealternativearrangementsinafisherywherepriorityaccessforaparticularusergroup(s)maybedetermined.ItshouldremainopentoGovernmentpolicytodeterminethepriorityuseoffishresourceswherethereisaclearcasetodoso.

x. Managementarrangementsmustprovideuserswiththeopportunitytoaccesstheirallocation.Thereshouldbealimitedcapacityfortransferringallocationsunutilisedbyasectorforthatsector’suseinfutureyears,providedtheoutcomedoesnotaffectresourcesustainability.

3.1.4 TheIfaaC’sTermsofreferenceTakingintoaccounttheprinciplesdetailedabove,theIFAACistoinvestigatefisheriesresourceallocationissues,andprovideadviceandrecommendationstotheMinisteronmattersrelatedtooptimalresourceuse.Inparticular,theIFAACistoprovideadviceon:

i. allocationsbetweengroups(sectors)withintheharvestlimitsdeterminedforeachfishery;

ii. strategiestoovercomeallocationandaccessissuesarisingfromtemporalandspatialcompetitionforfishatalocal/regionallevel;

iii. allocationissueswithinafisheriessectorasreferredbytheMinisterforFisheries;

iv. morespecificprinciples(thandetailedabove)toprovidefurtherguidancearoundallocationdecisionsforindividualfisheries;and

v. othermattersconcerningtheintegratedmanagementoffisheriesasreferredbytheMinisterforFisheries.

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

4 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.


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

3.2ministerialadviceInadditiontousingtheWAGovernment’spolicyonIFM(AppendixA)initsdeliberations,theIFAAChasbeenprovidedadditionalguidancebytheMinisterforFisheriesonanIndigenousallocation(AppendixF);thereferenceperiod1997–2001;andonallocationsfornon-extractiveuses(AppendixG).ThisadviceandtheIFAAC’sresponsearesummarisedbelow.

3.2.1 CustomaryallocationThethenMinisterforFisheries,KimChanceMLC,providedguidancewithrespecttotheCustomaryfishingsectorinalettertotheIFAAC(seeAppendixF).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.

3.2.2 formalisingcatchsharesoverthe period1997-2001

Paragraph19oftheGovernment’sIFMpolicyreferstoformalisingexistingcatchsharesasabasisforfutureallocationdiscussionsusingthebestavailablecatchinformationoverthefive-yearperiodof1997-2001.Thereareanumberofissuesthatareassociatedwithusingthe1997-2001periodtoformalisecatchsharesincluding:

a. Thequalityandavailabilityofcatchdataforsomefishresourcesispoorfortheperiod1997-2001(particularlyfortherecreationalsector).

b. Astimegoeson,theperiod1997-2001willbeincreasinglyfurtherawayfromthedateofdeterminationofallocations.

c. Itisarguablethatparagraph19couldbeinterpretedtosimplymeanthatitisjustamatterofestimatingthecatchsharesovertheperiod1997-2001usingtheavailabledataandmakingdeterminationsbasedonthatcalculation.

TheIFAACconsideredtheseissuesandresolvedtoadvisetheMinisterthatthefollowingapproachshouldbeadoptedregardingparagraph19oftheIFMGovernmentpolicy:

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

2. Inmakingitsrecommendationforallocation,theIFAACwillapplythebroaderprinciplesintheIFMGovernmentPolicy,inparticularParagraph5(Paragraph5containstheGuidingPrincipleswhicharereproducedatsection3.1.3).

TheMinisterapproved5

“…the IFAAC proceeding to consider allocations on the basis of its resolution.”

3.2.3 allocationtothenon-fishingsectorThecurrentMinisterforFisheries,HonJonFordJPMLC,hasadvisedtheIFAACthathedoesnotexpecttobeprovidedwitharecommendationonallocationstonon-extractiveusersoftheresource.SpecificallytheMinisterhasadvisedtheCommitteethat:

1. TheIFMinitiativewasdesignedtodetermineallocationsbetweencommercial,recreational

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


(includingcharter)andIndigenoussectorsthatareextractiveusers;and

2. HewasnotseekingarecommendationfromtheIFAAConallocationstonon-extractiveusersoftheresources(AppendixG).

note 2: TheIFAACnotestheMinister’sadviceregardinganallocationfornon-extractiveusersoftheresourceand,inaccordancewiththeMinister’spositiononthismatter,itwillnotberecommendinganallocationtonon-extractiveusers.

3.3additionalGuidingPrinciplesadoptedbytheIfaaC

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

TheIFAACwasguidedbythefollowingprinciplesinrelationtoconsideringallocationoptions.TheseprinciplesmayevolveovertimeintomoregenerallyacceptedprinciplesinrelationtotheIFAAC’stasks,butinthefirstinstancetheyapplyonlyforwesternrocklobster.

1. Theapproachshouldbepragmaticandincremental.

2. Therewasaneedtomakeexplicitallocations(asdistinctfrommakingageneralstatementofprincipleabouthowallocationsshouldbemade).

3. Allocationsshouldnothavetheeffectofmerelydeferringadecisionindefinitely.

4. Recommendationsthatamounttoachangetocatchsharesasassessedinthe1997–2001periodneedtobeexplainedonthebasisofthe‘GuidingPrinciples’,(particularlyGuidingPrincipleviii,seesection3.1.3).

5. Re-allocationmechanismsshouldbedevelopedwithinaspecifiedtimeframe,whichbasedonstakeholdercommentsshouldbesetatnotmorethanfiveyearsforwesternrocklobster.

6. Thatuntiltherearere-allocationmechanisms,theIFAACshouldbecautiousinmaking

recommendationsthatwouldhavetheeffectofimmediatelyandsignificantlyimpactingonasector.

3.3.1 DatauncertaintyTheIFAAChasusedtheDepartmentofFisheries’‘Best Estimates of the Western Rock Lobster Recreational Catch’(AppendixH)andthelong-termgrowthtrendsinrecreationalrocklobstercatch(AppendixI)initsconsiderationofallocations.TheIFAACrecognisesthatresearchwillcontinueonthebestmethodtoestimatetherecreationalcatchand,infuture,itispossiblethattheremaybeafurthermodificationoftherecreationalcatchestimates.

TheDepartmentofFisheriesdoesnotbelievethattheexistingrecreationalcatchestimatesshouldbereliedupontodeterminetheallocation.TheDepartmenthasrecommendedthattheinitialallocationshouldbebasedontheimproveddatagatheredin2006/07,2007/08and2008/09toestimatethecatchshares(DepartmentofFisheries’submissionontheDraftAllocationReport,DepartmentofFisherieswebsite).

TheIFAACdoesnotaccepttheDepartmentofFisheriespositionasitbelievesthatitisimportantforadecisiontobemade(seesection3.3)andthepositionisinconsistentwiththeGuidingPrinciples(iii)whichstatesinpartthat-

“The absence of, or uncertainty of in, information should not be used as a reason for delaying or failing to make a decision.”

TheIFAAChasrelieduponthemodelsinAppendixI,basedonlongtermtrendsincatchproportionsovertheperiod1986/87–2003/04,toestimatethetrendincatchshares.TheIFAAChasacceptedthismethodologyasthebasisforestimatingcatchproportions.

Therecreationalcatchestimatesusedtoestimatecatchproportionsfortheperiod1986/87to2003/04arebasedonaconversionfactorbetweenthemailandphonerecallsurveys(seesection4.2formorediscussiononconversionfactors).Ifitweredemonstratedtherewasanerrormadeinestimatingtheconversionfactor,thenthiswouldbesufficientjustificationfortheIFAACtowarranttheadjustmentoftheinitialallocationsunderIFMbecausethecatchproportionestimateswouldhavebeenincorrect.

IntheeventthattheDepartment’sinvestigationssuggestthattheconversionfactorusedinthemodels(AppendixI)needstobeupdated,theIFAAC


NospecificmentionismadeinFMPNo.192astoculturalfactors,otherthanthoserelatingtoCustomaryfishing.

TheIFAACisoftheviewthatenvironmentalfactorsincludingallocationstonon-extractiveusersshouldlargelybetakenintoaccountwhentheExecutiveDirectoroftheDepartmentofFisheriessetsthesustainableharvestlevel.

TheIFAACrecognisesthatundertheGovernmentpolicyitmustgiveconsiderationtocommunitybenefitoptimisation.Ingeneral,thecommercialfisheryforwesternrocklobsterisaveryvaluableoneandcreateseconomicandsocialbenefitstothatsectionofthecommunityinvolvedintheindustry.Incomparison,therecreationalfisheryforwesternrocklobsterinvolvessmallereconomicactivity,butcreatesasocialbenefittotherelativelylargernumberofpeoplethatareinvolvedinthefishery.

Intheabsenceofappropriateinformation,theIFAACwasunabletocometoanyconclusiononthecomparativebenefitsofthesetwofisheriestothecommunityasawhole.

TheIFMprocessrequiresanallocationtoeachsectorsothattheresponsibilityforsustainablemanagementcanbefairlyapportionedbetweensectors.

Upuntilthepresenttime,thecommercialsectorhasbornetheprimeresponsibilityformakinganycatchadjustmentsforsustainabilitymanagement.Therecreationalcatchhasbeenincreasingoveraboutthelastfiftyyearsbutonlyreached3.9percentofthetotalcatchin2002/03.

Nevertheless,theprinciplesofIFMmakeitclearthatspecificsharesforeachsectorshouldbedetermined.

TheproposedIFMallocationisseenasanessentialfirststepthatwillfacilitateprogresstowardtheobjectivesoutlinedintheWAGovernment’spolicyonIFM.Thepolicyrecognisestheproblemofalackofinformationonsocial,economic,culturalandenvironmentalfactors(seeGuidingPrincipleviii,section3.1.3).

3.4DescriptionofthefisheryThewesternrocklobsterresourceextendsprimarilyoverthecontinentalshelfareaoffthewestcoastofWAbetweenExmouthGulfandAugusta.ExmouthGulfandAugustaarethenorthernandsouthernboundariesofthecommercialfisheryforwesternrocklobster–theWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery(WCRLMF).

willseekfurthersubmissionsfromrelevantpartiesandrecommendtotheMinisterthattheallocationsbeadjusted.However,intheinterestofcertaintyitshouldbenotedthattheIFAACdoesnotproposetoalterthemethodologytoincludecatchdatapost-2003/04.

Asthereisacompellingpublicinterestintheneedtoprovidelong-termcertaintyunderIFM,thisopportunityforadjustmentshouldnotcontinueindefinitelyandareasonable‘sunsetperiod’upto2009/10shouldbesufficientforthispurpose.

Recommendation 1:That allocation in the Western Rock Lobster Fishery proceed on the basis of the information made available to the IFAAC as of May 2006, in accordance with Guiding Principle (iii). That the Minister supports the IFAAC seeking further submissions from relevant parties and recommending to the Minister that the allocations be adjusted in the event that Department of Fisheries investigations suggest that the relationship between the mail survey and the phone diary survey used in the Allocation Report does not reflect the real relationship.

3.3.2 optimisingbenefittothecommunityGuidingpolicyviii(seesection3.1.3)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.192whichassistsindeterminingtheoptimalbenefittotheWesternAustraliancommunity,takingintoaccounteconomic,social,culturalandenvironmentalfactors.

AsocialassessmentofcoastalcommunitieshostingthewesternrocklobsterfleetwaspublishedinJanuary2006asFisheriesManagementPaperNo.211(DepartmentofFisheries,2006b).Howeverasakeyobjectiveofthestudywastoestablishadatabaseofsocialindicatorsthatwouldcontributetotheassessmentofalternativemanagementoptionsforthecommercialfishery,ithaslimitedapplicationtotheconsiderationofallocationsbetweensectors.

WesteRn RoCK LoBsteR ResoURCe 1�

Figure1 ManagementboundariesforthecommercialWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery.

TheWCRLMFistheareaoverwhichtheIFAACisprovidingadviceonwesternrocklobsterallocations.AlthoughwesternrocklobstersarefoundinlowerdensitiesalongthesouthcoasttotheeastofAugustaandoccasionallynorthofExmouth,theIFAAChasnotbeenrequestedtomakerecommendationsforallocationsforthatcomponentoftheresourceaspartofthisprocess.

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

oftheselicenceshasbeenlimitedsince1963,whenlicencenumbersandunitsofentitlementwerefrozen.

Thecommercialfisheryisdividedintothreezones–A,BandC(Figure1).Inanoverallsense,thefishingseasonintheWCRLMFrunsfrom15Novemberto30Junethefollowingyear,butthefishingseasonactuallydiffersfromzone-to-zone.Specifically:

• ZoneAisopenfrom15Marchto30June;

• ZoneBisopenfrom15Novemberto30Juneofthefollowingyear,withamid-seasonclosure15Januaryto10February;and

InteGRAteD FIsHeRIes MAnAGeMent ALLoCAtIon RePoRt1�

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

• ZoneCisopenfrom25Novemberto30Juneofthefollowingyear,withathree-dayfullmoonclosureineachmonthfromFebruarytoJune.

Commercialfishersareonlypermittedtousebaitedpots,whichtheyusuallyhauldaily.Thecommercialfisheryismanagedusing‘inputcontrols’-theprimarymanagementmethodisalimitonthetotalnumberofpots,whichplacesanoverallcaponeffort.EntitlementsaretransferableunderwhatisknownasanIndividuallyTransferableEffortsystem.

HoldersofrecreationalrocklobsterlicencesarealsopermittedtotakewesternrocklobsterwithintheboundariesoftheWCRLMF.Inpractice,themajorityofrecreationalrocklobsterfishingistargetedtonear-shorewatersoflessthan18metresindepth,whereasthecommercialfisheryoperatesovertheentirearea.

