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Evaluating the effectiveness of the Rotational Zoning Scheme for the Queensland East Coast
Bêche-de-mer FisheryMarch 2011
Fisheries Queensland, a service of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation
(DEEDI), seeks to maximise the economic potential of Queensland’s primary industries on a sustainable
basis.
While every care has been taken in preparing this publication, the State of Queensland accepts no
responsibility for decisions or actions taken as a result of any data, information, statement or advice,
expressed or implied, contained in this report.
© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation 2011.
Copyright protects this material. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), reproduction by any
means (photocopying, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise), making available online, electronic
transmission or other publication of this material is prohibited without the prior written permission of
Fisheries Queensland.
Enquiries about reproduction, including downloading or printing the web version, should be directed to
[email protected] or telephone +61 7 3225 1398.
Evaluating the effectiveness of the Rotational Zoning Scheme for the Queensland East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Tara Smith and Anthony Roelofs, Fisheries Queensland, DEEDI
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to:
i. Provide a summary of the effectiveness of the Rotational Zoning Scheme (RZS) in reducing the
potential for localised and serial depletion in the Queensland East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery
(ECBDMF); and to
ii. Meet the recommendation under the ECBDMF Wildlife Trade Operation (WTO) approval for Fisheries
Queensland to review the effectiveness of the RZS and provide a report to DEWHA [now SEWPaC] on
the species composition of the RZS zones.
Introduction
In June 2004, members of the Queensland Sea Cucumber Association (QSCA) signed and implemented a self-
developed industry Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the ECBDMF. Provisions of the MOU
introduced a Rotational Zoning Scheme (RZS), minimum size limits and trigger catch limits for targeted
species, and restrictions on the number of divers to engage in fishing at any one time.
The RZS has three components:
i. Division of the fishery into 154 rotational zones with each zone to be open to fishing for 15 days
once every three years.
ii. Zones specifically to allow for the harvest of burrowing blackfish (Actinopyga spinea) without time
limit, some with scientifically supported Total Allowable Commercial Catches (TACC).
iii. Provisions for ‘prospecting’ and harvesting for previously underutilised species (subject to species
trigger limits).
The development and implementation of the MOU was a result of the closure of certain reef areas to fishing
under the Representative Areas Program (RAP) implemented by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
in 2004 and a widespread acknowledgement that BDM stocks are particularly vulnerable to localised and
serial depletion. The closure of certain reefs to fishing meant that the fishery quota was now available from a
smaller spatial area and there had to be additional measures in place to ensure that localised depletion
events did not result.
Following the introduction of the MOU, the Australian Government Department of Sustainability,
Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC) accredited the ECBDMF as an approved Wildlife
Trade Operation (WTO) in December 2004, which meant that the fishery could export sea cucumber product.
Retention of that approval is subject to the satisfaction of a list of recommendations. The following
recommendation in particular makes the RZS an important tool to ensure continued export for the fishery:
The Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (now Fisheries Queensland) to
implement within one year, measures to minimise localised depletion and serial depletion in the
fishery.
Fisheries Queensland needs to ensure that management arrangements for the fishery minimise the risk of
unsustainable levels of depletion in order to maintain the fishery’s export approval and deliver the
Ecologically Sustainable Development objectives of the Fisheries Act 1994.
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 1
Operation of the RZS
• The fishery area is divided into 154 rotational zones (Appendix 1):
– 52 zones available from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005
– 51 zones available from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006
– 51 zones available from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007
• Zones are opened in the same order in each subsequent three-year period.
• Each licence holders percentage of quota held in the fishery determines the number of rotational zones
available to them – e.g. 10% of quota = 10% of available zones.
• Each rotational zone can be fished for a maximum of 15 days 1 per year, by one licence holder unless
otherwise agreed.
• Additional zones are available primarily for harvesting burrowing blackfish. These are called Blackfish
Zones (BFZs) and the following rules and limits apply to these:
– No time limit applies in these zones when catching burrowing blackfish;
– 15 days per operator are available in each zone to take species other than burrowing blackfish
in the first year of a rotation cycle;
– Only burrowing blackfish may be taken from BFZs in the second and third years of the cycle (i.e.
no other species).
– The operator who identifies the BFZ has exclusive use of it for the first year.
• Three BFZs were available from July 2004, with their TACC based on scientifically peer reviewed resource
surveys conducted during that time. The Lizard Island TACC was set at 75 t and Gould Reef at 45 t.
