For the first time in almost 20 years, Eastern Tuna longliners have been catching Southern Bluefin tuna (SBT) in the Great Australian Bight.
In recent years, most of the longline catch has been taken off southern NSW during the winter months, but two longline skippers decided to try for tuna in the Bight, and were successful. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) reports that once the fishermen started their longline fishing, they noticed that the fish were schooling, so they switched fishing methods and started to pole catch the fish. Both boats fished like this for a couple of weeks until they had filled their available quota.
Recreational fishing representatives in Victoria and South Australia were notified early of the longliners intentions to fish the area, and cooperation between the sectors ensured a positive outcome for all concerned.
Historically, Japanese fishermen would target SBT in Tasmanian waters, but they have not been permitted access to waters within 200nm of Australia since 1997. Most of the Australian SBT catch is caught in the Great Australian Bight and grown out in marine farm pens near Port Lincoln.
AFMA makes sure the longline catch of tuna is well regulated with SBT management zones off southern Australia. For any boat to enter the zone, they must hold uncaught SBT quota, have an operational satellite vessel monitoring system and carry a higher level of observer coverage than normal. No dead SBT are allowed to be discarded, but SBT that are alive and vigorous at the time of capture may be released.
Once the tuna is caught, they are individually tagged and then landed to an authorised fish receiver who then marks the length and weight of each fish. They then have to validate the total weight of all the landings. If any fish are not tagged, they can not be landed.
While the SBT stock is currently assessed to be overfished, there is strong evidence that suggests the stock is recovering. Based on the agreed management procedure (harvest strategy) the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna increased the global Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of SBT this year and the Australian TAC was increased for this season.
Mercator Media Ltd 2014