Recreationalfishersmayusepotsordiveforlobsters,exceptintheAbrolhosIslands(ZoneA)wherepotsaretheonlypermissiblemethod.

note �: TheIFAACisprovidingadviceonallocationsofthewesternrocklobsterresourcethatiscurrentlypermittedtobetakenlegallyintheareathatexistswithintheboundariesoftheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFisheryonly(i.e.betweenExmouthGulfandAugusta,extendingseawardsfor200nauticalmiles).

3.5Descriptionofthesectors

3.5.1 CustomaryTheMinisterforFisheriesusedtheterm“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)drewattentiontothedistinctiontheDepartment

ofFisheriesmakesbetweenCustomaryfishingbyAboriginalpeopleandrecreationalfishingbyAboriginalpeople.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.”

TheNNTTsuggestedthatIndigenousacceptanceofwhatcanbetakentobeanarrowdefinitionofwhatCustomaryfishingrepresentswascontingentonotherstrategiesbeingputinplacetoassistIndigenouspeopletotakeadvantageofopportunitiesinthemarinesector.TheNNTThasalsoadvisedtheIFAACthattheappropriatenessofsuchadefinitionwaspartofongoingdiscussionsandnegotiationsatanationalandstatelevel.

TheIFAACacceptstheviewthatadistinctioncanbedrawnbetweenCustomaryfishingandrecreationalfishingbyIndigenouspeople;andthatnotallIndigenousrecreationalfishersarefishingforCustomarypurposes.

note �: TheIFAAChasincludedrecreationalfishingbyIndigenouspeople,asdistinctfromCustomaryfishing,aspartofthebroadrecreationalallocation,consistentwiththeMinisterialadvicereferredtoinsection3.2.3.

3.5.2 recreationalRecreationalfishingforrocklobsterrequireseitherarocklobsterrecreationallicenceoranumbrellalicencepermittingaccesstoalllicensedrecreationalfishingactivity.6Thereisnolimittothenumberofrecreationalrocklobsterlicencesissued.

Licencesareissuedfora12-monthperiodfromthedateofissueonapplicationandpaymentof$32foraspecificrocklobsterlicenceand$75foranumbrellalicence(whichcoversalllicensedrecreationalfisheries,includingrocklobster).In2003/04,about47,345rocklobsterrecreationallicenceswereissued,with33,600(about71percent)beingused(FMPNo.192,p.55).Anyoneotherthanholdersofcommercialfishinglicencesmayapplyforarecreationalrocklobsterlicence.


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

Charterboatoperatorsprovideaplatformforrecreationaldiverstotakerocklobsters.Charterboatsandrecreationalboatsarelimitedtoeightlobstersperlicenseeperdayandamaximumof16lobstersperboatperday.Thetakeofwesternrocklobsterfromdivecharterboatsisverysmall.

FurtherdetailsoftherecreationalrocklobsterfishingsectorareavailablefromFMPNo.192.

3.5.3CommercialTheIFAACconsidersthecommercialfishingsectortocomprisethoseoperationsthatareofacommercialnature.Forthewesternrocklobsterresource,commercialoperationsincludethewildcapturesectorandtheaquaculturesector.

3.5.3.1CommercialfishingsectorCommercialfishingforwesternrocklobsterismanagedunderThe West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery Management Plan 1993(inconjunctionwiththeFish Resources Management Act 1994 andregulations),withfishershavingtoholdaWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFisheryLicence.

Therearecurrently601licensees,ofwhich545operatedtheirlicencein2004/05,and69,282unitsareallocatedtolicensees.Undercurrentmanagementarrangements,thisallocationallowsfor56,813potstobeusedbylicensees.Foreachzone,thenumbersoflicencesandpotsthatcanbeusedaregiveninTable1below.

Table1 Numbersofmanagedfisherieslicences(MFLs)andpotsbyZonefortheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery.

Zone MFLs Pots

A/B 300 27,509C 301 29,304Total 601 56,813

Commercialfisherylicencesarerenewedannually,afterlicenseeshavepaidtheannualaccessfee,whichwas$134perunitforthe2004/05season.FurtherdetailsofthecommercialfishingsectorareprovidedinFMPNo.192.

3.5.3.2aquacultureTheDepartmentofFisherieshasmadenoreferenceinFMPNo.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,MinisterialPolicyGuidelineNo.20madereferencetothequantityofpuerulusthatcouldbeharvestedinanyyear(maximumof300,000)andunderwhatauthority(Ministerialexemption).

ThereisnohistoryofaccesstowesternrocklobsterforacommercialaquacultureoperationinWA.Thepresentfocusofactivityisonresearchanddevelopment.TheAquacultureCouncilofWesternAustralia,initssubmissiontotheIFAAC,proposedthatallIFMfishstockallocationsneedtomakeprovisionforbothbroodandseedstock.

Asitmaybesometimebeforeaviablecommercialoperationisestablished,andthemostpromisingapproachisthroughthecollectionofpuerulus–atotallyprotectedfishundertheFRMA,theIFAAChaschosennottorecommendanallocationtotheaquaculturesector.Ifinthelongertermanaquacultureindustryemergesthatisbasedonharvestingwildanimals,thensomepolicydevelopmentwithinthecontextofIFMmayberequired.

note �:

TheIFAACnotesthathistoricallytherehasbeennoaccesstowesternrocklobsterforcommercialaquaculturepurposesandarrangementsforaccessarecontainedinMinisterialPolicyGuidelineNo.20(DepartmentofFisheries,2004).


InaccordancewithWAGovernmentPolicyparagraph5(iii),theIFAACisobligedtousethebestavailablecatchinformationandisdirectedthatuncertaintyinrelationtothatinformationshouldnotbeusedasareasonfordelayingorfailingtomakeadecision.

TheprincipalsourceofdatathattheIFAAChasusedinconsideringitsadviceonallocationsisFMPNo.192.ImportantadditionalinformationbecameavailabletotheIFAACafterthereleaseofFMPNo.192andisgivenintheDepartmentofFisheries’paperentitledBest Estimates of the Western Rock Lobster Recreational Catch(AppendixH).TheDepartmentofFisherieshasalsoprovidedestimatesoftherecreationalproportionofthecatch,givencertainassumptions,whicharedescribedinthepaperentitledLong-Term Growth Trends In Recreational Rock Lobster Catch (AppendixI).

4.1CustomaryTheDepartmentofFisheriesdidnotprovideanyspecificinformationastoCustomaryfishing(seesection3.5.1fordefinition)forwesternrocklobsterinFMPNo.192.TheNationalNativeTitleTribunalhashelpfullyprovidedtotheIFAACaresearchreportonIndigenousfisheriesonthewestandsouth-westcoasts(Wright,2005).AnappendixtothatreportcontainedreferencestoCustomaryfishinginthesouth-westofWesternAustralia.Exceptforonesingleandrelativelyrecentreference,therewasnospecificmentionofthetakeofwesternrocklobster.

TheIFAACthereforehasnospecificinformationavailabletoitatthisstageonthecatchofwesternrocklobsterbyCustomaryfishing.

4.2recreationalTherecreationalcatchofwesternrocklobsterisdescribedinFMPNo.192,mostlyintermsofthedataobtainedfromthemailsurveysthathavebeencarriedoutfrom1986/87.

Datawereavailablefrom1986/87to2003/04atthetimetheIFAACprepareditsdraftallocationreport.However,itwasstatedinFMPNo.192thatitwasbelievedthatamoreaccurateestimateoftherecreationalcatchwasprovidedbythephonediarysurveymethod,whichhadbeencarriedoutontwo

occasions–2000/01and2001/02–andrepeatedin2004/05.

AttherequestoftheIFAAC,on10May2005theExecutiveDirectoroftheDepartmentofFisheriesprovidedthecommitteewithapaperfromtheResearchDivision–Best Estimates of the Western Rock Lobster Recreational Catch(AppendixH).Thisresearchpaperindicatedthatthemailsurveyover-estimatedtherecreationalcatchbyafactorof1.90.

Itisarguedthatthisover-estimationofthecatchinthemailsurveyresultsfromacombinationofrecallandnon-responsebias.

TheDepartmentofFisheries’positionisthat:

“… 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.”

TheDepartmentprovidedtheIFAACwiththeresultsofthe2004/05recreationalcatchsurveysinJanuary2006(seeAppendixJ).Unexpectedly,theadjustmentfactorfromthemailtothephonerecallsurveyfor2004/05wasestimatedtobe3.6,givinganadjustmentfactorof2.23whencombinedwiththefactorestimatesfrom2000/01and2001/02.

Therecreationalcatchestimatewaslowerthanexpected,duetoalowerthanexpectedparticipationrateandfewerthanexpecteddaysfishedbyparticipantsinthephonediarysurvey.

Giventheresultsfromthe2004/05phonediarysurvey,theDepartmentformedtheviewthatthe1.9adjustmentfactorshouldcontinuetobeusedasaninterimarrangementtoestimatetherecreationalcatchfromthemailsurveyestimateuntilmorereliableestimatesoftherecreationalcatchwereavailable.TheDepartmentaddedthatatleastanotherfiveyearsofcomparisonswouldberequiredtoobtainareliableestimateoftheadjustmentfactor.

Further,theDepartmentadvisedinitssubmissionontheDraftAllocationReport(availablefromtheDepartmentofFisheries–seereference2006a)thattheinitialallocationshouldbebasedontheimproveddatagatheredin2006/07,2007/08and2008/09toestimatethecatchsharesforthe2009/10season.

4 CaTCHINformaTIoN


ForadiscussionoftheimplicationsoftheDepartment’sadviceregardingtheadjustmentfactorpleaseseesection3.3.1(ofthisdocument)thatdiscussesdatauncertainty.

Theestimatesoftherecreationalcatchbyzonefrom1996/97to2003/04usingtheadjusteddatabasedonthe1.9adjustmentfactoraregiveninTable2.

Table2 Recreationalcatchestimatesintonnes,fromeachzonewithintheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFisheryfrom1996/97to2003/04.

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.

4.3CommercialThecommercialcatchinformationisgiveninFMPNo.192.Thesourcesofdataforthecommercialfisheryarestatutorymonthlyreturnsthatarevalidatedagainstvoluntarydailylogbooks(filledoutbyaroundathirdofthefleet)andinformationprovidedbyrocklobsterprocessors.Thecommercialcatchbyzonefortheperiodsince1997/98isprovidedinTable3overthepage(source:FMPNo.192,Table4,p.527).

7 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,fromeachzonewithintheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFisheryfrom1997/98to2003/04.

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

4.4CatchsharesAnindicationofthelong-termtrendintherecreationalandcommercialcatchesofwesternrocklobsterisillustratedinFigure2.Thetrendsareshownbyafive-yearmovingaveragecatchusingthedataavailablefrom1986/87,usedbytheDepartmentinestimatingcatchproportions(seeAppendixI).

Figure2illustratesthattherehasbeenalong-termincreaseinthecatchofbothsectors.Althoughtherehasbeenatrendforthepercentageofthecatchtakenbytherecreationalsectortoincreaseovertime,therehasalsobeenatrendforthecatchofthecommercialsectortoincreasebyagreateramountthanthatoftherecreationalsector.

Table4providesdataontherecreationalcatchasaproportionofthetotalcatchfortheperiodfrom1996/97–2000/01(fulldataisprovidedinAppendixH).

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)forallzoneshasrangedbetween1.5percentand2.6percent,withanaverageof2.3percent(Table4).

Forthethreeseasonsthatdataisavailablesince2000/01,therecreationalproportionofthecatchhasincreasedtobetween3.1percentand3.9percentofthetotalcatch.

Figure2 Long-term trends in the catch taken by the commercial and recreational sectors.

Western Rock Lobster Five-Year Rolling Average Catch by Sector

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04

Year

Commercial Five-Year Average Catch

Recreational Five-Year Average Catch

Cat

ch ‘0

00 t


Therecreationalproportionofthecatchispredictedtodeclinefrom3.5percentto2.6percentovertheperiod2004/05to2006/07(AppendixH)becausetherecreationalproportionofthecatchdeclinesinyearsoflowerstockavailability(source:FMPNo.192,p.64).

RecreationalfishersinZoneCtakeahigherproportionofthetotalcatchthaninZonesA/Bcombined.Onaverage,overtheperiod1996/97to2000/01recreationalfisherstook3.6percentofthecatchinZoneC,comparedwith0.9percentinZonesA/B.Thisistobeexpected,giventhatthemajorityofthepopulationlivesinthePerthmetropolitanarea(withinZoneC).

Therecreationalproportionofthecatchispredictedtodeclinefrom5.4percentto4.7percentinZoneCovertheperiod2004/05to2006/07(AppendixH),butitisexpectedtoberelativelystableatbetween0.9percentand1.0percentinZonesA/B.

TheIFAACnotesthatmostoftherecreationalfishingactivityforwesternrocklobsterisinwatersshallowerthan18metres.Incorporatingthecorrectionfactorforthephonediarymethod,therecreationalcatchhasbeenestimatedtobeapproximately13percent8ofthecommercialcatchinthePerthmetropolitanandRottnestIslandareas,increasingto37percent9ofthecommercialcatchinwatersshallowerthan18metres(FMPNo.192,p.59).

8 The figure was reported as 25 per cent in FMP No. 192 - the IFAAC applied the adjustment factor of 1.9 from Appendix H to arrive at the 13 per cent estimate.9 The figure was reported as 70 per cent in FMP No. 192 - the IFAAC applied the adjustment factor of 1.9 from Appendix H to arrive at the 37 per cent estimate.


Indeterminingitsrecommendationsontheallocations,theIFAACwasmindfulthatitsrecommendationsarebeingmadeforthepurposesoutlinedinsection3.1andnotforsustainabilitypurposes,thelaterforwhichtheMinisterforFisheriesandtheExecutiveDirectorhaveresponsibilityundertheFish Resources Management Act 1994(FRMA).