• During a single fishing trip, a boat may fish in either the northern zone (north of 19° south) or the
southern zone (south of 19° south, including Marion Reef) of the fishery area, but not in both. This
provision is reflected in licence conditions.
Amendments to the RZS
The RZS utilizes an adaptive approach, allowing for amendment endorsed by the Sea Cucumber Working
Group. Amendments since 2004 include:
• New BFZs were made available from July 2007;
– New BFZ 1 consists of RZS zones M45 and M46, known as Enton and Denton Reefs (15 t TACC);
– New BFZ 2 consists of RZS zone M40;
– New BFZ 3 consists of RZS zone M37 (M37–M40 combined TACC of 15 t);
– New BFZ 4 (introduced November 2007) is part of the Capricorn Bunker Group, between North
West Islet and Polmaise Reef (60 t TACC).
• The RZS was amended in July 2008 to encourage the uptake of previously underutilised effort days in
zones in the far northern section of the GBR north of Cape Direction (C1–3, M1–6, O1–6). The zones that
had not been fished to their effort limits were made available for the 2008–09 fishing year for up to 15
1 A fishing day is defined as a period, six hours or greater, arriving in a zone at or before 0900 or departing at or after 1500. A half fishing day is defined as spending less than six hours in a zone between 0600 and 1800. If fishing is not possible in a zone due to a strong wind warning, the letters SWW may be recorded in the logbook and no day will be deducted from that zone.
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 2
days. Where less than ten days were fished in a zone that year, unused days were made available in the
following year. This change required good communication of day usage between operators.
• The RZS was also amended to provide for prospecting and harvesting trips focusing on curryfish, a
previously underutilised taxon. Through pre-trip notifications, fishers were allowed to fish beyond 15 day
limits or fish in unallocated zones and retain curryfish only (subject to species trigger limits).
Complementary regulatory provisions
• The fishery area comprises all tidal waters east of longitude 142° 31’ 49’’ between latitude 10° 41’ south
and latitude 26° south.
• Approved Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) equipment must be installed in authorised boats (i.e.
primary boats) operating in the ECBDMF and must be working at all times 2 . This enables the Fisheries
Queensland to monitor the position of fishing vessels at all times.
• The TACC for white teatfish is distributed in a fixed proportion between the northern zone and the
southern zone as a mechanism to reduce the potential for depletion of white teatfish stocks. Each
licence in the fishery has an allocated portion of the white teatfish TACC.
• The TACC for ‘other species’ (i.e. all species of sea cucumber other than white teatfish and black
teatfish) is distributed between licences in the fishery but is not broken into northern and southern
zones. Rather, catch is monitored for each species against limits in a Performance Measurement System
(PMS; a non-regulatory policy).
• The TACC split and stated form has been adjusted twice since introduction of the RZS, however the
overall TACC has remained approximately constant.
Originally (in wet gutted weights):
56.8 t white teatfish from the northern zone (north of 19° S)
32 t white teatfish from the southern zone
291.2 t other species
From August 2007 (in processed – salted or blanched – weights):
56.8 t white teatfish from the northern zone
13 t white teatfish from the southern zone
291.2 t other species
From May 2008 (in processed – salted or blanched – weights):
40 t white teatfish from the northern zone (reduced in order to reflect availability of fishing ground and
associated white teatfish resource - i.e. 127.8 t when 75% of fishing ground was available equates to
approximately 40 t with the current 20–25% of GBR fishing ground available to fishing)
13 t white teatfish from the southern zone
308 t other species (increased by the amount that white teatfish was reduced by)
• A maximum of four (4) tender boats, in addition to the authorised (or primary) boat, may be used to take
bêche-de-mer in the same location.
• Operators are required to enter catch and location data in daily logbooks, which are submitted within
seven days of the end of each fishing trip.
2 The Fisheries Regulation 2008 outlines circumstances in which a VMS unit would not be required to be in working order on a boat authorised in the ECBDMF.
