 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Summary |
 Under the Fisheries Management Act 1991, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) pursues a number of objectives in managing Commonwealth fisheries. A key objective is to maximise the net economic returns from the exploitation of Commonwealth fisheries for the Australian community. These fisheries together accounted for 13 per cent of the gross value of production of Australian fisheries and aquaculture in 2006-07. Assessment against an objective of maximising net economic returns is complex, and requires a comparison between the potential net economic returns available from a fishery and those realised under the prevailing management system. Also, the net economic returns of Commonwealth fisheries are affected by a range of factors, including currency fluctuations, fuel costs, and competition from imports. While more information is valuable for estimating the potential net economic returns of a fishery, the collection, interpretation and dissemination of data, in some cases, may not be justifiable on benefit–cost grounds, particularly in low-value fisheries. Hence to assist AFMA to monitor its performance against this objective, a range of performance indicators are available such as productivity indices, the level of latent effort in a fishery or the price of quota. In most small fisheries, even a relatively inexpensive indicator, such as the level of latent effort or quota sale and lease price, may provide an insight into the efficiency of the management arrangement. Historically, the overall economic performance of Commonwealth fisheries has been poor. This is because past management arrangements applied catch and effort settings which did not always constrain fishers or provide the right incentives. Fisheries such as the southern and eastern scalefish and shark fishery and the eastern tuna and billfish fishery have been associated either with large amounts of unused quota or with large numbers of unused permits. Estimates of net economic returns for these fisheries in recent years are regularly close to zero or even negative. The contrast is stark with fisheries for which management controls are effective — for example, the southern bluefin tuna fishery and the northern prawn fishery have historically earned above average returns for operators. To address the issues of profitability and sustainability, the Australian Government has taken steps to change the operating environment of Commonwealth fisheries significantly. The Australian Government’s Securing our Fishing Future adjustment package, which included a $149 million voluntary concession buyback, has removed a large share of fishing capacity from some major Commonwealth fisheries. Also, AFMA has implemented tighter controls on catch and effort, particularly for overfished stocks. Finally, the Australian Government has developed and released a Harvest Strategy Policy which aims to stop overfishing, allow overfished stocks to recover and promote the longer term profitability of the fishing industry. It follows that in the next few years there are likely to be significant changes in many key economic indicators for Commonwealth fisheries. Initially, a decrease in catch and effort in some fisheries may result in lower gross value of production, because fewer fish are being caught, but fewer boats fishing may lead to a higher average catch per boat. Over time, however, reduced pressure on fish stocks is expected to result in a growth in biomass. For some species, it may be that more can be harvested each season in the future from larger stocks. To ensure the long-term profitability of Commonwealth fisheries, it will be important the recent focus on management settings which allow profits to be maximised is continued. Market forces alone cannot bring about economic efficiency in Commonwealth fisheries. Instead, management is required so catch and effort are constrained effectively. The management arrangements should also allow fishers to choose a combination of inputs which maximises their profits within sustainability and other environmental constraints. Tables 1 and 2 provide a summary of the economic performance of each Commonwealth fishery in 2006-07, and how this performance differs from when the fishery was last assessed. |
|
||||||||
gross value of production for 2006-07 |
management costs for 2006-07 |
trend of net economic returns over time |
proportion of rights unused (latency) |
primary management instrument |
biological status |
|||
|
||||||||
| Large fisheries | ||||||||
| Eastern tuna and billfish fishery | $33.7 million |
$2.95 million |
