A MIDNIGHT encounter 50km out to sea on Friday night led one group of game fishermen, including the author of this article, to speculate they had located the controversial factory trawler, the Geelong Star.
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A mystery ship drifted alongside their fishing boat for their entire 40km swordfish drift in the pitch black from the Narooma southern seamount to Bunga Canyons off Bermagui.
But at first light, they raced up to the ship, only to find it was the container ship named Hohebank.
This mistaken identity stems from the fact the Geelong Star is not required to have her Automatic Identification System or AIS turned on, so only the Australian fisheries authorities know where she is.
We contacted the Small Pelagic Fishery Industry Association in attempt to get some answers.
Spokesperson Tim Powell said the Geelong Star moved around quite a bit looking for schools of fish and avoiding marine mammals.
And he said the vessel has to comply with fish and move on rules to avoid any impacts of localised depletion.
The vessel had been fishing off Bermagui and further south a few weeks back, but has now been fishing in waters south of Tasmania on this current trip, he said.
“The AIS is turned off because of the repeated threats of violence we have had against the vessel, its crew and the vessel’s operators,” he said.
“AFMA has its own dedicated tracking system installed on the boat that is on all the time so AFMA knows exactly where the boat is when it is fishing.”
He said there is consensus among fisheries scientists, and acceptance by most recreational fishers, that setting a total allowable catch at between 5 per cent and 12 per cent, depending on zone and species, of the estimated biomass for small pelagic species is sustainable and very conservative fisheries management, he said.
In other developments, the ABC has reported that New South Wales academic Dr Kirsten Davies resigned as chairwoman of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority's resource assessment group, saying her concerns about the part-owner of the trawler's influence were ignored.
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Localised Depletion- The Facts according to SPFIA:
The risk of localized depletion has been addressed through conservative quota management and specific, local rules for how The Geelong Star fishes.
The Geelong Star can only catch part of its quota in specific grid areas, before having to move on and not return for a month (the fish and move-on rule).
Mid-water trawlers can only catch a small percentage of the fish they see in schools; more than 90% of fish typically ‘escape’ the trawl run.
CSIRO studies show predator species switch their diet between small pelagic species because of natural variations in bait fish movements. Mid-water trawling of these species under strict catch limits will have no measurable impacts on the local abundance of predator species.
There is consensus among fisheries scientists, and acceptance by most recreational fishers, that setting a total allowable catch at between 5% and 12% (depending on zone and species) of the estimated biomass for small pelagic species is sustainable and very conservative fisheries management.
The issue that recreational fishers are most interested in is localised depletion. That is, could a freezer trawler pursuing its quota share of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) fish down the available stock of small pelagic fish in a defined region to the point where there are noticeable and measurable impacts on the local abundance of predator species.
AFMA addresses localised depletion in conditions imposed on the Geelong Star via its Vessel Management Plan.
Firstly, the Geelong Star is permitted to catch a maximum of 75% of its zone quota (for all species) in any one of the seven sub-areas in the western or eastern sub-zone. In the eastern zone of the fishery this means that a maximum of 10,845 tonnes could be taken in one of the three sub-areas stretching from Queensland to Tasmania over the course of a year. In the western zone of the fishery where quotas are smaller, a maximum annual catch of 3,121 tonnes could be taken from one of the four sub-areas.
By way of context, the total allowable catch for the single species sardine fishery in
South Australian waters is 35,000 tonnes, almost all of which has been sustainably caught in a small area of the Spencer Gulf for many years.
Despite all the hype, the volumes of fish allowed to be taken by The Geelong Star are not large compared to other Australian commercial fisheries.
For the small pelagic fishery, AFMA has defined 120 separate 2,700 square mile grids (one degree square) around the heavily populated areas of the Australian coast. These grids are approximately 60 nautical miles by 45 nautical miles. They are very large. A catch limit of 2000 tonnes applies to the combined catch of quota species (jack mackerel, blue mackerel and redbait) within any grid over a 30 day period. Then the vessel must move on and stay away for at least one month (the fish and move on rule).
What might the stock of small pelagic fish be in a 2700 square mile grid?
As any fisherman would say, that depends. These species are highly mobile and roam over hundreds of square miles of ocean in large and small schools.
Whether the Geelong Star fishes or not, there may be very few jack mackerel or blue mackerel in a grid one month and 40,000 tonnes schooling in that grid a month later.
As long as the TAC is sustainable, the fish will continue to breed and move in and out of various zones based on ocean temperatures, feed sources and other factors.
Unlike purse seining that can encircle an entire school of fish, a mid-water trawler captures only that fraction of the available fish that are directly in its path and at the depth range that the trawl is fishing.
The extent of fish escapement can be estimated from the sonar and fish finder readings of school size compared to the amount actually caught. With mid-water trawling, a skipper would be lucky to catch more than 10 % of an identified school in a single trawl shot.
There are vast amounts of bait fish that don’t get caught, and cannot be caught under the fish and move on rule, in any grid area.
Predator Species
And what about the predator species? Some follow the schools, and some stay within a regional feeding area. Science shows these species are well adapted to the changing feed sources nature brings, and will switch between pelagic species to alternatives like lantern fish.
A recent major CSIRO study (January 2015) concluded that “none of the key higher trophic level predators in SE Australia such as seals, penguins and tuna has a high dietary dependence on these species (jack mackerel, blue mackerel and red bait).”
The report states that bait fish are highly mobile and predators have to move from food source to food source depending on what is available (ie from redbait to squid to lantern fish).
There is an estimated stock of five million tonnes of lantern fish off eastern Tasmania, and they are abundant throughout the fishery. Predators will have plenty to eat, whether the Geelong Star fishes or not.
But if the vessel does not fish, humans will miss out on 82 million meals of nutritious, omega 3 rich sustainable seafood each year.
About the Small Pelagic Fishery Industry Association (SPFIA)
The SPFIA represents the interests of 29 members who hold quota in Australia’s small pelagic fishery. Members range from small quota holders (less than 1,000 tonnes) to Seafish Tasmania, which holds 16,500 tonnes of quota from a total available catch (2015) of 39,000 tonnes.
The SPFIA aims to support the sustainable commercial development of the small pelagic fishery through assisting members in their interactions with Government, regulators, scientists, stakeholders and the community.