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 3
Complementary performance measures
The PMS for the ECBDMF sets up reference limits that trigger reviews and/or specific management actions
when reached or exceeded. PMS measures relevant to this assessment relate to the total catch of individual
species and spatially explicit catch limits for species and areas that have been surveyed. A copy of the PMS
is available at: http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Fisheries_SustainableFishing/Fisheries-PMS-Bêche-
de-mer-2008.pdf
Monitoring adherence to the RZS
Fisheries Queensland monitors the position of fishing vessels authorised for the ECBDMF through
communication with VMS units installed on the authorised boats. Fisheries Queensland’s VMS control centre
takes polls of location data from equipped vessels approximately once every 60 minutes.
Reconstruction of VMS polls enables Fisheries Queensland to determine when a vessel has been anchored,
fishing, travelling between fishing areas, and steaming to and from port, and how many fishing days each
rotational zone has been subjected to for the season. Some of the boats operating in the ECBDMF are used
for other purposes in Queensland waters, such as trochus fishing and prospecting new areas. Fisheries
Queensland manually filters data to exclude VMS polls taken during these other activities.
Evaluation
Summarised catch and effort information from 2001–02 to 2009–10 and VMS polls from 2006–07 to
2009–10 inclusive have been analysed to assess:
• Compliance of operators with the boundaries and effort limits prescribed in the RZS; and
• The spatial distribution of catch and effort.
Compliance of operators with the boundaries and effort limits prescribed in the RZS
There has been a high level of compliance with the RZS zonal day limits with only seven exceptions in the last
four full financial years (Table 1). All of these exceptions have been minor or likely a result of reporting errors.
Table 1: Instances of non-compliance with RZS day limits for 2006–07 to 2009–10 (Source: Fisheries Queensland VMS data 25 August 2010; CFISH database 25 August 2010).
Days fished in excess of allocated days RZS zone ∧
2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 Comment/reason
Action taken
A 3.5 Cannot consolidate with logbook entries–assume multiple northern zones were fished in accordance with amendments made in 2008.
Operator notified and explanation sought.
B 1 Strong wind was recorded on three of these days but fishing was still occurring at a low level.
No action necessary. Strong wind restricted fishing capacity on three days.
C 16 This zone is adjacent to a BFZ and it is likely that some or all of these days were actually fished in the BFZ. Unable to
Logbook improvements in progress to better differentiate BFZ days from adjacent RZS
∧ RZS zone identifiers have been hidden for protection of commercial confidence. Identifiers have been replaced by arbitrary placeholders (A–G).
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 4
Days fished in excess of allocated days RZS
zone ∧
2006–07 2007–08 2008–09
Action taken Comment/reason 2009–10 consolidate with logbook entries.
zones.
D 4.5 Three days borderline with BFZ but fishing species other than burrowing blackfish.
Operator notified and explanation sought. Logbook improvements in progress to better differentiate BFZ days from adjacent zones.
E 1.5 Matches logbook entries – 1.5 days over limit.
Operator notified and explanation sought.
F 0.5 One day is recorded in logbooks as being just outside of the zone (not in any RZS zone).
Operator notified and explanation sought.
G 1 Matches logbook entries – one day over limit.
Operator notified and explanation sought.
The assessment has highlighted a number of challenges to monitoring of RZS compliance. Specifically:
• It is proving difficult to measure the exact position of fishing in some cases, particularly when the primary
vessel is anchored close to a boundary between zones and fishing from tender vessels is occurring up to
several kilometres from the VMS unit.
• VMS polls can also overestimate fishing effort by registering anchored fishing when the vessel has been
travelling at slow speed. These days have been manually removed (through logbook record comparisons)
where possible.
• The VMS poll reconstruction method used for this evaluation assigned polls to the nearest open zone by
default. Amendments to the RZS (allowing far northern zones to be fished during their non-assigned years
and allowing single-species prospecting to occur in unassigned zones) resulted in the need to manually
examine day counts in certain zones to establish which zone was fished (using logbook comparison).
This has been identified as an inefficiency that should be rectified prior to future analyses.
Spatial distribution of catch and effort
This section evaluates the effectiveness of the RZS in spreading fishing effort throughout the fishery
compared with pre-RZS implementation, by presenting (i) annual catch per species against the number of
sites 3 fished and (ii) the proportion of the species’ total annual catch taken in each fished site.
The species presented include all those that were caught at commercial levels both before and after or only
after the implementation of the RZS. They are:
• Blackfish and burrowing blackfish (combined for this report due to reporting confusion in earlier years)
• Curryfish
• Prickly redfish
• Sandfish and golden sandfish (combined for this report due to reporting confusion at several instances)
• White teatfish
3 Site(s) refers to the six nautical mile by six nautical mile grid sites as defined in Queensland commercial fishery logbooks.
