Science against ‘Abel Tasman’. ‘Block ports’ protests ‘not a concern’. Burke’s ‘all-clear’

Picture: Greenpeace

While fisheries science is more complex than Dr. Seuss’ iconic title implies, he had it right in two fundamental areas. We need to understand the species we are exploiting in our fisheries (red vs. blue) and we need to know how many there are. The science case for introducing a trawler to exploit southern small pelagics is weak in both these areas. As such, it does not support the introduction of super trawling in Australia.

The target species for this greatly expanded fishery include blue mackerel, jack mackerel, Peruvian jack mackerel and redbait. They are repeatedly referred to as “small pelagics”, “forage fish” , and “baitfish”.

Such labelling conjures teeming schools of Peruvian anchoveta and Atlantic herring associated with the highly productive waters of South American and South African western margins and of the North Sea. These recognised forage species share a set of life-history characteristics, such as high growth rates, low maximum age, and high reproductive output: they pursue the quintessential “live fast, die young” strategy. These characteristics increase their resiliency to exploitation, but aren’t enough to prevent their over-exploitation in the face of highly efficient industrialised fishing such as super trawling.

The “small pelagics” targeted by the super trawler do not share these resiliency characteristics. Our “small pelagics” are typically twice as large in maximum length as typical forage species (63 vs 33 cm), have a maximum life span 60% longer (21 vs 13 years), feed higher up the food chain, and grow 30% more slowly (0.17/year vs 0.62/year). Indeed, these characteristics make them statistically more similar to reef fish such as baldchin groper, recognised as over-exploited. It is unclear how the robust recommendations from the Forage Fish Task Force apply to non-forage species. We should not be treating these animals as a highly productive resource on which we experiment with super trawlers, but rather as valuable wildlife in Australia’s low-productivity southern oceans.

Some are concerned about the potential for localised depletions when super trawlers are active. To address those concerns, we need to understand how local populations are replenished by young fish across the region and whether adults can replenish depleted areas. There is increasing evidence that the adults of many species are not as mobile as previously thought.

But we are largely ignorant about the effective population structure of these species. Of the four species considered for exploitation, the population structure of blue mackerel is uncertain, and jack mackerel and redbait are believed to have eastern and western subpopulations. No dedicated population studies have been conducted on redbait nor is any information available for Peruvian jack mackerel. Moreover, little is reported about adult movements of any of these species except that larger jack mackerel are found in deeper waters.

The total allowable catch of approximately 18,000 tonnes is a 10-fold increase over previous years’ landings. In setting it, the Government is relying on its ability to determine the un-fished biomass; that is, its ability to count fish. But its estimates are generally based on old information (in the east, blue mackerel information is from 2004), inferred from other species (for jack mackerel in the east) or entirely absent (for jack mackerel in the west, Peruvian jack mackerel in the west, and redbait in the west). It is likely that biomass estimates (and associated quotas) are much more uncertain than is currently reported. Indeed, ABARES assessments of population status are based on fishing effort rather than actual population size.

Read the rest, with full links, The Conversation, here

• Mercury: Fury over Margiris rename

SUPER trawler FV Margiris will be renamed the Abel Tasman in a move that has outraged Tasmanian fishermen.

Seafish Tasmania, who will operate the controversial fishing vessel, confirmed the name change was part of the process of reflagging the ship, which is now docked at Port Lincoln in South Australia.

“Part of reflagging a vessel is renaming it and Margiris is a Dutch-flagged ship at the moment,” Seafish Tasmania spokesman Mike Lester said.

“Seafish is a Tasmanian company so they thought changing the name to Abel Tasman was a nice link between the Netherlands and Tasmania when the ship is reflagged in Australia.”

But Martin Haley, from the Tuna Club of Tasmania, said the renaming was another example of Seafish Tasmania mutilating the state’s heritage and damaging Tasmania’s name and brand.

“This is an absolute national disgrace and a total embarrassment to Tasmania’s international reputation and image,” he said.

“Tasmanians are very proud of our heritage and history and at no time do we invite a super trawler capable of plundering and decimating our fisheries to be renamed after our most famous explorer.”

Mr Haley called on Premier Lara Giddings to intervene before further damage to Tasmania’s brand was done.

Mr Lester said the process of reflagging the ship and assigning its quota was expected to be completed within a week, at which point the super trawler would be able to start fishing.

Mr Lester said Federal Fisheries Minister Joe Ludwig was satisifed that the Margiris’s assigned quota was appropriate and based on good science.