Strongly negative |
High |
Input controls, limited entry |
2 species stock status is uncertain 1 species not overfished but subject to overfishing. 2 species not overfished or subject to overfishing |
||
|
||||||||
| Heard Island and McDonald Island fishery |
Confidential |
$0.77 million |
Not estimated |
Low |
Output controls, limited entry |
2 species not overfished or subject to overfishing. |
||
|
||||||||
| Northern prawn fishery | $63.8 million |
$2.74 million |
Negative |
Very low (almost 0%) |
Input controls, limited entry |
2 species not limited entry overfished or subject to overfishing. 2 species stock status is uncertain |
||
|
||||||||
| Southern bluefin fishery | Commonwealth:
$41 million South Australian aquaculture: $96.7 million a |
$1.77 million |
Not estimated |
Very low (almost 0%) |
Output controls, global TAC |
Stock is overfished and subject to overfishing. |
||
|
||||||||
| Southern and eastern scalefish and shark fishery – Commonwealth trawl sector – Great Australian Bight sector – Gillnet, hook and trap sector |
$54.5 million b $18.0 million $23.8 million |
$6.95 million |
Varied for CT and positive and relatively constant for GHT sectors |
High |
Output controls, some input controls |
2 species overfished but uncertain whether subject to overfishing. 3 species overfished but not subject to overfishing 6 species uncertain whether overfished but not subject to overfishing 9 species stock status is uncertain 11 species not overfished or subject to overfishing |
||
|
||||||||
| Torres Strait fishery | $24.7 million |
$2.87 million |
Negative |
High (in prawn fishery) |
Input controls, limited entry |
3 species not overfished or subject to overfishing 3 species stock status is uncertain |
||
| Small fisheries | ||||||||
| Bass Strait central zone scallop fishery | Fishery closed |
$0.2 million |
Not estimated |
na |
Output controls, some input controls |
Overfished but not subject to overfishing |
||
|
||||||||
| Coral Sea fishery | Confidential |
$0.14 million |
Not estimated |
Unknown |
Combination of input and output controls |
Stock status is uncertain |
||
|
||||||||
| Macquarie Island toothfish fishery | Confidential |
$0.19 million |
Not estimated |
Low |
Output controls |
Not overfished or subject to overfishing |
||
|
||||||||
| Norfolk Island fishery | Confidential |
$0.17 million |
Not estimated |
Unknown |
Input controls |
Stock status is uncertain |
||
|
||||||||
| North west slope trawl fishery | Confidential |
$0.07 million |
Not estimated |
Low |
Input controls |
1 species stock status is uncertain 1 species uncertain whether overfished but subject to overfishing |
||
|
||||||||
| Skipjack fishery | Confidential |
$0.09 million |
Not estimated |
High |
Input controls |
Not overfished or subject to overfishing |
||
|
||||||||
| Small pelagic fishery | Confidential |
$0.42 million |
Not estimated |
High |
Combination of input and output controls |
2 species stock status is uncertain 2 species not overfished or subject to overfishing |
||
|
||||||||
| Southern squid jig fishery | $1.0million |
$0.18 million |
Negative |
High |
Input controls, limited entry |
Stock status is uncertain |
||
|
||||||||
| South Tasman Rise fishery | Confidential |
$0.04 million |
Not estimated |
High |
Output controls |
1 species overfished but not subject to overfishing 2 species uncertain whether overfished but not subject to overfishing |
||
|
||||||||
| Western deepwater trawl fishery | Confidential |
$0.09 million |
Not estimated |
High |
Input controls |
3 species uncertain whether overfished but not subject to overfishing |
||
|
||||||||
| Western deepwater trawl fishery | Confidential |
$0.64 million |
$1.9 million in 2001-02 (Not estimated since 2001-02) |
High (shifting to output controls) |
Input controls |
2 species stock status is uncertain 2 species not overfished but subject to overfishing 1 species not overfished but uncertain whether subject to overfishing |
||
| na not available. a The majority of Commonwealth production is used as an input to South Australian tuna farms. To avoid double counting, Commonwealth fishery and South Australian aquaculture tuna production are not combined; b Includes Victoria inshore trawl and east coast deepwater trawl sectors. | ||||||||
|
||||||
production volume |
gross value of production (GVP) |
net economic returns (NER) |
general comments |
|||
|
||||||
| Large fisheries | ||||||
| Eastern tuna and billfish fishery | ↑ |
↑ |
negative and stable |
A continued decline in GVP since 2001-02 driven by decreasing tuna prices and an appreciating Australian dollar was reversed in 2006-07 with a slight increase in GVP. NER have been negative since 2001-02 but have been relatively stable since 2004-05. |