Asaprecursortoprovidingitsadviceontheactualallocations,theIFAACconsideredthatitneededtoresolvethefollowingkeyissues:

• thespatialscaleofallocationsatthemacrolevel(i.e.shouldtheallocationsbebymajorregions-northandsouth-orovertheentirefishery?);

• whetherthereshouldtherebesmallerscalespatialand/ortemporalallocations;and

• theintroductionofare-allocationmechanism.

Eachkeyissueisdiscussedbelow.

5.1allocationsatthemacrolevelA‘whole-of-fishery’allocationversusanallocationfortworegions(northandsouth)wasamajorconsiderationfortheIFAACthatrequiredresolutionpriortomovingforwardtoconsidertheactualallocations.

5.1.1 BackgroundCurrently,thecommercialfisheryisdividedintothreezonesformanagementpurposes:ZonesAandB(inthenorth)andC(inthesouth).Commercialfishingentitlementsarefixedforeachzone.

Untilrecentlythesamemanagementruleshaveappliedtoallthreezones,apartfromafewexceptionssuchasthemaximumsizeruleforwesternrocklobsters(105mminthenorthand110mminthesouth).

Themanagementarrangementshavechangedrecently,withtheintroductionofcommercialmanagementpackagesaimedatreducingfishingeffortforsustainabilityreasonsbyabout15percentinthenorthandfivepercentinthesouth.Thesemanagementchangesrepresentasignificantshift

inmanagementdirection–movingfromawhole-of-fisherybasistomanagementonazonalbasis.

Therecreationalfisheryforwesternrocklobsterisnotmanagedbyzone,withthesamerecreationalrulesapplyingacrossthewholeofthefisherywiththeexceptionmentionedaboveofthemaximumsizerule.Therecreationalsectorwasnotrequiredtoreduceitsfishingeffortwhentherecentreductionstothecommercialsector’sfishingeffortwereintroduced.

Ofthetotalrecreationalcatch(acrossthewholeWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery)usingthe2003/04catchestimates(Table2,section4.2),14percentistakeninthenorthand86percentistakeninthesouth.

ItcouldbeexpectedthatwithagrowingpopulationinthePerthmetropolitanarea,theproportionoftherecreational‘take’inthesouthwillbegreaterthan86percentinthefuture.ThemetropolitancoastfromMandurahtoTwoRockswouldappeartobestrepresentthemajorwesternrocklobsterrecreationalfishery.

TheestablishmentofaPerthmetropolitanzone,whichwouldsuittheneedsoftherecreationalsector,wasconsideredandrejectedbecausetherewasalackofinformationtodeterminethepotentialimpacts.

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

Underanoverallwhole-of-fisheryoption,thecommercialsectorwouldcontinuetobemanagedonazonalbasiswhiletherecreationalsectorwouldbemanagedonwhole-of-fisherybasis.Thisarrangementwouldnotprecludedifferentmanagementarrangementsapplyingbetweencommercialfishingzonesfortherecreationalsectorasitdoesnow(e.g.thedifferingmaximumsize),butthecatchtakenbyeachsectorshouldbemanagedtotheoverallallocation.Someconsiderationwouldneedtobegiventotheimpacttheproposedmanagementchangescouldhaveoncatchshares.

5 KEyaLLoCaTIoNIssuEs


Underthecatchshares-by-regionoption,thecommercialandrecreationalsectorwouldbeallocateddifferentproportionsinthenorthernregion(ZonesA/B)andthesouthernregion(ZoneC)oftheWestCoastRockLobsterManagedFishery.

5.1.2 DiscussionInmovingtoamorecomplicatedmanagementmodel(tworegions)forrecreationalfishing,theIFAACneededtobeconvincedthattheadvantagesweresufficienttooutweighthedisadvantages.Adiscussionoftheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofthetwoapproachesandotherrelevantmattersonthisissueareprovidedbelow.

Someoftheadvantagesofallocationsbytworegionswerethatit:

• limitstheimpactthatmanagementactioninoneregionwouldhaveonrecreationalfishersintheotherregion;

• ismorelikelytofacilitatethedevelopmentandimplementationofre-allocationmechanismsovertime;and

• complementsthedraftdecisionrulesframeworkforthefishery,whichrelatestomanagingthebreedingstockaboveacertainlevelineachzone.

Someofthedisadvantagesofallocationsbytworegionswere:

• Inthelongterm,recreationallicensingmaybecomemorecomplicated(e.g.differentbaglimitsandfishingperiodsmayapplytodifferentzones).

• Thecostofestimatingtherecreationalcatchwouldincreasesubstantiallyifapreciseestimateoftherecreationalcatchwasrequiredforthenorthernregion.

• Theadditionofnewlayersofcomplexityinmanagementandcompliancethatcurrentlydonotexistintherecreationalsector.

TheIFAACalsotookintoaccountthefollowingfactors:

• Therewassupportforatwo-regionmodelfromthecommercialsector,butmixedviewsfromtherecreationalsector.TheDepartmentofFisheriessupportedasingleregionapproach(DepartmentofFisheries2006a).

• Awhole-of-fisheryallocationprovidestheflexibilitytochangetoregionalallocationsinthefutureifnecessary.

Anadvantagethatatwo-regionallocationmayhaveoverawhole-of-fisheryallocationwhenamarketmechanismforre-allocationisimplementedisthatthetradeswouldberestrictedtotheentitlementheldwithintheappropriateregion.TheIFAACconsideredthisissueandformedaviewthat,onbalance,awhole-of-fisheryallocationapproachwouldbepreferable,withtheprovisothatthetradingofallocationsfortherecreationalsectorresultedin:

• tangibleanddirectbenefitsintheareasofgreatestconcernandalinkedmechanismforspatialtrade-offagainstpurchases;and

• trade-offsthatdealtwiththesignificantareasofresourcesharingconflicts.

Inpractice,iftherecreationalsectorwasnegotiatingoveratradewiththecommercialsectoritwouldbeunlikelytoagreetoatradeunlessitcouldbeassuredthatthebenefitsofatransactionwouldflowtoitssector.

Insummary,theIFAACresolvedtorecommendanallocationovertheentirefishery,giventhe:

• benefitsofatwo-regionmodelwerenotconsideredtobesufficientlysignificantatthisstage;

• provisothattherecreationalsectorrealisesthedirectbenefitsofanytradingofallocations;and

• flexibilitytochangetoregionalallocationsinthefutureremainedanoptionunderanallocationovertheentirefishery.

TheIFAACacknowledgesthatneitherawhole-of-fisheryallocationoranallocationbyregionadequatelyaddressestheissuesoftemporalandspatialcompetitionatalocallevel.

Recommendation 2

That the allocations should be over the total area of the West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery.


5.2smallerscalespatialand/ortemporalallocations

Underitstermsofreference,theIFAACisrequiredto,amongotherthings,provideadviceonstrategiestoovercomeallocationandaccessissuesarisingfromtemporalandspatialcompetitionforfishatalocal/regionallevel(seesection3.1.4).

TheIFAAChasbeenadvisedbymajorstakeholdersthattheissueofspatialandtemporalcompetitioninZoneCforinshore‘white’lobstersduringNovember/Januaryisamajorresource-sharingconflict.Recfishwestprovidedthefollowingdescriptionoftheissue:

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

“…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.”

TheWesternRockLobsterCouncil(WRLC)identified:

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

Oneobviousstrategytoovercomecompetitionorthistypeofresource-sharingissueistousespatialandtemporalclosurestoeliminatetheconflict,giventhatvirtuallyallrecreationallobsterfishingiscarriedoutinonlyasmallpartoftheareafishedbythecommercialindustryandinrelativelyshortperiodsoftime.

Recreationallobsterfishingiscarriedoutinwaterlessthan18metresdeepandisconcentratedonthePerthmetropolitancoast,withsomemuchsmallerconcentrationsofactivityoccurringatJurienBayandGeraldton(Fig.18,FMPNo.192,p61).

Ifrecreationalfisherscontinuetooperateinasmallpartofthefishedarea,theycanbeexpectedtoincreasinglycompetewithoneanothersothatevenoveralongperiodtherecreationalcatchislikelytoplateau.

Giventheveryseasonalnatureandlimitedareaofrecreationalfishingforrocklobsters,itmaybepossibletointroducespatialclosuresforlimitedperiodsoftime.Thisapproachmayrequiretherecreationalsectortointroduceothermanagement

measurestorestricttheirfishingeffortifitprovedthattheywereexceedingtheirallocation.

TheDepartmentofFisheries’adviceisthatspatialandtemporalsolutionswouldbecostlytoimplementfromacomplianceviewpoint,giventhatcommercialwesternrocklobsterfishingvesselscurrentlyarenotrequiredtohaveaVesselMonitoringSystem(VMS)installedandgenerallythereisalackofglobalpositioningsystem(GPS)devicesonrecreationalfishingvessels.TheIFAACalsonotedthattherehasnotbeenathoroughanalysisofthemanagementimplicationsandcompliancecostsforaclosuresofthiskind.

Giventheadvicefromstakeholdergroupsonthesourceofconflictandthesubmissionsfromtherecreationalsectoronproposalstocreaterecreationalpriorityfishingareas,theIFAAChasformedaviewthatagenuineresourcesharingconflictdoesexistinsomeinshoreareasofZoneC,intheNovembertoJanuaryperiod.TheIFAACbelievestheremaybemeritinsupportingrecreationalfishingpriorityareascreatedbyspatialortemporalexclusionsofcommercialfishers.However,FMPNo.192doesnotprovidesufficientinformationtoassesstheimpactofintroducingtheseclosures.

TheIFAACbelievesthatoncethecommercialandrecreationalsectorsareassuredoftheirsharesoftheresource,thereisamuchbetterchanceofresolvingconflictssuchasoverthe“whitesrun”throughnegotiation.

Giventheimportanceofthisissueandthatthereisnotcurrentlyasuitableinter-sectoralforumforrecreationalandcommercialfishers(seealsoRecommendation9),theIFAACbelievesthatitshouldprovideadviceontheprocessandtimeframesfornegotiations.Accordingly,theIFAACrecommendstheestablishmentofaconsultativecommitteetoreporttoit,within12monthsofitsfirstmeeting,onitsrecommendationsforaddressingresourcesharingconflictsbyusingspatialandtemporalarrangements.TheproposedtermsofreferenceandmembershipofthecommitteearecontainedinAppendixK.

TheIFAAC,afterconsiderationofthereportfromtheproposedconsultativecommittee,willmakearecommendationtotheMinisteronhowtoaddressthisresourceaccessconflictthroughspatialandtemporalseparationofthesectors.


Recommendation 3

That a consultative committee be formed to discuss and negotiate solutions to inter-sectoral conflict issues, such as spatial and temporal separation. The committee should provide a report to the IFAAC on its recommendations within 12 months of its first meeting.

note 6:

TheIFAACwillmakearecommendationtotheMinisteroninshoreresourcesharingissuesfollowingreceiptoftheconsultativecommittee’sreport.

5.3re-allocationTheestablishmentofare-allocationmechanismisintegraltotheimplementationofIFMandtotheachievementofoptimalbenefitstotheWesternAustraliancommunity.Are-allocationmechanismisnecessarybecause,overtime,optimalallocationswillvary.Intheabsenceofare-allocationmechanismunderparagraph18oftheWAGovernment’spolicyonIFM,sectorswouldberequiredtobemanagedwithintheirallocatedcatchshares.

TheIFMGovernmentPolicy(paragraph16,AppendixA)statesthat:

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

There-allocationmechanismisreferredtointheIFAAC’sAdditionalGuidingPrinciples5and6,whicharereproducedbelowforconvenience:

“5. That until there are re-allocation mechanisms, the IFAAC should be cautious in making recommendations that would have the effect of immediately and significantly impacting on a sector (principle 5).

6. Re-allocation mechanisms should be developed within a specified timeframe, which based on stakeholder comments should be set at not more than five years for western rock lobster (principle 6).”

Amarket-basedmechanismhasapplicationintheWesternRockLobsterFisherybecausethereisalreadyanestablishedmarketforthesaleorleasingofcatchingrightsinthefishery.Anothercharacteristic

oftherocklobsterfishery,whichmakesitapossiblecandidateforamarket-basedsystem,isthattherecreationalsectoralreadyhasaformallicensesysteminplace,whichwouldenablecontributionstobecollectedtowardsanappropriatefund.

Forexample,thewaysuchasystemcouldworkisthatifafterallocationsareimplementedtherecreationalsectorhadexceededitsIFMallocation,thentheGovernmentonbehalfoftherecreationalsectorcouldgointothemarketandtradeforcommercialpotentitlementsequivalenttowhatwasrequiredtoallowforadditionalrecreationalcatchshare.Thesystemwouldworkinreverseifthecommercialsectorexceededitsallocationofthecatchshare.

Therecreationalsectorintheirsubmissionsraisedsignificantobjectiontomeetingthetotalcostofpurchasingadditionalsharesoftherocklobsterresourcethatwererequiredonlybyanincreaseintherecreationalfishingpopulation.

TheDepartmenthasinformedtheIFAACthatare-allocationmechanismcouldbeintroducedby2009/10,whichiswithinthefive-yearperiodspecifiedbyIFAACinitsguidingprinciples.

Toensurethatare-allocationmechanismisintroducedwithinthistimeframe,theIFAACwillbecooperatingwiththeDepartmentofFisheriestodevelop,asamatterofpriority,are-allocationmechanismforconsiderationbytheMinister.

Recommendation 4

That a re-allocation mechanism be developed and ready for implementation for the western rock lobster resource by 2009/2010.

