Allocation Review Committee

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (14:56): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister inform the chamber of the fisheries Allocation Review Committee recently established to conduct reviews on the allocations of South Australia's important aquatic resources to ensure resource sharing remains to the benefit of the whole community?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:57): I thank the honourable member for his question and his understanding of these important issues as they apply to the whole state. The Fisheries Management Act 2007 requires that access to the aquatic resources of the state is allocated between users of the resources in a manner that achieves optimum utilisation and equitable distribution of those resources to the benefit of the community. Of course, this is underpinned by our government's commitment to sustainable fisheries, a strong commercial sector, a growing recreational fishing community and maintaining the culturally important Aboriginal traditional fishing sector.

As required by the act, formal sector allocations of primary and secondary species are provided in management plans for South Australian fisheries. The management plans and the PIRSA Allocation Policy, which supplements the act, set out how allocations are to be monitored and reviewed. The monitoring and review process works to identify when allocations have been breached, whether an assessment of allocation is required and, following the outcomes of a full assessment where there have been significant and permanent changes in the sector values, whether a sector should be managed back within their allocation or whether indeed the allocations should be adjusted.

To oversee any full assessments of allocations that may occur over a three-year term, on 6 November last year I established the Allocation Review Committee under section 20 of the Fisheries Management Act 2007. The membership of the Allocation Review Committee is consistent with the requirements of management plans and the Allocation Policy and spans the three fishing sectors for which shares have been allocated, those being the commercial fishing sector, the recreational sector and the Aboriginal traditional fishing sector. These sector positions are supported by an independent chair, an independent economist and an independent fisheries management expert.

In establishing the committee and including recreational fishing representation, we are delivering on an election commitment to have recreational representation to help shape access and allocation in support of healthy fish stocks. The Allocation Review Committee commenced work on their first assessment in December, considering the commercial-only allocation of southern calamari.

Following the release of the 2021-22 survey of recreational fishing, PIRSA will soon commence initial allocation reviews for several species to determine which, if any, should undergo a full assessment by the Allocation Review Committee. I look forward to seeing the work of the committee and the positive outcomes that will come from it in ensuring long-term sustainability and shared access of our very important marine resources.