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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-11-22 Daily Xml
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SNAPPER FISHING SUSTAINABILITY

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:20): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries a question about snapper fishing.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: In South Australia alone, about one-quarter of South Australians (or an estimated 236,000 South Australians) enjoy fishing each year. Apart from the enjoyment, recreational fishing injects millions of dollars into the economy—in the purchase and maintenance of boats, marine engines, tackle and equipment. My question is: can the minister provide the chamber with information on how the South Australian government is working to make snapper fishing a sustainable recreational sport?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (15:21): I thank the honourable member for her question and for her ongoing interest in this very important area.

I inform members that the Management Options for Snapper in South Australia paper has now been released for public consultation, with an accompanying background paper. Snapper is regarded as one of the glamour fish of saltwater fishing in South Australia. It is an important recreational and also commercial species—and it is quite delicious to eat, I might add—and they are found throughout the southern half of Australia. Juvenile snapper (also known as rugger snapper) are mainly found in inlets, bays, and shallow and sheltered marine waters. Adults are often found near reefs and underwater structures, including limestone ledges, and man-made structures, such as artificial reefs and wrecks.

The purpose of the options paper and background paper is to seek informed consultation with all industry and community stakeholders to get their input into future management arrangements for the snapper fishery. The snapper fishery was valued at around $6.5 million in 2009-10, making it the highest-value marine scalefish stock landed in South Australia. The snapper fishery has been subject to an increasing range of effort-based regulatory controls since the mid-1990s. This has been in response to increased effort across all sectors, combined with new technologies aiding that effort.

Currently, snapper is managed in South Australian waters using a combination of control measures, and this includes the legal minimum size limit of 38 centimetres, recreational daily bag and boat limits specific to snapper (38 to 59 centimetres and 60-plus centimetres), an annual temporal closure to all snapper fishing through the month of November, and also limited entry of commercial fisheries with access to snapper.

Revised management arrangements for snapper are being considered because fishery performance is strongly influenced by the number of juvenile fish that are spawned and reach a certain size or age where they can enter the fishery, and this is variable from year to year. Fish stocks are obviously a finite resource, and it is only through very careful management, based on sound research, that we can ensure the health of our fish stocks for today and into the future. We want to make sure that our kids, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are able to enjoy fishing. Although I am advised that there is some concern for the future stock status of snapper and the economic return for the snapper fishery at various times of the year, snapper biomass has recently been estimated to be relatively high.

The options paper sets out the principles for management of the snapper fishery and details the possible options for management, advantages and disadvantages of the various options, and a community feedback form for being able to comment on the different options. A key outcome of this review must be management arrangements that effectively control the level of commercial impact on snapper stocks, optimises snapper spawning and supports a sustainable snapper fishery.

It is unlawful to take snapper from South Australian waters from 12 midday 1 November to 12 midday 30 November. During this period, any snapper caught accidentally must be returned to the water immediately. Very heavy fines apply if you do not release snapper back into the water during this time.

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