Catch cuts rock lobster industry
By Sean
Murphy for Landline
Posted Fri May 7, 2010 7:19am AEST =
![3D"Fishing](3D"cid:1245676.surfulater.com" "3D\"Fishing")
Fishing ban: James (L) and Joe =
Paratore
have had their pot numbers dramatically reduced. (ABC TV, Landline)
Australia's most successful fishery is in disarray with =
doubts
cast on the science which has under-pinned its success for the past 40
years.
From Monday, half of the Western Rock Lobster fleet will be banned from
fishing, almost two months ahead of the historic seasonal closure.
It is a radical measure imposed by the Western Australian Government on a
fishery it says is now in danger of collapse and follows a year of turmoil =
where
the allowable catch was slashed to half of the annual average.
Western Rock Lobster has earned billions of export dollars since it was
established after World War II and was the world's first commercial fishery =
to
win sustainability accreditation from the independent Marine Stewardship
Council.
Much of its success has been linked to a research method known as the =
purelus
count, which has accurately predicted catch levels up to four years ahead. In =
the past three years the count has collapsed and management measures imposed =
on
the industry have seen the lobster fleet reduced by about 40 per cent.
The purelus count involves a series of in-shore collection points along =
the
Western Australian coast which trap juvenile lobster, or purelus, in =
artificial
weed mats as they drift on the Leeuwin Current.
But the purelus count has fallen so dramatically in recent years that
scientists fear a catastrophic collapse in lobster numbers.
The WA Department of Fisheries director of research, Dr Rick Fletcher, =
says
the cause is a mystery.
"The situation now is that we're looking for other factors that could be
affecting the recruitment, not just the Leeuwin Current," he said.
"So we've set up another four or five major research projects to examine =
what
could be the cause of the low purelus.
"We actually ran a risk assessment in April last year where we got a =
number
of experts and had an independent panel to assess all of the likely options =
of
why we had a low settlement, including whether or not we just had measurement =
error as well."
The department has also agreed to an independent review of its scientific
modelling after an audit by the Marine Stewardship Council this year.
One of the auditors, Professor Bruce Phillips from Curtin University, says =
the department recently introduced a new computer model to help with its =
catch
predictions.
"This new model, in our opinion, was not robust enough and it needed extra =
work on it," Professor Phillips said.
Critics such as Townsville-based marine biologist Walter Starck blame the
Department of Fisheries for relying too much on computer modelling and not
enough on research at sea.
"In recent years, everything has gone to computer modelling because it's
something that can be done from an air-conditioned office, you don't have to =
go
out on boats and get seasick and get your backside wet," Mr Starck said.
Three groups of WA lobster fishers paid for Mr Starck to make an =
assessment
of the fishery.
He believes the Indian Ocean dipole, a climate phenomenon like the El Nino =
effect, is the most likely cause of the low purelus settlement.
"Now the Indian Ocean dipole when it's in the positive phase, you get cold =
water upwellings in the eastern Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia =
and
the Leeuwin Current weakens," Mr Starck said.
"Now we know from past experience that your best settlement of juvenile
lobsters comes when the Leeuwin Current is strong."
He says lobster fishers believe there is no threat to future lobster stock =
and large numbers of juveniles are being caught this year. He believes the
purelus are settling in deeper water.
Dr Fletcher says a weaker Leeuwin Current failing to bring the juvenile
lobsters close to shore is just one likely scenario.
"We're finding out that the environmental conditions in the year with the
larvae in the water aren't the only factors that affect recruitment," Dr
Fletcher said.
"We've now found out that the environmental conditions when the female's
getting ready to come into breeding cycles, six months before they even =
release
their eggs, are also important because if it's cooler weather, and cooler =
water,
then it delays the onset of spawning and we're finding from the oceanographic =
modelling related to larval behaviour that early spawning seems to be more
likely to be successful than later spawning.
"So we're trying now to marry those things up and see which of the factors =
might have been putting together to end up with the situation we've had for =
the
past three or four years."
Fishers face uncertainty
In the meantime the Western Australian Government has slashed the total
allowable catch to less than half of what the long-term average is with just
5,500 tonnes to be caught this year and for the next two seasons.
It means fishers such as James Paratore, who operates out of Fremantle =
with
his Sicilian-born father Joe, have had their pot numbers and days fished
dramatically reduced.
Although they are licensed to use 128 pots, they were restricted to just =
38
pots, faced two 10-day closures and were only allowed to fish four days a
week.
"You can't operate a business when you don't know from week to week if you =
can operate it or not and under what rules you can operate," Mr Paratore
said.
Now they are banned from fishing until next year as part of a closure from =
this Monday of the southern and largest of three lobster fishing zones.
But even before the extraordinary seasonal closure, the impact of the
management measures has been drastic with the lobster fleet reduced by nearly =
200 boats in the past three seasons.
In towns like Jurien Bay, 270 kilometres north of Perth, there are now =
more
boats for sale than there are fishing for lobster.
The town's boat lifter and fuel supplier is struggling to stay in =
business.
Its diesel sales have been cut by 70 per cent and the local fleet is now a
quarter of what it was three years ago.
"This is shocking, absolute total decimation to the fishing industry =
itself,"
veteran fisher Robert Wuillemin said.
He says fishers may soon have to buy fuel in jerry cans and reintroduce
old-fashioned jinkers to dry dock their vessels for repairs.
"I mean in this day and age it would be ridiculous," he said.
Further south at Lancelin, Brendan Maguire's story is typical. He has sold =
his pots and his boat and house are on the market. He is now looking for work =
in
the offshore oil and gas sector.
"I didn't want to get out of this industry; it's been my life for 33 =
years,"
he said.
"I want the public of WA to realise, don't feel safe in your industry =
because
at any time the government can just come and take it off you."
Fisheries Minister Norman Moore says he regrets the social and economic
impact of the measures imposed this year but he had no choice.
"Unless you sustain the level of supply within the fishery then you don't
have an industry, and what I'm really very much aware of is when you go below =
a
certain threshold with the fishery it doesn't recover," he said.
Mr Moore says he is closely monitoring catch levels on the remaining two
fishing zones, which are also likely be closed before June 30.
"We need to ensure the long-term sustainability and economic viability of =
the
fishery," he said.
The Government recently announced it will introduce a quota system next =
year
to try to bring more certainty to the industry.
For more on =
this issue,
watch Landline at midday on
Sunday.
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