||
|
||||||
| Heard Island and McDonald Island fishery | ↓ |
confidential |
na |
The TAC for Patagonian toothfish was once again filled in 2006-07. This indicates that NER in the fishery are likely to be positive for this species. Latency in mackerel icefish however has been high in recent years |
||
|
||||||
| Northern prawn fishery | ↓ |
↓ |
no new estimates |
Prior to 2004-05, the fishery regularly earned positive NER. However, in 2004-05 and 2005-06, NER were negative given lower prawn prices (because of an appreciation in the Australian dollar) and higher fuel prices. No new estimates of NER are available for 2006-07. However, high fuel prices and low prawn prices prevailed in 2006-07. |
||
|
||||||
| Southern bluefin tuna fishery | ↑ |
↑ |
na |
GVP has fallen in recent years driven by the appreciation of the Australian dollar. However, the TAC was once again filled in 2006-07. This low level of latent quota indicates that profits remain high in this fishery. |
||
|
||||||
| Southern and eastern scalefish and shark fishery | ||||||
| Commonwealth sector (CTS) | ↓ |
↑ |
↑ |
While latent effort has historically been an issue in the SESSF, TACs have been reduced for many species and economic performance is improving. For the CTS, NER became positive in 2005-06 and remained positive in 2006-07 due to higher fish prices. For the GHTS, NER remained positive in 2005-06 and 2006-07. However, NER were lower relative to 2003-04 and 2004-05. NER estimates are not available for the GAB although GVP has declined from a peak in 2004-05. |
||
| Gillnet, hook and trap (GHTS) | ↓ |
↑ |
↑ |
|||
| Great Australian | ↓ |
↑ |
na |
|||
| Bight trawl (GAB) | ||||||
|
||||||
| Torres Strait fisheries (prawn, rock lobster and finfish) | ↓ |
↓ |
no new estimates for prawn fishery |
Latent effort remains an issue for the prawn fishery. NER were negative in 2004-05 and 2005-06 with historically low prawn prices and high fuel costs. NER estimates for 2006-07 are not yet available. No NER estimates are available for the rock lobster and finfish fisheries, however, GVP has declined in both. |
||
|
||||||
| Small fisheries | ||||||
| Bass Strait central zone scallop fishery | no fishing |
no fishing |
na |
The fishery has been closed since 2006. |
||
|
||||||
| Coral Sea fishery | confidential |
confidential |
na |
There are currently no economic performance indicators available for this fishery. Given the low GVP of this fishery, potential NER to the fishery are likely to be low. |
||
|
||||||
| Macquaire Island toothfish fishery | confidential |
confidential |
na |
The fishery is managed by a TAC which is regularly filled. This suggests that the fishery is likely to be profitable. |
||
|
||||||
| Norfolk Island fishery | no fishing offshore, unknown inshore |
no fishing offshore, unknown inshore |
na |
Exploratory permits for the offshore fishery lapsed in 2003 and no offshore fishing hasoccurred since then. Current inshore catches are unknown. Potential NER are likely to be low in both components of the fishery. |
||
|
||||||
| North West slope trawl | confidential |
confidential |
na |
Northern prawn operators fish here opportunistically. No indicators of economic performance are available for the fishery but potential NER are low. |
||
|
||||||
| Skipjack fishery | confidential |
confidential |
na |
A high level of latent effort continued to prevail in this fishery in 2007. This suggests that NER are still likely to be low in this fishery. |
||
|
||||||
| Small pelagic fishery | confidential |
confidential |
na |
A high level of latent effort continued to prevail in this fishery in 2006-07. This suggests that NER are still likely to be low in this fishery. |
||
|
||||||
| Southern squid jig | confidential |
confidential |
na |
The most recently available estimates of NER for 2000-01 were negative. Latent effort remained high in 2006-07 and suggests that NER remain low in this fishery. |
||
|
||||||
| South Tasman rise | confidential |
confidential |
na |
A high level of latent effort suggests that NER are likely to be low. |
||
|
||||||
| Western deep water trawl | confidential |
confidential |
na |
Low fishing effort in 2006-07 and high levels of latent effort indicates that NER are likely to be low. |
||
|
||||||
| Western tuna and billfish | confidential |
confidential |
na |
A high level of latent effort continued to prevail in this fishery in 2007. This suggests that NER are still likely to be low in this fishery. |
||
| Note: GVP - gross value of production, TAC - total allowable catch, NER - net economic returns. | ||||||