Background

South Australian fishing industries are managed under a general framework of "Co-Management" whereby industry and other stakeholders are involved in the management and decision-making process through membership of Ministerial Advisory Bodies. Formerly, these were in the form of a range of Fisheries Management Committees with little representation from the conservation sector. These committees have now been replaced by a single Fisheries Council of SA, whose membership must include a person with expertise in the conservation of aquatic resources. This position is held by Mr Christopher Deane, who has considerable experience on such committees.

An initiative of the Spencer Gulf and West Coast Prawn Fishermen's Association (SGWCPFA), in conjunction with the Conservation Council of SA (CCSA) and PIRSA Fisheries, will now provide a further significant opportunity for the conservation sector to have input into future fisheries management in SA and to increase its understanding and capacity in fisheries management and related conservation issues.

The Spencer Gulf Prawn Fishery (SGPF) is already noted for the extent to which industry members are involved in the day to day running of the fishery. The SGWCPFA developed a ten year plan in 2002, which proposed taking this further. One of its goals was that "We manage the fishery ourselves with minimal involvement of the Government and have the finances to do this." Whilst at the time some believed that this was ambitious and possibly unrealistic, others have suggested that an emphasis on legislative controls is not the most efficient way of sustainably managing the prawn resource in Spencer Gulf and maximising the benefits to the community from a limited seafood resource. This latter view implies that for sustainable environmental outcomes to be really driven by participants in a fishery, there is a need to consider sustainability within a context of industry’s business needs.

“Self-management” has become a vision for the SPGF as a way of promoting more effective, efficient and equitable management regimes for dealing with the plethora of issues relating to harvesting a public resource. However, the SGWCPFA has recognised the need for engagement with the conservation (and government) sector for assessing such management models. The scope of this engagement covers requirements to: meet legislative controls; ensure sustainability; provide transparency of industry processes; and provide a level of confidence to all stakeholders of this public resource (Spencer Gulf).

Therefore the SGWCPFA has initiated a project, assisted by funding from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (see Project Application to FRDC), with the following objectives:

1. To develop effective working relationships between three key stakeholder groups (industry, government and conservation) regarding future management of the SGPF.

2. To identify, document and evaluate new fisheries management models for the SGPF.

3. To develop a preferred management model for the SGPF with discussions of the implications and potential risks of the model.

A planned outcome is the broader involvement and understanding within industry, government and the community of what is required for a commercial fishery to move towards a greater level of responsibility under a co-management model, while ensuring long-term sustainability of the resource.

CCSA has been invited to participate in the project, as they are the peak environmental body in SA whose membership represents informed people in the general community with an interest in sustainability and biodiversity of ecosystems in relation to commercial fishing. They will be establishing a reference group comprising members of their constituency to discuss, brainstorm and debate the merits of each of the management models that are developed. James Brook has been engaged by CCSA to facilitate the establishment and operation of this reference group. It is expected that this group will meet on approximately eight occasions over the forthcoming two years (a total commitment of approximately fifty hours including reading and preparation), with most interaction occurring between June and November. At least one such meeting or workshop will be in conjunction with the corresponding reference groups from industry and government.

The project aims to create a genuine sense of empowerment and encourage real engagement from all three groups (conservation, industry and government), a greater level of interaction between the groups and identification of common ground. There is also potential for the relationships that are developed between the groups to continue after the project. Therefore there is an expectation of constructive engagement in this process by members of the CCSA reference group. However, the CCSA reference group will retain the ability to submit a minority report if it is unable to come to an agreed position with the other two stakeholder groups.

The reference group has now been assembled, but there remains scope for others to be involved in this project. For further information, contact Alex Gaut .