Marine Science 2016 Edition

Australia's fisheries and their management Page 517 Figure 517.2 School fishing class (Photo Geoff Jensen) Figure 517.1 Australian tuna fishing grounds (Illustration from SOMER 1996, reproduced with permission) brought far more money into the area than commercial landings ever did. In 2002 in NSW, money from recreational fishing licences was used to buy out the professionals from 29 estuaries. Some 400 professional fishers were paid to leave the industry. This has caused loss of jobs and considerable personal hardship. Professional fishers warn that the general public will suffer as fish prices double. Commercial fisheries — fishing for profit Australia’s commercial fishing industry ranks fourth amongst the nation’s rural food-based industries. Total landings are about 220,000 tonnes, worth $2 billion, a year. Some 200 marine species are caught, of which prawns, lobster, abalone, scallops, oysters and tuna are most important. Finfish (sharks and bony fish) make up more than 60% of landings by weight, but the high value invertebrates like abalone, prawns and crayfish provide 75% of the earnings. Australian fishing industry About 27,000 people are employed in the commercial fishing industry, and there are more than 9,000 commercial fishing boats. Most are small, under 10 m in length, and owner- operated. Deepwater trawlers and long-liners are much larger, over 15 m in length. The latter are generally owned by larger companies, and are termed industrial fisheries. A number of large foreign fishing vessels, from Japan, New Zealand and other countries, are also licensed to fish in Australian waters. Some others fish illegally. Exercise 20.2 Survey of your class fishing practices Do you ever go fishing? Share some of your tales about the ‘ones that got away’. Set up a table to show the following information for your class using fishing frequency as the main identifier. Use at least 4 groupings based on how often class members fish. Write a two page essay on recreational fishing in your area. Use the following questions as a guide. a. How many of the class go fishing each year? b. About how many times? c. How does this compare with the average local fishing family? d. What fishing gear do they use? e. Where do they fish? f. What do they fish for? g. On average, how many fish do they catch? h. What is the most common catch? i. Would they be willingly to pay $25 a year for a fishing licence if the money went in to managing the fishery?