InteGRAteD FIsHeRIes MAnAGeMent ALLoCAtIon RePoRt2�

6.1CustomaryTheIFAAChastakenapragmaticapproachtodeterminingtheallocationforCustomaryfishing,giventheadvicefromtheMinisterforFisheries(AppendixF)andthepolicyof,ononehand,makingapriorityallocationand,ontheother,thelackofdataavailableontheCustomaryfishingforwesternrocklobster.

TheDepartmentofFisherieshasestimatedtheproportionofIndigenouspeoplethatresideincoastalareasbetweenKalbarriandAugustatobeabout1.7percentofthetotalcoastalpopulation.AssumingthattheIndigenouspopulationparticipatesinrecreationalfishingatthesamerateasthenon-Indigenouspopulation,thetakebyIndigenouspeoplewouldbeequivalenttoabout1.7percentoftherecreationaltake.

Partofthis1.7percentwouldbeattributedtorecreationalfishingbyAboriginalpeople,whilepartwouldbeattributedtoCustomaryfishingbyAboriginalpeople.Thepartofthe1.7percentattributedtoCustomaryfishingbyAboriginalpeopleisestimatedbytheDepartmentofFisheriestobeapproximately10percent,basedondepartmentalofficers’discussionswithstakeholders.Inotherwords,itisassumedthat10percentofrocklobsterfishingbyAboriginalpeopleisforCustomarypurposes,whiletheother90percentisforrecreationalpurposes.

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

TheIFAACbelievesthatnotwithstandingGuidingPrincipleix(seesection3.1.3),asthisisaverysmallpercentageofthewesternrocklobstercatch,thecommitteeshouldadoptapragmaticapproachtosettingtheallocationforCustomaryfishing,inaccordancewiththeIFAAC’sAdditionalGuidingPrinciple1(seesection3.3).

TheprinciplethattheIFAAChasadoptedtodealwiththismatteristomakeallocationsasaquantityof(the)catchwherethetakeislessthan0.1percentoftheproportionofthetotalcatch.Inthiscase,asthecatchfluctuatesconsiderablyforwesternrocklobster,theaveragecatchoverthelast10yearsof11,500

tonneswasconsideredtobeappropriatetouseasabasistocalculatetheCustomaryallocation.

Usingthismethod,anallocationofonetonne(0.0085percentof11,500tonnes)wouldbetheinitialpriorityCustomaryallocationfortheIndigenoussector.ThiswillbesubjecttoreviewifmoreinformationbecomesavailableonCustomaryfishingbyIndigenouspeople.

Intheabsenceofbetterevidence,theIFAACconsidersthiswouldbeareasonablestartingpointforaninitialallocationforCustomarypurposesforwesternrocklobster.TheIFAACacknowledgesthatotherspeciesmaybeattributedadifferentproportionforCustomaryfishing.Inmakingajudgmentaboutthisproportion,inthiscasetheIFAAC’sfocuswasonestablishinganallocationinthefirstinstance,whichcouldbevalidatedovertimeandreadjustedifnecessary.

ItisimportanttonotethatastheCustomaryfishingallocation(asrecommended)isaseparateandverysmallallocationthatiscurrentlyunreported,itwillhavenosubstantiveimpactontheinitialallocationsofthewesternrocklobsterresourcetothecommercialandrecreationalfishingsectors.

note 7:

TheIFAAChasadoptedtheapproachofspecifyingtheallocationbyquantityratherthanasaproportionwhereasector’sallocationislessthan0.1percentofthetotalcatch.

note 8:

TheIFAACnotesthatintheeventthatimprovedestimatesoftherecreationalcatchresultinachangetothe4.9percentrecreationalallocationusedtoestimatetheCustomarytake,theremayneedtobeanadjustmenttotheallocationrecommendedforCustomaryfishing.

Recommendation 5

That the Customary fishing initial allocation should be one tonne.

6aLLoCaTIoNs


6.2recreationalandcommercialsectorsTheIFAACdetailedfouroptions10initsdraftallocationreportthatcouldbeusedtodeterminetheallocationsforthecommercialandrecreationalsectors.Thefouroptionswere:

Option 1: Allocations at the average proportion over the period 1997– 2001.

Option 2: Allocations at the average proportion of the last three seasons (status quo).

Option 3: Allocations at the proportion it is expected to be in 2009/10, allowing for growth in line with the long-term trend in recreational catch share.

Option 4: Allocations at a proportion which will allow for long-term growth in population and estimated growth in recreational activity.

Asummaryoftherecreationalproportionalallocationsthatwouldresultfromeachofthefouroptionsunderawhole-of-fisheryallocationisprovidedinTable5below.

Thesubmissionsreceivedonthedraftallocationreportprovidedamixedresponseontheirpreferredoption.RecreationalfishersalmostuniversallysupportedOption4.TheWesternRockLobsterCouncilstronglysupportedOption1,whilsttheZoneCProfessionalFishermen’sAssociationpreferredOption2.SomestakeholdersagreedwithOption3withprovisos.

TheIFAAChasconsideredthesubmissionsonthedraftallocationreportandprovidesthefollowingdiscussiononeachoftheoptionsandthemeritsofimplementingeachoptioninthecontextoftheWAGovernment’spolicyonIFMandtheIFAAC’sGuidingPrinciples.

6.2.1 option4Option4isbasedontheprinciplethattherecreationalsector’scatchproportionshouldcontinuetogrowuntilitreachesalimit.Recfishwestproposedthattherecreationalsectorbeallowedtogrowincrementallyuntilitreachesaproportionaltakeof

twiceitscurrent‘real’catchshareoritsprojectedcatchesafter20years,whicheveristhegreatest,toaccommodatethenaturalgrowthintherecreationalsector.

BasedonthelatestinformationoncatchesfromtheDepartmentofFisheries,anoverallallocationofeightpercentofthesustainableharvestlevelfortheresourcewouldbeequivalenttoabouttwicetherecreationalsector’scurrentcatchshare.

Recfishwestproposedthatshouldrecreationalcatchesnotmeettheselevels,thecommercialsectorwouldnotbeexpectedtopayacontributionforthe‘share’itwouldhavecaught.

TheRFAC,initssubmissiononthedraftallocationreport,hasnowproposedahigherinitialallocationof20percentforrecreationalfishersacrossthefishery.

Anumberofsubmissionsfromtherecreationalsectoronthedraftallocationreportsupportedtheprincipleofcontinuedgrowthintherecreationalsectoruptoacertainlimit.Thelimitsproposedvaried,butrangedupto20percent.

TheRecfishwestandRFACpropositionsandothersubmissionsfromtherecreationalsectorwould,ifadopted,amounttoasignificantchangetocatchsharescomparedwiththe1996/97-2000/01catchshares.

TheIFAACindevelopingitsadditionalguidingprinciple3–“Allocations should not have the effect of merely deferring a decision indefinitely”(section3.3)-wasmindfulthatanytargetneededtobearealisticandmeaningful,sothattheallocationswouldrepresentthelikelysectorshareswithinaspecifiedtimeframe(say,fiveyears).Ifthetargetwassettoohigh,oncurrentgrowthprojections,theimplementationofIFMwouldinfactbedeferredformanyyears.

TheGovernmentpolicyispredicatedondetermininganallocation,monitoringthetakeofthesectorsandmanagingeachsector’stakewithintheirallocationinsuchawaythatwillnotcompromisefuturesustainabilityofthefishery.Settingtheallocationfor

RecreationalSector’sProportionoftheCatch(%)Option1

(96/97–00/01)WAFIC&WRLC

Option2(01/02–03/04)

Option3(2009/10)

Option4Recfishwest(20years)

RFAC11

2.3 3.4 4.9 8 10-20

10 A detailed description of the four options is contained in the draft allocation report.11 RFAC in its initial submission proposed a 10 per cent proportional allocation, but in its submission on the draft allocation report proposed a 20 per cent

proportional allocation.

Table5 Therecreationalsector’swhole-of-fisheryproportionalallocationforeachallocationoptiondiscussedinthedraftallocationreport.


therecreationalsectorwellabovethecurrentlevelswouldbeinconsistentwithIFAAC’sguidingprinciple3andtheWAGovernment’sIFMpolicycommitmenttotheimplementationofanintegratedmanagementsystemforthesustainablemanagementofWesternAustralia’sfisheries.ThereforetheIFAACbelievesthatOption4shouldnotbeadoptedorrecommended.

6.2.2 options1and2TheIFAACbelievesthatstrictlyadheringtoimplementingparagraph19(i.e.Option1)oftheGovernmentPolicytodeterminetheallocationsistakinganarrowerviewthanthemorepragmaticapproachtheIFAACproposedtotheMinisterasappropriate.TheMinisterhasendorsedtheIFAACtakingabroaderviewtoconsideringallocations,asoutlinedinsection3.2.2.

OneoftheconsiderationsthattheIFAACbelievesisimportantistheprinciple(section3.3)ofendeavouringtoavoidrecommendationsthatmayhavetheeffectofimpactingonasectorbeforetheoptionofare-allocationmechanismbecomesavailable.

BothOptions1and2aresimilarinthattheycouldhaveanimmediateimpactonmanagementofasector,albeitthatOption1couldimpactontherecreationalsectorandOption2couldimpactonthecommercialsector,intheshortterm.

TheintroductionofOption1in2006/07mayrequireimmediatemanagementinterventionwellaheadofthedevelopmentandagreementbetweenthesectorsandGovernmentonare-allocationmechanismthatisproposedforintroductionin2009/10.Therecreationalsectormayberequiredtosignificantlyreduceitstake,giventhatgrowthinparticipationinrecreationalrocklobsterfishinghasresultedintherecreationalproportionofthecatchnowbeingestimatedtobesignificantlyhigher12thanduringthe1997–2001period.

Similarly,theintroductionofOption2in2006/07mayresult,intheshortterm,intheneedformanagementinterventiontoreducethecommercialsector’sfishingeffortbecauseitisexpectedtoexceeditsprojectedallocation.Inthemediumterm,itmayrequiremanagementoftherecreationalsectortoreduceitscatch.

Theimmediateintroductionofallocationswillnotallowsufficienttimefor“theimplementationofappropriatemanagementstructuresandprocesses”tomanagetherecreationalsectorwithinitsallocationandthe

developmentofdecisionsrules(seeRecommendation9andGovernmentPolicyparagraph5vii).

Onbalance,theIFAAC’sviewisthatadoptingOption1or2isinconsistentwiththeIFAAC’sguideline6.

6.2.3 option3Option3istheIFAAC’spreferredoption.

TheIFAAChasproposedproportionalallocationsfor2009/10asthisisthefirstyearinwhichare-allocationmechanismcouldbereasonablyexpectedtobeavailable.Thistimeframeiswithinthefive-yeartimeframespecifiedbytheIFAAC(seesection3.3,point6).

TheIFAACformedaviewthatOption3representsapragmaticandincrementalapproach,inaccordancewithGovernmentPolicyandtheadditionalguidingprinciplesadoptedbytheIFAAC(section3.3).

TheadoptionofOption3providesforanallocationthatwillbebindinginareasonabletimeframe,whileallowingatransitionperiodthatshouldnotsignificantlydisadvantageeithersectorandallowsfor:

• thedevelopmentandimplementationofare-allocationmechanism;

• theformationofaconsultativecommitteetodiscussandnegotiatesolutionstointer-sectoralconflictissues,suchasspatialandtemporalseparation(Recommendation3);and

• theestablishmentofsuitablegovernanceandinstitutionalarrangements(Recommendation9).

BasedontheanalysisprovidedbytheDepartmentofFisheries(AppendixI),theproportionoftherecreationalsector’scatchin2009/10wouldbe4.9percent.Fortheperiodupto2009/10,thecommercialfisheryshouldnotbedisadvantagedastherecreationalproportionofthetotalcatchispredictedtodecreaseforthenexttwoseasons.

Fortheperiodafter2009/10,thecommercialsector,althoughdisadvantagedtotheextentthattheproportionallocatedtoitislessthanitscatchshareovertheperiod1997–2001,hasanoffsettingbenefitarisingfromtheincreasedcertaintyandqualityoftheirrightsthroughtheproperimplementationofIFM.

Therecommendedarrangementsarebasedonallowingareasonabletimeforimplementationofanappropriatemarket-basedre-allocationsystem(2009/10).Itshouldbenotedthatintheabsence

12 3.0 per cent in 2004/05 compared with 2.3 per cent over the period 1997-2001.


ofactionbeingtakenforre-allocationunderamarketmechanism,theneachsectorwouldbeexpectedtobemanagedwithinitscatchshareinaccordancewithGuidingPrinciplevii(seesection3.1.3).

Insummary,althoughtherecreationalsectorwillhavetheirtotalcatchexplicitlyrestrictedforthefirsttime,theywillnotsufferanyimmediatemanagementconsequencesandtherewouldbeamechanismforincreasingtheirshareconsistentwithIFMthroughamechanismtobedevelopedby2009/10.

Inrelationtothecommercialsector,theyalsoshouldnotsuffermanagementconsequencesasaresultoftheallocationrecommendationuntil2009/10attheearliest.Inaddition,althoughthereisadifferencebetweenrelativecatchsharesin1997–2001tothatprojectedin2009/10,thereisanoffsettingbenefittothecommercialsectorfromimprovedcertainty,includingtheirshareoftheresourcearisingfromtherestrictionplacedongrowthoftherecreationalcatchbytheimplementationofIFM.

Outofthefouroptionspresentedinthedraftallocationreport,theIFAACbelievesthat,onbalance,Option3is,asdiscussedabove,morecloselyalignedtoGovernmentpolicyandtotheIFAAC’sguidingprinciplesthantheotheroptions.

Recommendation 6

That the recreational and commercial sector’s allocations should be made on the predicted proportional catch shares in 2009/10 ( that is 4.9 per cent and 95.1 per cent respectively).