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 5
It was intended that this report would include a description of the species composition within the RZS zones
and relate these to individual species review reference points as prescribed in the PMS for the ECBDMF.
However, this level of specificity is not possible with current logbook reporting frameworks.
Fishing activity to species level is recorded in daily logbooks using either a grid site reference or a GPS
coordinate. Grid and site references, which are more commonly reported than GPS coordinates, cannot be
exactly matched to RZS zones due to the differences and variability in size and shape of RZS zones. Revisions
to reporting requirements will ensure future assessments of this nature are possible.
The figures for each species that follow illustrate:
(i) The annual catch and number of sites fished for commercial species or species complexes
(presented as bar-line charts) for the three years prior to RZS and six years following RZS (i.e. two
Figure 1: Total catch and effort (a
full RZS rotations).
ll species) in the ECBDMF from 2001–2002 to 2009–10 + . Arrow indicates when the Rotational Zoning Scheme (RZS) commenced.
mber of individuals) of each commercially caught sea
t
s dropped, whilst the catch
0
50
100
150
200
250
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
No. o
f site
s fi
shed
0
300000
600000
900000
1200000
1500000
No.
of i
ndiv
idua
ls c
augh
t
No. of sites fished
No. of individuals caught
No. of individuals (excluding blackfish and burrowing blackfish)
RZS commenced
(ii) The spatial distribution of catch (in nu
cucumber species/complex by site. The pie charts show how the catch is distributed amongs
fished sites for the 3-year period prior to RZS (July 2001 to Jun 2004) and two three year periods
after RZS (July 2004 to June 2007 and July 2007 to June 2010). Each sector of the pie represents a
fished site, with sectors varying in size depending on what proportion of the total catch was taken
in that site. Many small sectors in a pie indicates widely distributed catch whereas large sectors
may indicate that catch was focused in certain sites (e.g. BFZs).
Since the introduction of RZS, the number of sites fished in the ECBDMF ha
(number of individuals) increased for three years before stabilising at around 1 300 000 individuals per year.
The reduction in sites fished per year is an expected result of the closure of certain reef areas to fishing under
RAP coupled with closing two-thirds of remaining fishing grounds each year under RZS.
The following Figures 2 to 7 provide species level resolution for catch distributions.
+ Source: Fisheries Queensland CFISH database 25 August 2010
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 6
Blackfish and burrowing blackfish
July 2001 - June 2004 July 2004 - June 2007 July 2007 - June 2010
No. of sites fished No. of individuals caught
150 1500000
0
30
60
90
120
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
No.
of s
ites
fishe
d
0
300000
600000
900000
1200000
No.
of i
ndiv
idua
ls c
augh
t
RZS commenced
Figure 2: Blackfish and burrowing blackfish catch & effort in the ECBDMF from 2001–2002 to 2009–10 +
when the Rotational Zoning Scheme (RZS) commenced. The pie charts show how the catch is distributed amsites for the 3-year period prior to RZS (July 2001 to Jun 2004) and two three year periods after RZS (July 2004and July 2007 to June 2010).
. Arrow indicates ongst fished to June 2007
Burrowing blackfish (Actinopyga spinea) emerged as a key species in the ECBDMF around the time that the
RZS was designed. Prior to its identification as a separate species from the common blackfish (A. miliaris), it
is likely that some or most of the catch reported as blackfish was in fact burrowing blackfish. This reporting
confusion is thought to have continued for several years post-RZS, hence the combination of the species in
Figure 2 above.
The trend in catch and number of sites fished is highly reflective of the entire ECBDMF, given that this species
complex is the major contributor to the fishery. Catch increased steadily to 2006–07 before stabilising at
around 1 200 000 individuals per year. In that same timeframe, the number of sites fished reduced and
stabilised as a result of RAP and RZS.
It is evident from the pie charts above that several grid sites are responsible for the majority of catch of the
species. These sites are within defined BFZs under the RZS. The BFZs have been subject to resource
abundance surveys, from which zonal catch limits have been determined in consultation with management
and scientific committees and approved by Fisheries Queensland. Fisheries Queensland monitors catch
within the BFZs to determine adherence to the catch limits. Catch trigger limits act to limit catch of this
important species in areas that have not been scientifically surveyed (non BFZs).
