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Fishing Today – April/May 2005 18/2 TFIC News by Bob Lister
MPA restrictions and displacement assistance
Now that the Tasmanian Government has declared MPAs at Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour and the Kent Group of Islands there is the outstanding issue of displacement or special adjustment assistance for those fishermen who may have been adversely impacted.
The State Government policy is that they recognise the importance of displacement issues and they will consider each issue on a case-by-case basis to certain individuals directly affected by an MPA after the declaration. Minister Steven Kons has advised that adjustment assistance will apply equally to State and Commonwealth licensed fishermen.
There are no take zones and restricted take zones in both areas which prohibit or restrict fishing activities effective from 16 February 2005 and netting, trawling, longlining and fish trapping are not permitted in any areas of the MPAs.
If you can no longer fish in your historical or most accessible area I suggest you give this matter some thought and particularly the level of compensation that should apply and how it could be justified.
There are no forms or precedents in this regard so a letter and full explanation to Minister Steven Kons, GPO Box 44, Hobart, Tas 7001 is all that is needed at this time.
If I can be of any assistance please advise.
Weather station observations under review
It was recently brought to our attention that the Bureau of Meteorology is embarking on a program to reduce the number of observations at weather stations as a national initiative.
Naturally we are very concerned, as this decision will impact on manual observations which are critical to our commercial fishing industry members in Tasmania.
As readers of Fishing Today would be aware our industry relies on timely and accurate information with particular emphasis on wind speed over the ocean, sea swell and sea state (height and period etc) reports and any reduced observations are therefore of great concern.
We have been advised by the Hobart Bureau of Meteorology office that future observations at Maatsuyker Island will only occur at 6.00 am, 9.00 am, and 3.00 pm with the 6.00 pm and 12 noon reports to be discontinued. Even worse at Cape Bruny observations at 6.00 am. 9.00 am, 3.00 pm and 6.00 pm will be retained and the 3.00 am, 12 midday and 9.00 pm observations will cease with effect from mid March 2005.
This means that there will be up to a 15 hour period between visual observations at Maatsuyker and 12 hours at Cape Bruny for example over sea conditions which can change quite rapidly with often serious consequences. Similar changes in observations will apply at Port Arthur (Palmers Lookout), King Island airport, Flinders Island airport, Devonport airport and Low Head.
We have urged the Bureau to take the necessary steps to review this decision and particularly at the above locations where manual observations are so important to our industry members for both operational and safety reasons. Other users who will also be impacted in our area by this decision include commercial vessels, recreational, yacht, sea tour and aircraft operators.
Our members fish all around Tasmania where weather and sea conditions can be very different to the rest of Australia so we greatly value timely visual reports from locations such as Cape Bruny and Maatsuyker.
The automatic weather stations do not accurately record wind strength and direction over the ocean and the manual reporting of visual observations on sea conditions in particular is a vital service needed by our members.
Another matter of concern is the reduced income that may apply to observers putting their whole service and most valuable and timely contributions at risk.
Any reduction in these observations and particularly so without any prior reference to our industry is most unacceptable.
We have sought the personal intervention of the Director of Meteorology based in Victoria to ensure that previous manual observations continue to be provided by the Bureau in a safe and timely manner all around Tasmania.
Whilst no formal response has been received to date we have unofficial advice that the 3 a.m. observation at Cape Bruny will be retained at least in the short term. This still leaves significant gaps in the reporting regimes which we will continue to pursue with the appropriate people.
Marine Structure Leases on Crown Land
A number of TFIC members may have received correspondence recently from the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment - Crown Land Services (CLS) relating to proposed new lease arrangements for marine structures located on reserved land.
Basically the intention is for new leases to be issued for five years to enable continued occupation of these areas but subject to new and strict conditions which may be very difficult or costly to comply with.
I am advised that CLS and the Parks and Wildlife Service are very keen to ensure all marine structures comply with structural and building codes etc and that public liability insurance policies are taken out as a condition of any new lease.
Our commercial fishermen members will inevitable be involved in this matter as many have waterfront properties, jetties, boatsheds, slipways, ramps and access needs etc much of which is over reserved land.
In some areas for example we have fishermen members who have marine type structures on waterfront land comprising winch sheds, slip rails and vessel cradles etc.
Many of these structures were built over 50 years ago and have become very weathered as a result of the continual extreme weather and sea conditions experienced along exposed coastlines. The slip rails may be used regularly so are in a generally serviceable condition but can be of poor and deteriorating appearance, as are many of the associated structures.
Because of the very exposed locations in a practical sense it is therefore not possible or cost effective to maintain the facilities to some approved standard of appearance or construction other than in a safe condition to use.
I believe this will make it extremely difficult to obtain a qualified building surveyor or engineer’s report on the integrity of the structures which most possibly do not meet any current Australian design or structural code.
Additionally to obtain a $20 million public liability insurance cover for the improvements to satisfy lease or licence conditions will either be unobtainable or only possible at a prohibitive cost.