6.3Decisionrulespriorto2009/10TheIFAACnotesthatmanagementarrangementsmustprovideuserswiththeopportunitytoaccesstheirallocation(GuidingPrinciple,x-seesection3.1.3)andthesearrangementsshouldbeintroducedtomanageeachusergroupwithintheirprescribedallocation(GuidingPrinciplevii,seesection3.1.3).

Until2009/10,theExecutiveDirectoroftheDepartmentofFisheriesshouldmanagethesectorsaccordingtobroadIFMprinciples,inparticulartoparagraph18oftheWAGovernment’spolicyonIFM.

Providedusershavetheopportunitytoaccesstheirallocationpriorto2009/10,theIFAACdoesnotexpectthatsectorsshouldberequiredtobemanagedtotherecommendedlevelspriorto2009/10,subjecttothetotaltakenotimpactingonthesustainabilityofthestock.

Thismaymeanthatthecommercialsectorwilltakegreaterthan95.1percentofthetotalcatch,inlinewiththeDepartmentofFisheries’predictionthattherecreationalproportionofthecatchwilldeclineoverthenexttwoseasons(AppendixH).ItistheIFAAC’sviewthatallowingthecommercialsectortotakegreaterthan95.1percentintheperiodupto2009/10wouldoffsettosomeextenttheimpactofsettingtheproportionatthepredictedlevelin2009/10.

Recommendation 7

That sectors should not be required to be managed to the recommended catch proportions prior to 2009/10, subject to the total take not impacting on the sustainability of the stock.


7.1monitoringallocationsThemainissuewithmonitoringallocationsisobtaininganaccurateestimateoftherecreationalcatch.ThemethodusedbytheDepartmentofFisheriesinvolvessurveyingrecreationalfisheriesbymailattheendoftheseasonandthenadjustingtheestimateobtainedusingtheresultsfromatelephonediarysurveyoffewerpeople.

TheIFAACrecognisesthatthelowerpercentageoftherocklobstercatchtakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedontheadjusteddata,maysurprisesomestakeholdersbecausetheinformationthathasbeenuseduntilveryrecently(March,2005)isfromtheunadjustedmailsurveyresults(seesection4.2).

Afewyearsago,themailsurveyresultswereactuallyadjustedupwardsinatleastsomepresentations,sothatevenhigherpercentageswouldhavebeenquotedattimes.Whenallocationsarebeingconsidered,theIFAACbelievesitisimportantthatstakeholdershaveclarityaboutthesematters.

Atthisstage,thetelephonediarysurveymethodisbelievedtoprovidethemostaccurateestimateoftherecreationalcatch.However,theIFAACacknowledgesthatmoreaccuratemethodsmaybedevelopedovertime.Shouldthisbethecase,theIFAACbelievesthestakeholdersshouldbeconsultedpriortotheadoptionofnewsurveytechniques.

TheDepartmentofFisherieshasadvisedtheIFAACthatitwillimprovetheestimatesoftherecreationalcatchbasedonthecurrentsurveymethodologyandimplementfieldvalidationtocheckforbiasoftheestimates.TheIFAACunderstandstheimportanceofhavingaccurateestimatesoftherecreationalcatchinordertomonitorcatchshares,andappreciatestheDepartmentofFisheriesundertakingtoimprovetherecreationalcatchestimates.

7.2managementofallocationsThetworelevantGovernmentprinciplesregardingmanagementofallocationsare:

GuidingPrinciplevii(seesection3.1.3)statesthat:

“Appropriate management structures should be introduced to manage each user group within

their prescribed allocation. These should include predetermined actions that are invoked if that group’s catch increases above its allocation.”

andGuidingPrinciplex(seesection3.1.3)statesthat:

“Management arrangements must provide users with the opportunity to access their allocation…”

TheIFAACacknowledgesthatundertheIFMGuidingPrinciples,ongoingmanagementofallocationsistheroleoftheMinisterandtheDepartmentofFisheries.However,stakeholdersintheirsubmissionsonallocationhaveemphasisedtheimportancetothemofclarityastofuturearrangements.

TheDepartmentofFisherieshasreferredtothedifficultyofmanagingallocationsonayear-to-yearbasis.Forexample,therecanbesignificantvariationsincatchsharesfromyear-to-year,duetochangingabundancefromrecruitmentorresultingfromtransientchangesinthespatialdistributionofeffortofthesectorsacrossthefishery.

TheDepartmenthasproposedthatallocationmanagementdecisionrulesbedevelopedbyexpandingthedecisionrulesframeworkthathasbeendevelopedforsustainabilityinthecommercialsector.Afive-yearmovingaveragehasbeenrecommendedastheperformanceindicatorforcatchshares,withaonepercent(oftheoverallsustainableharvestlevel)tolerancearoundthecatchshares.

TheIFAACinterpretsthistomeanthat,inanyoneyear,ifasector’scatchshareiswithinplusorminusonepercentofitsallocation,thentypicallyremedialactionwouldnotberequired.

TheIFAACgenerallyendorsestheDepartmentofFisheries’proposedapproach.Initsview,itwasneverintendedthatresourcere-allocationwouldoccurona‘realtime’basis,butthattheprocessesadoptedwoulddealwithtrendsintheutilisationoffishresourcesovertime,reflectinglong-termandenduringchangesnotshort-termfluctuations.Itisrecognisedthatitwillbeasignificantchallengetofindasetofprinciples/performanceindicatorsthatincorporatethebestandlatestinformationinrelationtoyear-to-yearvariationincatches,whilesettinginplacelonger-termdecisionrulesandadjustmentprocesses.

7 otHeR IssUes


AlthoughtheIFAACsupportstheuseofafive-yearmovingaverageandaonepercenttolerance,theIFAACalsorecommendsthatabroaderdecisionrulesframeworkformanagingallocationsbedevelopedinconsultationwithstakeholdersoverthenexttwoyears.Thisframeworkwillneedtobeoperationalby2009/10-theseasonthattheIFAAChasrecommendedallocationsbecomebinding.

Inmakingthisrecommendation,theIFAACnotesthatareliableestimateofcatchshareswillberequiredforeachseasoncommencingwiththe2005/06season,sothatbytheendofthe2009/10seasonarobustfive-yearmovingaverageisavailabletodecisionmakers.

Recommendation 8

That the Department of Fisheries be requested to develop, in consultation with stakeholders over the next two years, the decision rules framework for management of western rock lobster allocations. This framework will need to be operational by 2009/10 - the season in which the IFAAC has recommended allocations become binding.

note 9:

ThattheIFAACendorsesasastartingpointtheDepartmentofFisheries’proposedapproachtomanagingallocations,usingthefive-yearmovingaverageasaperformanceindicator.

7.3Governanceandinstitutionalarrangements

Initsdraftallocationreport,theIFAACrecommended(Recommendation2)that:

“the western rock lobster management advisory process be reformed so as to encourage all sectors (commercial, recreational and Indigenous) to discuss inter-sectoral issues … as well as resolving intra-sectoral management issues.”

TheneedtohaveappropriatemanagementstructuresinplacetotakeadvantageoftheopportunitiesthatIFMwillprovidetosectorsisgenerallysupportedbyallmajorstakeholders.

OneofthepositiveoutcomesexpectedtoflowfromthedeterminationofallocationsundertheIFMprocessisthateachsectorwilltakeagreaterresponsibilityformaximisingthebenefitfromtheirallocation.

Therecreationalsectorinparticularmayalsobeexpectedtobenefitfrommoredirectinvolvementinthemanagementofitsallocation.AppropriatestructuresalsoneedtobeinplaceinrelationtoCustomaryparticipation.

Theexistingmanagementstructuresarenotthemostappropriateforthesepurposesandthereisaneedtochangethecurrentinstitutionalarrangements.

TheDepartmentofFisherieshasproposedthatthereisaneedforabodytoprovideadviceonawhole-of-fisherybasistotheMinisterandhasproposedarestructureofRLIACanditsmembershipforthispurpose.Sectorsarealsoexpectedtotakemoreresponsibilityforprovidingadviceonthemanagementneedsoftheirparticularsector.

TheIFAACsupportsachangetotheinstitutionalarrangementsandhasprovidedapreliminaryviewbelowonthetypeofstructurethatcouldoperateunderanIFMframework.

TheIFAACproposestheestablishmentofa‘WesternRockLobsterManagementAdvisoryCommittee’(abodyproposedtoreplaceRLIAC).Thisbodywouldbesupportedbytwosectorsubcommittees-a‘WesternRockLobsterRecreationalAdvisorySubcommittee’(WRLRASC)anda‘WesternRockLobsterCommercialAdvisorySubcommittee’(WRLCASC).Thesectoradvisorysubcommitteeswouldberepresentative-basedandincluderepresentativesfrombodiessuchasRecfishwestandtheWesternRockLobsterCouncil.

Intheeventthatanissuerelatestoonesectoronly,theMinistermaychoosetoseekadvicedirectlyfromoneofthesubcommittees.Forexample,advicecouldbesoughtdirectlyfromtheWRLCASConcostrecoveryormarketing.

TheIFAACinsection6.3hasmadearecommendationonthemanagementofallocationsupto2009/10,butacknowledgesthatfurtherpolicydevelopmentisrequiredandthatthemanagementoftheallocationsbeyond2009/10requiresconsiderablepolicydevelopment.

MINISTER

WRLMINISTERIALADVISORYCOMMITTEE

WRLCASCWRLRASC

InteGRAteD FIsHeRIes MAnAGeMent ALLoCAtIon RePoRt�0

TheIFAACrecommendsthattheDepartmentofFisheries,inconsultationwithstakeholders,commencedevelopingthenecessaryinstitutionalandgovernancearrangementsthatwilldealeffectivelywiththeseimportantmattersassoonaspossible.

Recommendation 9

That the Executive Director of the Department of Fisheries be requested to develop, in consultation with stakeholders, the necessary institutional and governance arrangements to give effect to the Government’s IFM policies contained in Guiding Principles vii and x (see section 3.1.3).

7.4BroaderlegislativearrangementsTheWesternAustralianFishingIndustryCouncil(WAFIC),initsearliersubmissiontotheIFAAC,arguedthatincorporationofdecisionsaroundallocationsandpoliciesadoptedbyGovernmentthroughlegislationisextremelyimportant,asitdemonstratestothecommunitythattheGovernmentisseriousaboutthisinitiative.Further,theWAFICarguesthattheimplementationofallocationdecisionsinlegislationwillalsoprovideaddedsecurityandconfidencetosectorsabouttheiraccesstotheirshareoftheresourceandproposestheintroductionofaMinisterialPolicyGuideline.

ThisviewisconsistentwiththeIFMGovernmentPolicy(paragraph9,AppendixA),whichstatesthat:

“AllocationprocesseswillbedevelopedinthecontextofpolicyguidelinessetbytheMinister.Inthelongerterm,itmaybedesirabletoamendtheFRMAtoincorporateallocationprocesses”.

TheIFAACconsidersthatthisisamatterthatisalreadycoveredbytheWAGovernment’spolicyonIFM,whichwasreleasedin2004,andthetimingofthedevelopmentofaMinisterialPolicyGuidelineisamatterfortheMinisterforFisheries.

Recommendation 10

That the Department of Fisheries be requested to give consideration to the necessary legislative changes and timelines to give effect to the future management of fisheries under IFM.

8 rEfErENCEs

DepartmentofFisheries,2004,Assessment of Applications for Authorisations with Regards to Rock Lobster Aquaculture, MinisterialPolicyGuidelineNo.20,Perth,WesternAustralia,p.9.

DepartmentofFisheries,2005,Integrated Fisheries Management Report Western Rock Lobster Resource,FisheriesManagementPaperNo.192,Perth,WesternAustralia,p.101.

DepartmentofFisheries,2006a,Submission to IFAAC on the Draft Allocation Report for the Western Rock Lobster Resource,[online],FisheriesOccasionalPaperNo.36,DepartmentofFisheries,http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/op/op036/index.php?0602,[Dateaccessed9June2006].

DepartmentofFisheries,2006b,A Social Assessment of Coastal Communities Hosting the Western Rock Lobster Fishing Fleet,FisheriesManagementPaperNo.211,Perth,WesternAustralia,p.73.

FisheriesWA,1998,Opportunities for the Holding/Fattening/Processing and Aquaculture of Western Rock Lobster (Panulirus cygnus),FisheriesManagementPaperNo.122,Perth,WesternAustralia,p.22.

NationalNativeTitleTribunal,2005,National Indigenous Fishing Technical Working Group,website:www.nntt.gov.au,AccessedJune,2005.

Wright,G,2005,An Overview of the Evidence for Indigenous Fisheries on the West and South Coasts of Western Australia,NationalNativeTitleTribunal,ResearchReport,p.11.

WesteRn RoCK LoBsteR ResoURCe �1

�2 InteGRAteD FIsHeRIes MAnAGeMent ALLoCAtIon RePoRt

APPenDICes

WesteRn RoCK LoBsteR ResoURCe ��

GeneRAL1. TheGovernmentiscommittedtothe

implementationofanintegratedmanagementsystemforthesustainablemanagementofWesternAustralia’sfisheries.

2. Theintegratedmanagementsystemwillbeopenandtransparent,accessibleandinclusiveandflexible.

InFoRMAtIon ReqUIReMents3. Thedevelopmentandfundingofanappropriate

researchandmonitoringprogramencompassingallusergroupsisessentialtoprovidethenecessaryinformationforsustainabilityandallocationissuestobeaddressedunderanintegratedframework.Thisprogramwillbeprogressivelyphasedinoveranumberofyearsasmorefisheriesarebroughtundertheintegratedmanagementframework.

4. TheDepartmentofFisherieswill,inconsultationwithusergroups,investigateoptionsforstandardisingcatchinformationbetweensectors,notingthatthescalefordatacollectionandreportingmustbeappropriateforeachparticularfishery.