He said the only issue of concern was by-catch of other species like dolphins and albatross but there were systems in place to address the risk.

“They have an excluder device on the net which is like a grid system inside the net that leads animals caught in it to an exit. Dolphins are smart enough to find their way out if there is a clear way out,” he said.

Mercury here

• FEDERAL LABOR & LIBERAL MUST APOLOGISE TO REC FISHERS

Paul ‘Basil’ O’Halloran MP
Greens Member for Braddon
Sunday, 02 September 2012

The Tasmanian Greens today called on the Federal Labor and Liberal parties to apologise to recreational fishing groups for claiming that they had been misled by the Greens over the possible environmental impacts of the FV Margiris.

Greens Member for Braddon Paul O’Halloran MP attended today’s forum in Campbell Town along with Greens Primary Industries spokesperson Kim Booth MP.

Mr O’Halloran said that it was insulting for Senator Richard Colbeck and Fisheries Minister Joe Ludwig to claim that fishing group representatives could not reach their own conclusions regarding doubts over the fishery science.

“What the Greens have done is listen to the concerns of fishing groups who had been getting the cold shoulder from their traditional allies in the Labor and Liberal parties,” Mr O’Halloran said.

“That’s why we organised a forum in Devonport in July and brought on board recreational fishing and environmental groups, in order to hear their concerns and allow them to be aired publicly.”

“The Federal Labor Party has tried to co-opt fishing groups by creating a secretive working group to apply operating conditions to the Margiris, but now that the fishing groups have walked they are looking to blame the Greens.”

“We think that’s not going to wash, which is why we will continue working alongside the fishing community and environmental groups to try and get to the bottom of what we all believe is a dodgy approval process for this vessel.”

“What we’ve realised along the way is that the Greens and recreational fishing groups have a lot in common, and that we share a deep conviction that fishing should be sustainable, and that future generations should also be entitled to catch a fish when they drop a line in the water.”

“We will continue to represent the views of fishing and environmental groups in the Parliament, because we share their concerns about the risks and the lack of reliable science behind the decision to allow the Margiris into Australian waters,” Mr O’Halloran said.

•BLOCK THE PORTS: THE MARGIRIS IS NOT WELCOME
A Name Change Will Not Hide Past Crimes

Kim Booth MP
Greens Primary Industries Spokesperson
Monday, 3 September 2012

The Tasmanian Greens today called for a commitment from the Minister for Ports David O’Byrne to deny the FV Margiris access to Tasmanian ports, unless it is in an emergency situation.
Greens Primary Industries spokesperson Kim Booth, who attended yesterday’s public forum in Campbell Town, said that the meeting passed a unanimous resolution calling on the Margiris to be denied access to Tasmanian ports.

“The meeting was clear and unanimous in calling on the ocean plunderer Margiris to be denied access to Tasmania’s ports,” Mr Booth said.

“Recently all three parties passed a motion in Parliament opposing the operation of the Margiris in Australian waters, and now it’s up to the Minister to turn resolution into action.”

“The fact that the ship’s owners think that they have to change its name to hide its past fishing crimes is a clear indication of the type of vessel we’re dealing with.”

“Calling the vessel ‘Abel Tasman’ would just be adding insult to injury for the hundreds of thousands of Tasmanians for whom that name has a deep connection and significance.”

“The Greens are calling on all who are opposed to this ocean vacuum cleaner to refuse to acknowledge any name change, and to continue calling by its real name the Margiris”

“The Margiris can run but it cannot hide and communities around Australia will fight to send this super trawler packing”

“Just as a leopard cannot change its spots, this cynical use of Tasmania’s namesake is meaningless and the Greens will not be endorsing such shameless spin,” Mr Booth said.

• ABC Radio National: Protests not a concern

• SMH: Greenpeace oceans campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said it was now up to the Fisheries Minister, Joe Ludwig, to stop the boat. ”No conditions can hide the fact that this is an oversized, oversubsidied ship from a European fleet that is swinging a wrecking ball through fisheries all over the world,” he said. Read the full story HERE

• SMH: Greenpeace oceans campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said it was now up to the Fisheries Minister, Joe Ludwig, to stop the boat. ”No conditions can hide the fact that this is an oversized, oversubsidied ship from a European fleet that is swinging a wrecking ball through fisheries all over the world,” he said.

• Watch Tony Burke on Q&A HERE

• See Ron in Comments