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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-06-29 Daily Xml
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PRAWN FISHERY

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (15:11): Will the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries inform the house about the results of the recent report into the co-management model of the—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mrs VLAHOS: —Spencer Gulf prawn fishery?

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Northern Suburbs) (15:12): I thank the member for Taylor for the question, and I am sure the member for Flinders will be very interested in the answer. Last season the South Australian prawn industry had one of its best seasons yet. I met with industry leaders in Port Lincoln several weeks ago, and they informed me that the prawn industry had landed its total allowable catch in near record time. This is a testament to both the health of the fishery and its management.

As members are probably aware, the industry is based predominantly out of Port Lincoln, and from this city—reputedly the largest fishing centre in the Southern Hemisphere—harvests of the Spencer Gulf and West Coast prawn fishery are launched.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN: Different story, Vickie. In 2007-08 the fisheries produced almost $33 million worth of prawns and directly employed over 200 people. The management of the fishery which has underpinned the industry was recognised last year by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, which determined the Spencer Gulf prawn fishery one of the best managed in the world. In its report, 'A global study of shrimp fisheries', the UN organisation praised the Spencer Gulf prawn fishery as a global model of fair, flexible and accountable management. On this note I commend our South Australian prawn industry on producing a new management model for the Spencer Gulf prawn fishery.

In a recent report entitled, 'Competition to collaboration: exploring co-management models for the Spencer Gulf prawn fishery', stakeholders from the Spencer Gulf and West Coast Prawn Fishermen's Association, PIRSA Fisheries, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, and the Conservation Council of South Australia explored a range of different models to arrive at a co-management arrangement for the fishery. This innovative co-management model in Spencer Gulf provides a benchmark for the future management of other fisheries as it provides for shared management responsibility between government, industry and the conservation sector. I think this is the standout of this particular model in that it has brought the conservation sector well and truly into the management regime.

The co-management arrangement has been evolving over the past five years and will now be used as a national case study into how our fisheries should be managed into the future. I think this is a great accomplishment for South Australia, that we are being consistently seen as a national leader in fisheries management. It shows what can be achieved when industry, government and the conservation sector work together.

On the national front, this confidence in our co-management has translated into the South Australian prawn fishery being recognised by the Australian government as being managed in an ecologically sustainable way that meets the standards necessary for the granting of a licence for export. Without this recognition our South Australian prawns could not be enjoyed by people throughout the world. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Spencer Gulf and West Coast Prawn Fishermens Association, the Conservation Council of South Australia and last, but not least, PIRSA Fisheries Division for its leadership in managing our prawn fishery.

Mr PENGILLY: I rise on a point of order—122. During the course of question time both the Minister for Transport and the Treasurer, in answer to questions, referred to those in another place as being in a 'star chamber'. Madam Speaker, I ask you to rule whether those remarks are against 122.

The SPEAKER: It may be a point of order, but each house has always criticised each other, since the day the houses were created. I do not think I will take it too much further than that, but thank you for drawing it to my attention.

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