GUIDInG PRInCIPLes FoR MAnAGeMent5. Thefollowingprincipleswillbeadopted(by

incorporatingthemintoeitherlegislation,MinisterialPolicyGuidelinesorpolicyasappropriate)asthebasisforintegratedfisheriesmanagement.

i) FishresourcesareacommonpropertyresourcemanagedbytheGovernmentforthebenefitofpresentandfuturegenerations.

ii) Sustainabilityisparamountandecologicalrequirementsmustbeconsideredinthedeterminationofappropriateharvestlevels.

iii) Decisionsmustbemadeonbestavailableinformationandwherethisinformationis

��

uncertain,unreliable,inadequateornotavailable,aprecautionaryapproachwillbeadoptedtomanagerisktofishstocks,marinecommunitiesandtheenvironment.

Theabsenceof,oranyuncertaintyin,informationshouldnotbeusedasareasonfordelayingorfailingtomakeadecision.

iv) Aharvestlevelthatincorporatestotalmortalityshouldbesetforeachfishery1andtheallocationdesignatedfortheusebyeachgroupshouldbemadeexplicit.

v) Allocationstousergroupsshouldaccountforthetotalmortalityonfishresourcesresultingfromtheactivitiesofeachgroup,includingbycatchandmortalityofreleasedfish.

vi) Thetotalharvestacrossallusergroupsshouldnotexceedtheprescribedharvestlevel.Ifthisoccurs,stepsconsistentwiththeimpactsofeachusergroupshouldbetakentoreducethetaketoalevelthatdoesnotcompromisefuturesustainability.

vii) Appropriatemanagementstructuresandprocessesshouldbeintroducedtomanageeachusergroupwithintheirprescribedallocation.Theseshouldincorporatepredeterminedactionsthatareinvokedifthatgroup’scatchincreasesaboveitsallocation.

viii) AllocationdecisionsshouldaimtoachievetheoptimalbenefittotheWesternAustraliancommunityfromtheuseoffishstocksandtakeaccountofeconomicsocial,culturalandenvironmentalfactors.Realistically,thiswilltaketimetoachieveandtheimplementationoftheseobjectivesislikelytobeincrementalovertime.

ix) Allocationstousergroupsshouldgenerallybemadeonaproportionalbasistoaccountfornaturalvariationsinfishpopulations.

Thisgeneralprincipleshouldnot,however,precludealternativearrangementsina

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.

aPPENDIXa

INTEGraTEDfIsHErIEsmaNaGEmENT–GovErNmENTPoLICy1oCToBEr2004

�� InteGRAteD FIsHeRIes MAnAGeMent ALLoCAtIon RePoRt

fisherywherepriorityaccessforaparticularusergroup(s)maybedetermined.Itshouldremainopentogovernmentpolicytodeterminethepriorityuseoffishresourceswherethereisaclearcasetodoso.

x) Managementarrangementsmustprovideuserswiththeopportunitytoaccesstheirallocation.Thereshouldbealimitedcapacityfortransferringallocationsunutilisedbyasectorforthatsector’suseinfutureyears,providedtheoutcomedoesnotaffectresourcesustainability.

Morespecificprinciplestoprovidefurtherguidancearoundallocationdecisionsmayalsobeestablishedforindividualfisheries.

sUstAInABLe HARvest LeveLs6. Asustainabilityreportwillbepreparedforeach

fisheryinaccordancewiththe‘Policy for the implementation of ecologically sustainable development for fisheries and aquaculture in Western Australia’.

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. Whereare-allocationofresourcesfromone

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

15. Casesforcompensationshouldbeassessedontheirmerits.

16. Prioritywillbegiventoinvestigatingthepotentialdevelopmentofmarket-basedsystemstoachievere-allocations,alongwithdueconsiderationofsocialequityconsiderations,assoonaspractical.Clearly,considerationofanymarket-basedsystemwillbebasedonitsmerit.

17. Nocompensationshouldbepayablewhereadjustmentsaremadeforsustainabilityreasons.


eFFeCtIve seCtoRAL MAnAGeMent18. TheGovernmentiscommittedtointroducing

moreeffectivemanagementacrossallfisheries.Theimplementationofmoreeffectivesectoralarrangementsinwhichthecatchofasectorcanbecontainedisanessentialfirststepintheintroductionofanewintegratedmanagementsystemwithinwhichallocationissuesmaybeaddressed.Intheinterim,eachsectorwillcontinuetobemanagedresponsiblywithincurrentcatchrangesandshouldthecatchofasectoralterdisproportionatelytothatofothersectors,theMinisterwilltakeappropriatemanagementactiontoaddressthis.

19. Itisimportanttoformaliseexistingsharesasabasisforfutureallocationsdiscussions.Thesewillbeformalisedonthebasisofproportionalcatchsharesusingthebestavailableinformationduringthefive-yearperiodfrom1997to2001.

20. RecreationalfishingplansfortheWestCoastandGascoyneregionswillbeimplementedwitheffectfrom1October2003toprovideamoreeffectiveframeworkformanagingrecreationalfisheries.AreviewoftheNorthandSouthCoastregionsisalsounderway.

21. Areviewofthecommercialwetlinefisheryhascommenced.Managementoutcomesmustinvolvetheremovalofexcessfishingcapacityfromthefisheryandtheestablishmentofadedicatedcommercialfisherywithclearentrycriteriaandanappropriatelimitoncatchineachbioregion.

FUnDInG22. Theinitiativecanbecommencedwithin

the2004/05budget;howeverresourcingrequirementswillincreaseasmorefisheriesarebroughtunderaintegratedframework.FuturefundingwillbeconsideredthroughtheGovernmentbudgetprocess.

23. TheGovernmentwillconsiderseekinggreatercontributionsfromallusersovertimecorrespondingtogrowingcertainty/securityoveraccessasallocationmodelsareimplementedineachfishery.


TheDepartment,indevelopingthesereports,willconsultwiththekeystakeholdergroups.TheIFMreportwillbeapprovedbytheExecutiveDirector,DepartmentofFisheriesandwillincludeaclearstatementofthesustainableharvestlevel.

C. tHe InteGRAteD FIsHeRIes ALLoCAtIon PRoCess.

step 1 – Investigation of the allocation issueIFAACwillreceivetheIFMReportandthenconductpreliminaryinvestigationsintotheallocationissueby:

• seekingsubmissionsandconsultingwiththepeakstakeholdergroupssuchtheWesternAustralianFishingIndustryCouncil,Recfishwest,ConservationCouncilofWesternAustraliaandbodiesrepresentingIndigenousinterests;

• drawingontheknowledge,data,technicalmaterialandexperienceavailablewithregardtotheparticularfisherybothfromtheDepartmentofFisheriesandasappropriatefromothersources;and

• 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,aswellasthoseinthewidercommunitywhomayhaveaspecificinterestinthisfisherytoprovideadditional‘input’.Dependingonthecircumstancesoftheparticularfishery,IFAACmayholdoraskdepartmentalofficerstoundertakemeetingsin

IntRoDUCtIonGovernmentPolicy2004onIntegratedFisheriesManagement(IFM)statesthattheMinisterwilldeterminetheprocessandtimeframesforresolvingallocationineachfishery,basedontheadviceoftheIntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisoryCommittee(IFAAC).

A. DeteRMInInG tHe neeD FoR A FoRMAL

ALLoCAtIon PRoCess In A FIsHeRyTheMinisterforFisherieshasrequestedthatIFAACbeginwiththeWesternRockLobsterFishery,AbaloneFisheryandtheWestCoastDemersalFinfishFishery.

InthefuturetheIFAACwillconsultbroadlyastofisheriesthatshouldbeincludedintheIFMprocessandadvisetheMinisterforFisheriesaccordingly.

B. DeveLoPMent oF An InteGRAteD FIsHeRIes MAnAGeMent FIsHeRy RePoRt – DePARtMent oF FIsHeRIes

Thesettingofsustainableharvestlevelsisfundamentaltoensuresustainablemanagement.

AnIntegratedFisheriesManagementFisheryReportwillbepreparedbytheDepartmentofFisheriesforeachfisherythatistobesubjecttotheIFMprocess(IFMGovernmentPolicy,2004,paragraphs6&7).

Thereportswillcontaindetailssuchas:

• thecurrentmanagementpracticeswithinthefishery;

• historicalcatchlevelsorestimatesofcatchtakenbyeachsector;

• thebiologyofthefishspeciesinvolved;

• thesustainableharvestleveloftheresource;and

• otherrelevantdatasuchasregionalemployment,economicandsocial/lifestyleissues.

Inshort,thereportshouldbearobustsummaryofthefactsaboutthefishery.

APPenDIX BInteGRAteD FIsHeRIes ALLoCAtIon ADvIsoRy CoMMIttee ALLoCAtIon PRoCess


relevantmetropolitanandregionallocationstoenableindustry,recreationalfishersandcommunitymemberstocontributetheirviewstotheIFAACprocess.

Thecommentperiodwillbenormallyforaperiodofthreemonths.

step � – IFAAC recommends an allocation to the Minister for FisheriesOncethecommentperiodhasclosed,andIFAAChasconsideredthesubmissionsreceived,IFAACwillfinaliseitspositionandsubmitafinalallocationreporttotheMinister.

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, PARAGRAPH 16)

TheTooheyreportstatesthatthe‘Communityexpectationsanddemandsovertheuseoffishresourceswillchangeovertimesoanintegratedframeworkmustallowforadjustmentsinallocationstooccur,bothwithinandbetweensectors’.IFMGovernmentPolicyparagraph16statesthatprioritywillbegiventoinvestigatingthedevelopmentofamarket-basedsystemtoachievere-allocations,alongwithsocialequityconsiderations,assoonaspractical.

IFAACproposestoinvestigatepossiblemechanisms,consultwithstakeholdersonproposalsthroughapublicprocessandprovideadvicetotheMinisteronpreferredoptions.InformulatingitsrecommendationsIFAACwillhaveregardtoGovernmentPolicyParagraphs14to17.


APPenDIX CsTaKEHoLDErsuBmIssIoNsINsTEP1ofTHEIfaaCaLLoCaTIoNProCEssEs

AquacultureCouncilofWesternAustralia

Contact: MrDanMachin

Phone: 94928814

CharterBoatOwners&OperatorsAssociation

Contact: MrRickReid

Phone: 0418992383

DepartmentofFisheries

www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/op/op021/fop021.pdf

NationalNativeTitleTribunal

Contact: GuyWright

Phone: 92689700

Recfishwest

www.recfishwest.org.au/SubIFMLobsterFMP192.htm

RecreationalFishingAdvisoryCommittee

Contact: DougBathgate

Phone: 94827332

WAFishingIndustryCouncil

www.wafic.com.au/images/139-IFAAC_WRL_WAFIC_submission_12_May_2005.pdf

WesternRockLobsterCouncil

www.rocklobsterwa.com


Theconsultationprocessusedtodisseminateinformationonallocationsforwesternrocklobsterincluded:

• advertisingtheavailabilityofthereportandmeetingdatesandvenuesintheWest Australian andregionalnewspapersontwooccasions;

• givingpresentationsatcommercialindustrymeetingsinGeraldton,JurienBayandFremantle(averageattendanceof~100);

• mailingacopyofthereporttoallcommercialfisherieslicenseesandcommercialfishinginterests(~1,000);

• holdingpublicmeetingsforrecreationalfishersatBunbury,Mandurah,HillarysandFremantle(2x)andJurienBay(2x)[attendancerangingfrom0to35];

• sendingletterstoallwesternrocklobsterrecreationallicenseesintheHillarys,FremantleandJurienBayareasnotifyingthemofthemeetingsbeingheldinthoselocations;

• releasingtwomediastatements;

• includinginformationinJako’scolumnintheWest Australian,anddepartmentalmagazinessuchasWestern Fisheries;

• includinginformationinIntegratedFisheriesManagementNewsletterscirculatedtointerestedpersons;

• givingpresentationsatrecreationalministerialcommitteemeetingsandtoVolunteerFisheriesLiaisonOfficers;

• holdingamediaconferencewithfishingwriters;

• includingaflyerwiththecommittee’srecommendationsinallwesternrocklobsterlicencerenewalssentfrommidDecemberonwards[reachingabout10,000licensees];

• makingthereportandrelevantinformationavailableontheDepartment’swebsite;and

• doingaradiointerviewonKarlLangdon’sfishingshowon6PRandrespondingtomediainquiries.