+ Source: Fisheries Queensland CFISH database 25 August 2010
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 7
White teatfish
No. of sites fished No. of individuals caught
020406080
100120140160180200
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
No.
of s
ites
fish
ed
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
No.
of i
ndiv
idua
ls c
augh
t
RZS commenced
July 2001 - June 2004 July 2004 - June 2007 July 2007 - June 2010
Figure 3 the Rotational ning Scheme (RZS) commenced. The pie charts show how the catch is distributed amongst fished sites for the 3-year
ase even before the advent of rotational zoning, it is likely to be a combination of
fish and burrowing blackfish and partially due to the industry-driven reductions in
: White teatfish catch and effort in the ECBDMF from 2001–2002 to 2009–10 + . Arrow indicates whenZoperiod prior to RZS (July 2001 to Jun 2004) and two three year periods after RZS (July 2004 to June 2007 and July 2007 to June 2010).
Figure 3 indicates that the catch of white teatfish is evenly distributed across a large number of geographical
sites. While this was the c
spatially defined catch limits (northern and southern areas) and limits on effort in open zones that has
prevented concentrations of fishing effort in greatly diminished fishing areas since 2004. This maintenance
of a good spatial distribution of catch minimises the risk of unsustainable localised depletion.
The catch of white teatfish has dropped since the introduction of RZS, partially as a result of the industry
focus shift towards black
white teatfish catch limits to reflect the reductions in fishable area since 2004. Catches have remained
relatively stable since the initial reduction.
+ Source: Fisheries Queensland CFISH database 25 August 2010
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 8
Curryfish
Figu s when the Rotational Zoning
In recent years curryfish has emerged as a marketable species in the ECBDMF following successful product
eference
points established under the PMS.
re 4: Curryfish catch & effort in the ECBDMF from 2001–2002 to 2009–10 + . Arrow indicateScheme (RZS) commenced. The pie charts show how the catch is distributed amongst fished sites for the 3-year period prior to RZS (July 2001 to Jun 2004) and a three year periods after RZS (July 2007 to June 2010). Only one site was fished in July 2004 to June 2007 with very small tonnages so is not included here.
processing trials. While the catch has demonstrated a marked increase since 2007–08 (Figure 4), the number
of sites fished has increased proportionately, ensuring that the impacts of fishing are spread over a broad
geographical area and therefore minimising the risk of irreversible localised depletion.
Fisheries Queensland monitors catch of this species within RZS zones against the zonal review r
+ Source: Fisheries Queensland CFISH database 25 August 2010
July 2001 - June 2004 July 2007 - June 2010
No. of sites fished No. of individuals caught
0
10
20
30
40
50
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
No.
of s
ites
fish
ed
0
15000
30000
45000
60000
75000
No.
of i
ndiv
idua
ls c
augh
t
RZS commenced
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 9
Prickly redfish
l
7 and July 2007 to ne 2010).
No. of sites fished No. of individuals caught
0
30
60
90
120
150
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
No.
of s
ites
fishe
d
0
8000
16000
24000
32000
40000
No.
of i
ndiv
idua
ls c
augh
t
RZS commenced
July 2001 - June 2004 July 2004 - June 2007 July 2007 - June 2010
Figure 4: Prickly redfish catch & effort in the ECBDMF from 2001–2002 to 2009–10 + . Arrow indicates when the RotationaZoning Scheme (RZS) commenced. The pie charts show how the catch is distributed amongst fished sites for the 3-year period prior to RZS (July 2001 to Jun 2004) and two three year periods after RZS (July 2004 to June 200Ju
Figure 4 illustrates that the catch of prickly redfish was well distributed both before and after RZS. While the
catch has fluctuated over time it has maintained a fairly broad geographical spread. There are no current
concerns about localised depletion of prickly redfish.
+ Source: Fisheries Queensland CFISH database 25 August 2010
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 10
Sandfish and golden sandfish
+ . Arrow indicates when r
ly
Much like the reporting of blackfish and burrowing blackfish, there have been discrepancies in the reporting
andfish and golden sandfish are not key target species in the ECBDMF, which explains why annual catch
d number of sites fished have been largely variable. The spatial catch distribution has been skewed by a
w instances where substantial opportunistic catches have occurred within a localised area (e.g. a single
ighly productive trip).
onclusions
Overall, Fisheries Queensland believes that the RZS reduces the risk of localised depletion to species taken
in the fishery. However, given the difficulties in monitoring and understanding the system, there may be
simpler strategies that provide the same result.
