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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-04-10 Daily Xml
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ROCK LOBSTER FISHERY

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:21): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing a question to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation on the subject of fisheries.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: The government has announced it will commence licence buyouts in 2013 in association with the marine parks program. Various industry spokespersons state that the sanctuary zones at the top of the gulf will devastate fishing opportunities, with knock-on effects on the town of Port Wakefield, and interestingly the revised sanctuary zone in this location is actually larger than the original, with no accompanying explanation. The northern zone rock lobster industry has not yet been advised which SARDI methodology the government intends to use and has therefore withdrawn from the negotiating process.

The president of the South Australian Northern Zone Rock Lobster Fishermen's Association, Mr Trent Gregory, has said that he is, and I quote, 'extremely disappointed with your', being the minister, 'comments that the northern zone rock lobster fishery would not be affected by the loss of highly productive fishing grounds', which he describes as an 'exceptionally ill-informed comment to make'. He further says:

As a result of our meeting, I feel both you and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries have limited appreciation for, and understanding of the NZRLF [northern zone rock lobster fishery] and the impact your marine parks, and now the buyout, will have on the fishers' families and related businesses. Un-questionable scientific research has shown the rock lobster fishery is a benign fishery.

As a result of the current zones, effort is likely to be redistributed to more marginal fishing grounds. My questions are:

1. When does the government intend to finalise the adjustment process, and is that this year?

2. Does the minister agree that the South Australian rock lobster industry is harvested according to principles of sustainability?

3. At a time when every week businesses in South Australia are laying off staff or going broke, why is this government not seeking to find a win-win for industry and the environment?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:23): The questions go to the fisheries portfolio. The fisheries displacement effort is a matter that is being managed through PIRSA. The South Australian network of 19 marine parks, as we know, took effect in November 2012, and the government has worked extremely closely with the fishing industry representatives over a number of years and is continuing to do so.

Our goal has always been to minimise the impact on our commercial fisheries, and that is because our fisheries industry is extremely important to us. It is very important to the economic viability of this state, it contributes significantly economically, and of course we are balancing that with the important protection of our marine environments as well. We think we have the balance right, and we continue to consult with and have an open dialogue with the industry.

PIRSA has worked with the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources to pursue what we have always called a pragmatic zoning to minimise the impact on aquaculture, commercial and recreational fishing activities which are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable and which are important providers of jobs and economic returns, not just to the state as a whole but particularly to our regions as well. Our marine parks have not been developed to manage fisheries or aquaculture, which obviously continue to be managed through the appropriate legislation.

The government has allowed two years for the restrictions on fishing to come into effect to enable fishers to prepare for changes. Trawling restrictions come into effect in March 2013, and all other fishing restrictions will apply from October 2014. We hope to have all of the displaced effort arrangements negotiated and finalised prior to October 2014. The government continues to run an education campaign to let the public know about the zoning, including where they will be able to fish.

The honourable member raised the issue of the northern rock lobster zone, and also it affects the central zone of abalone fishers. They are obviously very important industries to our regions. Considerable work has been done with these fishers and the community as well in an attempt to minimise impact. For instance, when the public consultation provided specific concern over the abalone and rock lobster fishing around Kangaroo Island, etc., the sanctuary zone was significantly reduced in size (in fact, the marine park by approximately 60 per cent) whilst maintaining a conservation outcome at this iconic biodiversity and tourism hotspot. So you can see where our efforts have been. As I said, there has been a 60 per cent adjustment.

On behalf of the government, the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) has used the most up-to-date and best information available provided by the abalone fishers and rock lobster fishers as well to help us estimate the potential of those impacts. They wanted to ensure that our figures were correct. They needed to be able to provide us with evidence of their fishing effort, and most have done that. They have worked with us in a highly cooperative way, I might add. I am very grateful for those efforts; it has helped with the integrity of this exercise. This also includes fished areas defined by abalone fishers and pot sampling data from the lobster industry. SARDI estimates the following displacement of catch for these fisheries: 5.7 per cent of the northern zone rock lobster catch; 3.1 per cent of the western zone abalone catch; and 3.1 per cent of the central zone abalone catch.

The government will seek to buy back the displaced abalone and rock lobster effort through an open and voluntary catch/effort reduction program. Compulsory acquisition, as I have already reported in this place, would only be a last resort. The marine parks, as I have said before, help maintain the long-term sustainable future of our marine environment. It is in the interests of us all and in the interests of our children and grandchildren, and this ultimately will underpin South Australia's valuable commercial fishing sectors.

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