APPenDIX D IfaaCCoNsuLTaTIoNProCEss


1. GraemeAttey

2. JohnBaas

3. JohnBaas

4. KenBentley

5. LisaBland(MarineParksandReservesAuthority)

6. JohnBresland

7. PeterBuzzacott

8. JamieChester

9. TerryCullen(JurienBayVolunteerSeaSearch&Rescue)

10. CharlesdeBeer

11. DepartmentofFisheriesWesternAustralia

12. DongaraProfessionalFisherman’sAssociationInc.

13. MartinEdwards

14. StevenGill(WesternRockLobsterCouncil)

15. TimGillingham

16. MatGuelpa

17. PeterHammond

18. RichardHewitt

19. MickHolt

20. Prof.GaryJeffrey&DrDianeJeffrey

21. TonyJurinovich(KajureeFishingCo.)

22. ShaneLehmann

23. KevinMaitland

24. MidwestRegionalRecreationalFishingAdvisoryCommittee

APPenDIX e LIsTofNamEsofaLLsuBmIssIoNsrECEIvEDforTHEWEsTErNroCKLoBsTErDrafTaLLoCaTIoNrEPorT

25. DeanOxwell

26. KeithPearce(ZoneCProfessionalFisherman’sAssociation)

27. JohnQuigleyJPMLA(MemberforMindarie)

28. RobinKRandall

29. RecreationalFishingAdvisoryCommittee(RFAC)

30. RockLobsterIndustryAdvisoryCommittee(RLIAC)

31. RARowe

32. SatelliteTVWA

33. PhilSomerville

34. Western AnglerMagazine

35. BrianStewart

36. NeilSumner

37. BobUrquhart

38. JamesWaite

39. ChrisWieman

40. AndyWoodford

41. GaryWotherspoon

42. DepartmentofConservationandLandManagement

43. Recfishwest

44. WestAustralianFishingIndustryCouncil(WAFIC)

45. RaphaelEllul

46. PeterCousemacker

47. RonRyan


APPenDIX FLetteR FRoM tHe MInIsteR 8 DeCeMBeR 200� – CUstoMARy FIsHInG



APPenDIX GLetteR FRoM tHe MInIsteR 17 MAy 200�: IFM PRoCess – ConseRvAtIon seCtoR




APPenDIX HPro-formaLETTEraNDDaTasENTTosTaKEHoLDErs-BEsTEsTImaTEsofWEsTErNroCKLoBsTErrECrEaTIoNaLCaTCH

Dear

Best Estimates of the Western Rock Lobster Recreational Catch

Inthe Integrated 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

PETERROGERS

EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR

10May2005


Best estIMAtes FoR tHe WesteRn RoCK LoBsteR ReCReAtIonAL CAtCH

ReseARCH DIvIsIon, DePARtMent oF FIsHeRIes, 200�BackgroundThecatchofwesternrocklobster(WRL)bytherecreationalsectorhasbeenestimatedusinganumberofmethodsduringthelast20years.Theseincludecreelsurveys,mailsurveys,phonerecallsurveysandphonediarysurveys.

Eachoftheseestimationmethodshasadvantagesanddisadvantagesbothrelatedtothecostsofundertakingthesurveysinordertoproduceanestimatewithappropriatelevelsofprecision,butalsointermsofthedifferencesinthelevelofbiasassociatedwiththeestimationmethodology(i.e.howaccurateisthemethod).

Theestimationmethodwiththelongesttimeseriesistheendofseasonmailsurvey,whichhasbeeninoperationforthepast17years.Thismethodinvolvesthedistributionofletterstoarandomselectionoflicenceholdersrequestingtheyreturninformationontheircatchandeffortforthepastseason.

Suchsurveys,whichrequireindividualstorecalltheiractivitiesoverabouta12-monthperiod,arenowknowntoproducerecallbiasesintheestimatestheygenerate(generallyoverestimatingbyafactorofabouttwo)andarealsoaffectedbynon-responsebias(respondentsfishingactivitymaybedifferenttonon-respondentsfishingactivity).Thebiasis,however,generallyconsistentthroughtimeandthereforethechangesinthecalculatedestimatesamongyearscanprovideanaccuraterecordofthetrendincatches.

MetHoDsDetermination of the level of biasIntwoseparateyears,aphonediarysurveywasundertakenwitharandomselectionoflicenceholdersconcurrentwiththemailsurvey.Thesediary-basedsurveysprovidemoreaccurateestimatesbecauseofthecombinationoftheverylownon-responserate,plustheyinvolveindividualsfillinginadiaryoftheirfishingactivitieswhoarethencalledonceamonthtoobtainthedata.Thisgreatlyreducestherecallbias.

Thediarymethodgeneratedestimatesthatwereabouthalfthelevelofthemailsurvey-whichis

consistentwiththeexpectedbiasofthemailsurveys(asimilarlevelofbiashasalsobeenfoundfortheTasmanianrecreationallobsterfishery).

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

ResULtsHistorical CatchesGiventheaboveresult,thebestestimatesoftherecreationalcatchofwesternrocklobsteroverthelast17yearsareobtainedbyusingthemailsurveydatawhichhavebeensuitablyadjustedusingthecalculatedlevelofbias.ThesedataareshownbelowinFig.1.

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

Thepercentageofthetotalwesternrocklobstercatchtakenbytherecreationalsectorhasalsoincreasedfromaboutonepercentinthemid1980stolevelsthatnowexceedthreepercent.Duringthereferenceperiod(1997/98to2001/02)therecreationaltakevariedbetween2.3to3.1percentofthetotallobstercatch(Fig.2).

InZoneAandB,therecreationalcatchhasremainedalmostconstantataboutonepercentofthetotalforthesezones,whereastherecreationalcatchinZoneCdisplaysbothannualvariationsandalongertermincreasefromtwopercentinthemid1980stothecurrentlevelsoffivetosixpercent(Fig.3).

FoReCAsteD CAtCHesTherelationshipsbetweenpuerulussettlementindices(combinedwithexpectedlevelsofeffort)and


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Figure3Theproportion(%)ofthetotalwesternrocklobstercatchtakenbyrecreationalfishersusingtheadjustedrecreationalcatchestimatesinZonesBandZoneC.Theforecastpercentagesarebasedontheexpectedcommercialandrecreationalcatchesforthenextthreeseasons(2004/05to2006/07).NotetherecreationalcatchinZoneAisminimalandisincludedinZoneB.

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808/0

909/1

010/1

1

Season

Perc

enta

ge (

%)

ActualCatch prediction estimateModel estimate

boththerecreationalandcommercialcatchesthreetofouryearslaterhavebeendevelopedandarereportedannuallyintheState of Fisheriesreports.Thepredictionsforthethree-yearperiodforwhichpuerulussettlementiscurrentlyavailablesuggestthattherecreationalcatchwillbeatrelativelysimilarlevelsin2004/05,atabout460tonnes,butwilldeclineineachofthefollowingtwoyearsgiventhelowerpuerulussettlementlevelsthatoccurredduringthe2001to2004period.

Thus,whilsttheproportionofthetotalcatchcaughtbytherecreationalsectorislikelytoincreasetoapproximately3.5percentin2004/05,thiswill,assumingnomajormanagementchanges,probablydeclineinthefollowingyearstolevelsbelowthreepercent.

MAnAGeMent IMPLICAtIonsGiventhecurrentmethodsusedformonitoringthesizeofthewesternrocklobsterspawningstock,thechangesinthetwoestimatesofrecreationalcatchhavevirtuallynoimpactontheassessmentofthecurrentstatusofthisstock.Therefore,therewillbenodirectflow-onmanagementimplicationsfromtheseadjustments.

Figure2Theproportion(%)ofthetotalwesternrocklobstercatchtakenbyrecreationalfishersusingtheadjustedrecreationalcatchestimates.Thetwoverticaldottedlinesindicatethereferenceperiod1997to2001.Theforecastpercentagesarebasedontheexpectedcommercialandrecreationalcatchesforthenextthreeseasons(2004/05to2006/07seeabove).


Table2 ThebestestimatesofthetotalrecreationallobstercatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchforZonesA&BandCcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydata.Thedatafor2004/05to06/07(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

Table1 Thebestestimatesofthetotalrecreationallobstercatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydata.Thedatafor2004/05to06/07(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


LIst oF FIGUResFigure1Estimatedrecreationalcatchforwesternrocklobster(solidline).95percentconfidenceintervalshavealsobeenincluded.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.

APPenDIX ILoNG-TErmGroWTHTrENDsINrECrEaTIoNaLroCKLoBsTErCaTCHrEsEarCHDIvIsIoN,DEParTmENToffIsHErIEs,16JuNE2005

LIst oF tABLesTable1Estimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydata.Thedatafor2004/05to2007/08areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09to2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87to2003/04.

Table2EstimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydataforzoneC.Thedatafor2004/05to2007/08(initalics)areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09to2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87to2003/04.

Table3EstimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydataforzoneB.Thedatafor2004/05to2007/08(initalics)areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09to2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87to2003/04.


LonG-teRM GRoWtH tRenD In ReCReAtIonAL RoCK LoBsteR CAtCH

ADvICe At 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(P

t-3,t-4)) 1)

TheanalysishasbeenundertakenforthewholefisheryandbyZonesA/BcombinedandZoneC.

Therecreationalcatchdatainthisdocumentareallbasedonthemailsurveydataadjustedfortherecallbiasthathasbeenestimatedfromthephonediarysurvey.

ResULtsOverall fisheryThepuerulusdatafor2004/05indicatesanimprovementinrecreationalcatchisexpectedin2007/08and2008/09aftertheexpectedpredictedlowcatchofabout260tonnesin2006/07(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.


Figure2 Modelledandactualestimatesfortheproportionoftotalcatchtakenbyrecreationalfishers.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

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1986

/87

1987

/88

1988

/89

1989

/90

1990

/91

1991

/92

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/93

1994

/95

1993

/94

1995

/96

1996

/97

1997

/98

1998

/99

1999

/00

2000

/01

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/02

2002

/03

2003

/04

2004

/05

2005

/06

2006

/07

2007

/08

CatchLowerUpper

Cat

ch (to

nnes

)

Season

Figure1 Estimatedrecreationalcatchforwesternrocklobster(solidline).95percentconfidenceintervalshavealsobeenincluded.Forecastshavebeenincludedforseasons2004/05to2007/08(dashedline).


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

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

90/9

1

92/9

3

96/9

7

04/0

5

86/8

787

/88

88/8

9

89/9

0

91/9

2

93/9

494

/95

95/9

6

97/9

8

98/9

999

/00

00/0

101

/02

02/0

303

/04

05/0

606

/07

07/0

808

/09

09/1

010

/11

Season

Per

cent

age

(%)


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(53tonnes)representing0.94%(+/-0.40confidencelimits)providesareasonableindicatoroffuturecatchesunderaveragepuerulussettlement,noincreaseineffortandthecurrentmanagementrules(Fig.8,Table3).

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

90/9

1

92/9

3

96/9

7

04/0

5

86/8

787

/88

88/8

9

89/9

0

91/9

2

93/9

494

/95

95/9

6

97/9

8

98/9

999

/00

00/0

101

/02

02/0

303

/04

05/0

606

/07

07/0

808

/09

09/1

010

/11

Season

Per

cent

age

(%)




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

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

Per

cent

age

(%)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6 ActualCatch prediction estimateModel estimate

90/9

1

92/9

3

96/9

7

04/0

5

86/8

787

/88

88/8

9

89/9

0

91/9

2

93/9

494

/95

95/9

6

97/9

8

98/9

999

/00

00/0

101

/02

02/0

303

/04

05/0

606

/07

07/0

808

/09

09/1

010

/11

Season

Table1 Estimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydata.Thedatafor2004/05to2007/08areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09to2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87to2003/04.


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

Formula: p.cat ~ intercept

Coefficients:

Value Std.Error t value r(>|t|)(Intercept) 0.9415 0.0491 19.1839 0.000

0

1

2

3

90/9

1

92/9

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/04

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/07

07/0

808

/09

09/1

010

/11

Season

Per

cent

age

(%)


Figure5ModelledandactualestimatesfortheproportionoftotalcatchtakenbyrecreationalfishersforzoneC.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 0.3300490 0.1812870 1.82059b 0.0660851 0.0112898 5.85351d 0.0306277 0.0659951 0.46409

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 ActualCatch prediction estimateModel estimate

90/9

1

92/9

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787

/88

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9

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/02

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/04

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606

/07

07/0

808

/09

09/1

010

/11

Season

Per

cent

age

(%)


Formula: p.cat~exp(a+b*t+d*log34Alk)Parameters: Value Std. Error t value a 0.2416010 0.14531200 1.66264b 0.0614556 0.00553944 11.09420d 0.0736918 0.03241170 2.27362


Formula: p.cat~exp(a+b*t+d)*log34Alk)Parameters: Value Std. Error t value a 0.3447650 0.3340140 1.03219b 0.0579312 0.0131528 4.40448d 0.0631223 0.0461166 1.36875

Per

cent

age

(%)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Season


90/9

1

92/9

3

96/9

7

04/0

5

86/8

787

/88

88/8

9

89/9

0

91/9

2

93/9

494

/95

95/9

6

97/9

8

98/9

999

/00

00/0

101

/02

02/0

303

/04

05/0

606

/07

07/0

808

/09

09/1

010

/11

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12 90

/91

92/9

3

96/9

7

04/0

5

86/8

787

/88

88/8

9

89/9

0

91/9

2

93/9

494

/95

95/9

6

97/9

8

98/9

999

/00

00/0

101

/02

02/0

303

/04

05/0

606

/07

07/0

808

/09

09/1

010

/11

Season

Per

cent

age

(%)



Table2 EstimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydataforzoneC.Thedatafor2004/05to2007/08(initalics)areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09to2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87to2003/04.

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

Table3 EstimatesofrecreationalcatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydataforzoneB.Thedatafor2004/05to2007/08(initalics)areprojectedfromforecastedcatchofbothrecreationalandcommercialfishers.Forecastsfor2008/09to2010/11aremadefromthemodelofproportiontakenbyrecreationalfishers,basedondatafrom1986/87to2003/04.

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


Yourref:

Ourref: RS860/04

Contact: NickCaputi9203

MrMurrayJorgensenOAM,JP

Chair,IntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisoryCommittee

DepartmentofFisheries

3rdFloor,168-170StGeorgesTerrace

PERTHWA6000

Re: Rock lobster 2004/05 recreational catch surveys

DearMurray,

Thankyouforyourletterofthe12Septemberregardingthe2004/05westernrocklobsterrecreationalsurveyresults.InyourletteryourequestedthattheDepartmentprovidethefollowinginformation:

1. thecatchestimatesfromthe2004/05recreationalwesternrocklobsterphone/diarysurveyandmailsurvey;

2. therelationshipoftherecreationalcatchestimatesfromthesurveystothecommercialcatch;and

3. anupdatedassessmentoftherelationshipbetweenthephone/diarysurveycatchestimatesandmailsurveycatchestimates.