We can accept that one aspect of the DPIWE/PWS review may be to improve the standard of structures over time as well as the removal of derelict structures but to immediately expect to impose impossible to meet lease standards and conditions is just not reasonable.
On behalf of all our fishermen members we are now seeking a response to our above concerns from Crown Land Services so that we can commence discussions on a cooperative basis to find practical resolutions which are fair, reasonable and achievable over time.
Soaring fuel costs hit industry hard
The apparent ever-increasing price of fuel is again of serious concern to Tasmanian seafood producers.
It has been estimated that fuel accounts for up to one third of harvesting costs in Australian fisheries and all reports suggest that fuel prices are likely to increase even further in the not too distant future.
There must be a point where fuel users will seriously change and restructure business activities solely because of these increasing overheads and possibly that threshold is fast approaching.
Pump prices will rise by an estimated one cent per litre for every one US dollar increase in the price of a barrel of crude oil.
Fuel prices in Hobart at the date of writing this article were 114 cents for ULP and 118 cents for diesel and are on the rise. There are no realistic alternative fuels available to our industry at least in the short term.
Sure, fishermen and marine farmers can recover the GST component and the 38 cent diesel fuel excise rebate and business credits for petrol used for off road purposes will apply progressively from July 2008.
However many of our producers are already subject to other cost pressures and export selling prices are still depressed partly due to the high Australian dollar which makes the escalating price of fossil fuels so much more serious.
In order to stem the fuel increases we have again sought the assistance of the Australian Seafood Industry Council to make a national and whole of industry approach to the Federal Government to portray our concerns and to seek immediate action to restrict fuel increases.
The pricing practices of the OPEC oil cartel and local oil companies, transport costs to Tasmania, competition (or lack of it), retail margins and the Australian Government desire for increased tax revenue all contribute to fuel costs.
I believe we also need to apply pressure through the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to ensure that end users such as our local seafood producers are not held to ransom by escalating fuel prices.
Ups and downs of fisheries production
The latest Fisheries Statistics 2004 produced by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) make interesting reading.
Australian fisheries production rose by 5 per cent in 2003-04 to around 267,000 tonnes and despite this increased production the overall gross value fell by 5 per cent to $2.2 billion. This was primarily due to a stronger Australian dollar that resulted in lower prices for many species.
Individually wild caught production dropped 10 per cent from $1.65 billion to $1.49 billion and in the same period the gross value of aquaculture production fell slightly from $734m. to $732m.
In Tasmania the year 2003-04 was a mixed bag.
Abalone catches are reported as increasing from 2,389 tonnes in 2002-03 to 2,645 tonnes in 2003-04 but the value decreased significantly from $98m. to $89m.
Rock Lobster and Giant Crab catches increased from 1,465 tonnes to 1,665 tonnes but the landed value dropped from $53m. to $47m.
General scalefish catches decreased from 1,093 tonnes to 726 tonnes and the gross value dropped from $3.8m. to $2.8m. Last year scallop catches were 3,542 tonnes worth $4m.
On the aquaculture scene salmonid production was well up from 13,600 tonnes to 14,800 tonnes and values increased from $106m. to $115m. whilst oyster harvests also increased from 3,125 tonnes to 3,243 tonnes with an adjusted value in 2003-04 of $15m.
In Tasmania wild caught represents 52.4% of the total State production by value compared to aquaculture at 47.6% and a total of 49% of our State production by value was exported.
The ABARE report can be viewed on line at www.abareconomics.com
TFIC Board Discussions
At the last TFIC Board meeting Directors again discussed a wide range of issues affecting our industry.
Matters addressed included:
- MPAs in Tasmania and the South East Region,
- the TFIC MPA policy document,
- a new publisher for Fishing Today,
- the TFIC elections,
- MAST fee increases,
- Australian Seafood Industry Council issues,
- a TFIC Budget for 2005,
- tsunami relief,
- a reduction in weather observations,
- Seafood Directions 2005,
- chemical monitoring of rivers and streams and
- the need for increased resources for DPIWE Marine Resources Division.
Our guest was Kim Evans, Secretary of the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment and before the Board meeting a strategic planning meeting was held with commodity group representatives.
New look industry magazine coming your way
Commencing with the June/July 2005 issue if all goes according to plan we will have a new publisher appointed under a joint contractual agreement between TFIC and DPIWE.
I would like to take this opportunity to formally thank our departing editor Dr Tim Walker and his staff at Turtle Press Pty Ltd for their very professional approach to producing this magazine over a very long period since April/May 1988.
We have very much appreciated all the support we have received from some truly great people and particularly in the immediate past Megan at the Hobart office and our graphic artist the late Graham Ristow.
Our best wishes go to Tim and his staff for continued success in the future.
Perhaps this issue of Fishing Today will become a collectors item!
I hope you will find our new bimonthly magazine with a new layout both interesting and informative and that it will put a lot more colour in your life.
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