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| Fisheries of Australia | |
|---|---|
| Name | Australia |
| Caption | Major Australian fisheries regions and ports |
| Population | 25 million |
| Area km2 | 7692024 |
| Related | Southern Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean |
Fisheries of Australia
Australia supports extensive marine and freshwater fisheries across the Great Barrier Reef, Tasman Sea, Southern Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Coral Sea. The sector includes commercial fleets, recreational anglers, and Indigenous customary fishing, with resources such as southern bluefin tuna, western rock lobster, eastern king prawn, Australian salmon (arripis) and various cephalopods. Management intersects with institutions like the Commonwealth of Australia, Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Australia), and state agencies such as New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA.
Australia's fisheries encompass continental shelf, pelagic, demersal, estuarine and freshwater systems around regions including Gulf of Carpentaria, Bass Strait, Great Australian Bight, Timor Sea and Torres Strait. Key target species include southern bluefin tuna, snapper (Pagrus auratus), haddock-group analogues, abalone (notably Haliotis rubra), pink snapper, orange roughy and sardine stocks. Fishing sectors operate from ports such as Fremantle, Port Hedland, Port Lincoln, Sydney Harbour and Dampier, using methods like longlining, trawling, Danish seining and trap/pot fisheries. Interjurisdictional issues involve bodies such as the AusAID-era cooperatives, regional marine parks like Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and international arrangements including Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna and bilateral accords with Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand and China.
Management arrangements are split between the Commonwealth of Australia for fisheries beyond the 3-nautical-mile state limit and state/territory authorities for inshore waters; major instruments include the Fisheries Management Act 1991-era frameworks and quota systems administered by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. Policy interfaces with agencies like the Australian Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, CSIRO, Bureau of Rural Sciences-successor units, and regional commissions such as the Northern Territory Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade fisheries branch. Compliance and licensing interact with laws enforced by the Australian Border Force, state police marine units, and international law through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Cooperative planning involves stakeholders including peak industry bodies like the Australian Fisheries Industry Council, environmental NGOs such as the World Wide Fund for Nature Australia, and Indigenous representative organizations including the Aboriginal Land Councils and Torres Strait Islander bodies.
Commercial fleets range from multispecies trawlers registered in Tasmania and Victoria to purse seiners active in the Coral Sea and pole-and-line vessels targeting southern bluefin tuna in the Great Australian Bight. Major commercial operations include longline tuna fisheries, demersal trawl in the Bass Strait, and crustacean pot fisheries for western rock lobster based out of Esperance and Albany. Aquaculture industries farm Atlantic salmon in Tasmania and oysters in Port Stephens, with shellfish leases managed under state legislation like that of New South Wales and South Australia. Processing hubs in Port Lincoln and Launceston supply export markets and value-added chains tied to trade partners such as Japan, United States, European Union and Southeast Asia.
Recreational fishing is culturally significant around urban centers like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, with popular species including barramundi, snapper (Pagrus auratus), flathead and mulloway. License regimes, bag limits and size limits are administered by state agencies such as the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and Victorian Fisheries Authority. Indigenous customary fishing practices in regions like Torres Strait Islands, Arnhem Land and the Gulf of Carpentaria are governed through native title agreements, co-management under instruments related to the Native Title Act 1993, and joint management with bodies including the Parks Australia and land councils.
Challenges include bycatch of protected species such as loggerhead sea turtle, dolphins, seabirds (e.g., albatross), and habitat impacts in sensitive systems like the Great Barrier Reef and seagrass beds. Overfishing episodes such as historical declines in orange roughy and localized depletion of snapper (Pagrus auratus) prompted recovery plans and harvest strategy reforms. Environmental governance leverages marine protected areas like Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority zones, recovery programs under agencies like Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Australia), and international standards from bodies including the Food and Agriculture Organization and Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources where relevant.
The fisheries sector contributes to regional employment in centres such as Port Lincoln and Derby and to export earnings through commodities like frozen and fresh tuna, live abalone and rock lobster. Economic instruments include individual transferable quotas, vessel buyback schemes, and industry levies overseen by organizations like the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. Trade relations extend via bilateral arrangements with Japan, China, South Korea and multilateral frameworks under the World Trade Organization affecting tariff and non-tariff barriers.
Scientific assessment and stock monitoring are undertaken by institutions such as CSIRO, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, university groups at University of Tasmania, James Cook University and University of Queensland, and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority science teams. Technologies deployed include vessel monitoring systems certified under International Maritime Organization guidance, electronic reporting, observer programs, genetic stock identification and ecosystem modelling. Enforcement uses maritime patrol assets from Australian Border Force and state agencies, with compliance informed by international conventions like the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement.
Category:Fishing in Australia