TheResearchDivisionadvisesmethatthe2004/05phone/diarysurveywasarepeatofthe2000/01and2001/02surveys.Thecatchestimatesfromtheseearlierphone/diarysurveyswerecomparedtothelong-runningmailsurveysandanadjustmentfactorof1.9wasusedtoadjustthemailsurveycatchestimatesforrecallbiasknowntooccurinrecallsurveys.

Attachment1outlinestheresultsofthe2004/05surveysandacomparisonwiththeearliersurveys.Insummary,theresponsestoyourthreequestionsareasfollows:

1. The2004/05recreationalcatchwasestimatedtobe201tonneusingtheresultsfromthephone/diarysurveyand721tonneusingtheresultsfromthemailsurvey.Theestimateoftherecreationalcatchusingthemailsurveyresultsandapplyingtheexistingadjustmentfactorof1.9was379tonne.

2. The2004/05mailsurveycatchestimateretainedtheclosecorrelationtothecommercialcatch.Thephone/diarysurveycatchestimate,however,waslowerthanexpected.Themainreasonforthiswasthattherewasalowerthanexpectedparticipationrateandfewerthanexpecteddaysfishedperyearbytheparticipantsinthephone/diarysurvey.

3. Recently,anadjustmentfactorof1.9basedonacomparisonofthe2000/01and2001/02phone/diarysurveysandmailsurveyshasbeenusedbytheDepartmenttoestimatetherecreationalcatch.Owingtothelowerthanexpectedphone/diarycatchestimate,the2004/05surveyproducedaratioof3.6betweenthetwosurveymethods.

APPenDIX JrEsuLTsofTHE2004/05rECrEaTIoNaLsurvEys


Whenallthreephone/diarysurveysarecompared,theadjustmentfactoris2.3;however,thestandarderrorassociatedwiththisestimateislargeasitisbasedonthreesamples.Atleastanotherfiveyearsofcomparisonwouldberequiredtoobtainamorereliableadjustmentfactor.

Thesamplesizeforthephonediarysurveywasbasedonachievingastandarderroroftherecreationalcatchforthewholefisheryofabout10%andincludedanassumptionabouttheparticipationrate.Thelowerthanexpectedparticipationratein2004/05hasresultedinasmallersamplesizeofthosewhofishedduringtheyearandhencealargerstandarderrorassociatedwiththecatchandfishingeffortestimates.

Giventhelargeerrorassociatedwiththe2004/05estimateandlowerthanexpectedparticipationratetheDepartmenthasformedtheviewthatthe1.9adjustmentfactorshouldcontinuetobeusedasaninterimarrangementtoestimatetherecreationalcatchuntilmorereliableestimatesoftherecreationalcatchareavailable.Notingthattheexistingcorrectionfactorisconsistentwiththepublished‘BestEstimatesoftheWesternRockLobsterRecreationalCatch’andwhattheliteraturesuggests(seepart4ofattachment1andattachment2).

Ifreliableestimatesforthetwozonesofthefisheryarerequiredforfutureallocationpurposes,astratifiedsampleisrequiredwithahighersamplesizeforeachzoneoverafive-yearperiod.

TheDepartmentisinvestigatingintroducingin2006/07astratifiedphone/diarysurvey,withsamplesizesappropriatetoachievinga10%standarderroroncatchestimatesforeachofthetwozonesinordertoprovideamorereliableestimateoftherecreationalcatch.Akeyconsiderationinevaluatingtheimplementationofthesurveywillbethecostsinvolved,asamoreintensivesurveyislikelytocostconsiderablymorethantheexistingsurveys.

Ifyourequireanyfurthertechnicalinformation,pleasefeelfreetocontactDrNickCapution92034165and/orinviteDrCaputitoattendanIFAACmeetingforfurtherdiscussion.

Yourssincerely

PPRogers

EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR

24January2006

Attachment1: 2004/05rocklobsterrecreationalsurveys.

Attachment2: Asurveyofthe2000/01TasmanianRecreationalrocklobsterfisheryandoptionsfor futureassessment.


Table1 Comparisonofdifferentvariableestimatesusingdiaryandmailsurveydataforvariousseasonsinwhichbothmethodswereperformed.

Variable2000/01 2001/02 2004/05

Diary Mail Diary Mail Diary Mail

Licences 36,933 37,243 36,460 39,623 40,900 45,188

Responserate 83% 51% 78% 51% 82% 43%

Participationrate0.640.64/0.77=

0.770.83

0.550.55/0.69=

0.690.80

0.490.49/0.70 =

0.700.70

CPUE(lobs/day) 1.81 1.48 1.63 1.51 1.95 1.60

Effort(days/fisher)15.515.5/26.4=

26.40.59

14.414.4/26.5 =

26.50.54

10.310.3/28.6 =

28.60.36

Totalrecreationalcatch(t)

332332/560=

5600.59

235235/545=

1.20.43

201201/721=

7210.28

Totalcommercialcatch(t)

11,273 11,273 8,983 8,983 12,146 12,146

Total 2000/01 2001/02 2004/05

Number of Fishers F 20,700 17,300 16,800

SE(F) SE(F) 900 900 1,000

Effort E 310,000 242,000 163,800

SE(E) SE(E) 35,000 26,000 20,400

Catch (numbers) C 560,000 376,000 329,000

SE(C) SE(C) 73,000 44,000 45,000

C(Tonnes) C(Tonnes) 281 188 165SE(C) (Tonnes) SE(C) (Tonnes) 36 22 22

Table2 ThebestestimatesofthetotalrecreationallobstercatchlevelsandtheirproportionofthetotallobstercatchforZonesA&BandCcalculatedusingtheadjustedmailsurveydata.Thedatafor2004/05-06/07(initalics)areprojecteddatabaseduponpuerulussettlementdataandexpectedlevelsofeffortandapplyingthecorrectionfactortotheprojectionsgiveninTable11oftheIFMreport(whichwereroundedtothenearest100tonne).

Attachment 1 - 200�/0� rock lobster recreational surveys1. DifferencesbetweenthesurveysindifferentseasonsThemajordifferencebetweenthecomparisonofthediaryandmailsurveyof2004/05tothoseofseasons2000/01and2001/02isthereductioninparticipationrateandthenumberofdaysfishedperyear(Table1).


Table3 CatchandeffortforthephonediarysurveyinZoneB.

Total 2000/01 2001/02 2004/05

NumberofFishers F 3,900 3,600 3,300

SE(F) SE(F) 570 550 560

Effort E 56,000 46,000 42,300

SE(E) SE(E) 12,000 9,000 17,400

Catch(numbers) C 102,000 93,000 73,300

SE(C) SE(C) 23,000 20,000 29,900

C(Tonnes) C(Tonnes) 51 47 37

SE(C)(Tonnes) SE(C)(Tonnes) 12 10 15

0

25000

50000

75000

100000

125000

150000

November December January February March April May June

Month

2000/01

2001/02

2004/05

Effo

rt (

Day

s F

ishe

d)

Figure1 Numberofdaysfishedbymonthfromthephone/diarysurveyforthethreeseasonssurveyed.

�. Reliability of the Zone estimatesThemajorityoftherecreationalcatch(~80percent)isfromzoneC(Tables2and3).ThereliabilityofthetotalcatchestimateinzoneBisquestionable,particularlyin2004/05whenthereisastandarderrorof40percent,comparedto21percentand24percentforthetwootherseasons(Table3).

Around70percentofrecreationalfishersinZoneBliveinGeraldton.

NB: ZoneA(Abrolhos),ZoneB(northof30th),ZoneC(southof30th)

�. Reliability of the mail to phone diary correction factorTheliteraturesuggeststhatcomparisonsofmailanddiarysurveysdifferbyafactoroftwoduetorecall,prestigeandotherbiases.Theapplicationofrecallbasedsurveysasanalternativetousingthetelephone/diarywasassessedbyForwardandLyle(2002).Inamorerecentpublication,LyleandMorton(2004)showedthatrecallsurveysonrecreationalrocklobsterandabalonecatchescomparedtophonediarysurveyshaddifferencesof1.27and2.24forrocklobsterandabalonecatchand1.4and2.2forrocklobsterandabaloneeffort.Excludingtheratioofthemailtothediarysurveyestimatefor2004/05,thatresultisinagreementwithratioestimatesofindividualseasonsandseasonscombined(Table4).

Giventhelargestandarderrorsaroundtheseratios(seeIVandVinTable4)wesupporttheuseofanindicativeconversionfactor,ratherthancreatingconfusioninthecommunitybychangingtheactualconversionfactoreachyearthatwerunbothsurveys.Forthispurpose,maintaininganindicativeconversionof1.9wouldseemtobedefendable.

Furthermailandphone/diarysurveysshouldbeundertakeninthefuturetoimproveourunderstandingofthedifferencesbetweenthesetwosurveymethodsandtheconversionfactorsforthetwomethods.

2. Differences in the distribution of effortThelevelofeffortreportedbythediarysurveyin2004/05isconsiderablylessthanwhatwasreportedinpreviousseasons(Figure1).Thedifferenceinthemonthlydistributionoffishingeffortin2004isinterestinginthatthoughitstartedatalevelsimilarto2001/02,itfellquickerfromJanuaryonwards,thanwasrecordedinthetwoearlierseasonforwhichtherearedata.Thereisnoobviousexplanationforthisanditwouldexplainthesubstantiallyreducedcatchin2004/05.

60 InteGRAteD FIsHeRIes MAnAGeMent ALLoCAtIon RePoRt

Table4 Differentratiosforconvertingdiarysurveyestimatedtotalcatchtothatofthemailsurvey.Ratioshavebeendeterminedusingalinearmodelwithnointerceptusingdatafordifferentseasons(indicatedwithatick).

Model 2000/01 2001/02 2004/05 Ratio(s.e)I 3 1.69

II 3 2.32

III 3 3.6

IV 3 3 1.90(0.30)

V 3 3 3 2.23(0.50)

ReFeRenCesForward,JandJ.M.Lyle(2002).A survey of the 2000/01 Tasmanian recreational rock lobster fishery and options for future assessment.TasmanianAquacultureandFisheriesInstituteFinalreporttotheMarineRecreationalFisheryCouncil,36p.

Lyle,J.M.andMorton,A.J.(2004).Survey of the 2002/03 Tasmanian recreational rock lobster and abalone fisheries. TasmanianAquacultureandFisheriesInstitute,UniversityofTasmania,TechnicalReportSeries22:1-33.

5. Identifyfuturedatarequirementsandthecostofdatacollectiontosupporttheimplementationofthecommittee’srecommendations.

6. Provideanassessmentoftheimpactimplementationofthecommittee’srecommendationswillhaveonthesector’scatchshares.

7. Provideadiscussiononthebasisforclaimsforcompensationonimplementationofthecommittee’srecommendations.

MeMBeRsHIPDepartmentofFisheries(Chair)

RockLobsterIndustryAdvisoryCommittee(RLIAC)

RecreationalFishingAdvisoryCommittee(RFAC)

WesternRockLobsterCouncil(WRLC)

Recfishwest

WesternAustralianFishingIndustryCouncil(WAFIC)

Indigenous

KevinDonohue:–IntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisoryCommittee(IFAAC)Representative

ExecutiveSupport:DepartmentofFisheries

Theconsultativecommitteeisproposedtodiscussandnegotiatesolutionstointersectoralconflictissuessuchasspatialandtemporalseparation.ThecommitteeshouldprovideareporttotheIFAAConitsrecommendationswithin12monthsofitsfirstmeeting.

TheIFAACissatisfiedthatthecasehasbeenmadethatoncesectorsareassuredoftheirshareoftheresourcethatconflictssuchasthe‘whitesrun’canberesolvedthroughnegotiation.Theconsultativecommitteeistaskedwithprogressingsolutionsinatimelybasis.

TheIFAACafterconsiderationoftheConsultativeCommitteereportwillmakearecommendationtotheMinisteronhowtoaddressthisresourceaccessconflictthroughspatialandtemporalseparationofthesectors.

Theproposedtermsofreferenceandmembershiparesetoutbelow:

PRoPoseD teRMs oF ReFeRenCe1. ProvideadvicetoIFAAConstrategiestoaddress

spatialandtemporalcompetitionforwesternrocklobsternearshore,takingintoaccountthegovernment’sIFMpolicyprinciplesandtherecommendationsapprovedbytheMinisterregardingallocationsforwesternrocklobster.

2. Evaluatetheoptionofusingthemarineparkplanningprocessasameansofdevelopingandimplementingstrategiesthataddressspatialandtemporalcompetitionnearshore.

3. IdentifychangestotheDepartment’scompliance,researchandmanagementprogramsrequiredtosupportthecommittee’srecommendations.

4. Identifytheadditionalcost(ifany)totheDepartment’sprograms(research,complianceandmanagement)ofimplementingthecommittee’srecommendations.


APPenDIX KProPosEDCoNsuLTaTIvECommITTEEmEmBErsHIPaNDTErmsofrEfErENCE

62 InteGRAteD FIsHeRIes MAnAGeMent ALLoCAtIon RePoRt

ESD EcologicallySustainableDevelopment

FMP192 FisheriesManagementPaperNo.192

FMP211 FisheriesManagementPaperNo.211

FRMA Fish Resources Management Act 1994

IFAAC IntegratedFisheriesAllocationAdvisory Committee

IFM IntegratedFisheriesManagement

MFL ManagedFisheryLicences

NNTT NationalNativeTitleTribunal

RFAC RecreationalFishingAdvisory Committee

RLIAC RockLobsterIndustryAdvisory Committee

SHL SustainableHarvestLevel

VMS VesselMonitoringSystem

WAFIC WesternAustralianFishingIndustry Council

WCRLMF WestCoastRockLobsterManaged Fishery

WRLMASC WesternRockLobsterMinisterial AdvisorySub-Committee

WRLRASC WesternRockLobsterRecreational AdvisorySub-Committee

APPenDIX LaBBrEvIaTIoNs

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