The rotational zoning component has limited the fishing effort for white teatfish and other secondary species
in spatially discrete areas and has provided resting periods of two in every three years for available reefs.
Fisheries Queensland considers that the risk of localised depletion to these species is extremely low when
fishers operate under the RZS. Compliance with the rotational zone day limits was high over the last four full
No. of sites fished No. of individuals caught
0
10
20
30
40
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
No.
of s
ites
fish
ed
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
No.
of i
ndiv
idua
ls c
augh
tRZS commenced
July 2001 - June 2004 July 2004 - June 2007 July 2007 - June 2010
Figure 5: Sandfish and golden sandfish catch & effort in the ECBDMF from 2001–2002 to 2009–10the Rotational Zoning Scheme (RZS) commenced. The pie charts show how the catch is distributed amongst fished sites fothe 3-year period prior to RZS (July 2001 to Jun 2004) and two three year periods after RZS (July 2004 to June 2007 and Ju2007 to June 2010).
of sandfish (Holothuria scabra) and golden sandfish (Holothuria scabra var. versicolor) in recent years. As a
result, the species have been combined for the purpose of this evaluation.
S
an
fe
h
C
+ Source: Fisheries Queensland CFISH database 25 August 2010
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 11
financial years, with only six minor indiscretions and one more significant overrun. Most of these instances,
e due to reporting and monitoring errors and inadequacies. Despite this,
over-runs at this level are highly unlikely to create any measurable risk of localised depletion.
The BFZ component of the RZS has resulted in areas of concentrated fishing effort for the primary species,
burrowing blackfish. However, spatially-explicit catch limits for this species, based on resource surveys, have
been approved by Fisheries Queensland as sufficient mechanisms to sustain the fishery at the BFZ zone
level. Fisheries Queensland therefore considers the fishery for burrowing blackfish to be sustainable in the
surveyed BFZs. In addition, trigger limits reduce the potential for localised depletion in unsurveyed areas by
restricting catch (rather than effort) to precautionary levels.
Recommendations
This evaluation highlighted components of the RZS that may benefit from simplification.
• The number and shape of fishing zones could be simplified to be more consistent with spatial reporting
for all Queensland fisheries (i.e. a square grid-system), as the RZS zones vary considerably in size and
shape throughout the fishery. As an interim measure, logbook requirements are being amended to
require fishers to report the RZS zone rather than (or in addition to) conventional logbook grids.
• The rotational zones could be simplified to reflect the reduced focus on species other than burrowing
blackfish. More than 80% of catch in the fishery is burrowing blackfish and the majority is taken from
BFZs.
• The focus of the management strategy could shift to spatially-explicit catch limits for primary species
(burrowing blackfish) and emerging species (curryfish), using a combination of precautionary trigger
limits and survey-based catch limits. While this is currently a component, it is not the focus of the
strategy.
including the latter, are believed to b
Fisheries Queensland will continue to work with the ECBDMF industry to deliver relevant, realistic, and
measurable management arrangements for the sustainability of the fishery.
East Coast Bêche-de-mer Fishery Rotational Zoning Scheme evaluation 12
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14°3
0'S
14°3
0'S
15°0
'S
15°0
'S
15°3
0'S
15°3
0'S
16°0
'S
16°0
'S
16°3
0'S
16°3
0'S
17°0
'S
17°0
'S
17°3
0'S
17°3
0'S
18°0
'S
18°0
'S
18°3
0'S
18°3
0'S
19°0
'S
19°0
'S
19°3
0'S
19°3
0'S
20
°0'S
20
°0'S
20
°30
'S
20
°30
'S
21°
0'S
21°
0'S
21°
30
'S
21°
30
'S
22
°0'S
22
°0'S
22
°30
'S
22
°30
'S
23
°0'S
23
°0'S
23
°30
'S
23
°30
'S
0 90 180 270 36045Kilometres
© State of Queensland, Fisheries Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation 2011.
This map incorporates data which is: © Commonwealth of Australia (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) 2009.
BASE MAP reproduced with permission of Geoscience Australia. GEODETIC DATUM OF AUSTRALIA - 1994.
APPENDIX 1