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C h a p t e r 1 6

16 Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster FisheryN Bensley, M Rodgers and E Ansell

F i g u r e 1 6 .1 Management area of the Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery (TSTRLF)

ta b l e 1 6 .1 Statusofthefishery

Fishery status 2007 2008 Comments

Biological status Overfishing Overfished Overfishing Overfished

Tropical rock lobster(Panulirus ornatus)

Pre-seasonandmid-seasonsurveysindicatethatabundanceslightlybelowthelong-termaveragein2008.Areductionineffortandpoorfishingandeconomicconditionscontributedtoreducedcatches.

Economic statusFishery level

Net economic returns not available

Not ov ERfishEd / Not suB jEc t to ov ERfishiNg ov ERfishEd / ov ERfishiNg uNc ERtAiN Not AssEssEd

C h a p t e r 1 6 Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery 225

ta b l e 1 6 . 2 MainfeaturesandstatisticsoftheTSTRLF

Feature Description

Target species Tropical (or ornate) rock lobster (Panulirus ornatus)

Byproductspecies Lessthan1%ofthecatchisformedbyotherlobsterspecies(mainlyP. versicolor). Pearl oystersarealsotakenincidentallybyrocklobsterdivers

Fishingmethods Hand-heldimplement(snare,netorspear)onshallowreefflatsatnight;free-divingorwiththeuseofhookahgearduringtheday

Primarylandingports ThursdayIsland,Cairns,DaruIsland(PNG),YuleIsland(PNG)

Managementmethods Inputcontrols:hookah-gearban(December–January),commercialfishingban(October–November),andspring-tidehookahclosuresforaweekaroundeitherthefullornewmooneachmonth(whicheverhasthehighesttidalrange).Outputcontrols:minimumsizelimitforcommerciallyandrecreationallycaughtlobsters(≥115 mm tail length or ≥90mmCL)toprotectpre-recruitsandnewlyrecruitedlobstersyettoreachtheirfullyieldpotential;abaglimitofthreelobstersperpersonorsixlobstersperdinghyappliestotraditionalandrecreationalfishers

Management plan Managementarrangementsonly.Amanagementplanisbeingdeveloped

Harvest strategy AharveststrategyapproachisbeingtrialledbasedonaTier1assessment

Consultativeforums TorresStraitFisheriesManagementAdvisoryCommittee(TSFMAC),TorresStraitTropicalRockLobsterResourceAssessmentGroup(TRLRAG),TropicalRockLobsterWorkingGroup(TRLWG)

Main markets Domestic:livelobstersandfrozentails.International:UnitedStates(frozentails),China(livelobsters)

EPBCActassessments:listedspecies(Part13)international movement of wildlifespecimens(Part13A)

Currentaccreditationdated22November2007Currentaccreditation(WildlifeTradeOperation)dated22November2007;expires23November2010

Ecological risk assessment Level1:ScaleIntensityConsequenceAnalysis(SICA)completedon91species—unpublished

Bycatchworkplans None

Fishery statistics 2007 2008

Fishing season 1December2006–30September2007(commercial)

1December2007–30September2008(commercial)

TAC TACof835tliveweightwasestimated. TACof749tliveweightwasestimated.

Catch(liveweight) Australia:518t(TVH—260t,TIB—258t).PNG:218t

Australia:286t(TVH—108t,TIB—178t).PNG:41ta

Effort AustraliaTVH: 2889tenderdays 1505operationdaysTIB: 4560tenderdaysPNG: 419tenderdays

AustraliaTVH: 1323tenderdays 809operationdaysTIB: 4564tenderdaysPNG: 217tenderdays

Fishing licences 26TVHlicences(with58tenders),428TIBlicences,8PNGfreezerboatlicences

12TVHlicences(with25tenders),333TIBlicences,8PNGfreezerboatlicences

HundredsofPNGdinghiesandcanoesfishunrestrictedfromcoastalvillages

HundredsofPNGdinghiesandcanoesfishunrestrictedfromcoastalvillages

Active vessels TVH:19TIB:435PNG:8vessels

TVH:13TIB:357PNG:6vessels

Observer coverage Zero ZeroReal gross value of production(2007–08dollars)

$10.77million $9.43million

Allocatedmanagementcosts 2006–07:$2.3million(totaladministrationcostsofTorresStraitfisheries)

n.a.

AFMA=AustralianFisheriesManagementAuthority;EPBCAct=Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999; n.a.=notavailable;PNG=PapuaNewGuinea;TAC=totalallowablecatch;TIB=TraditionalInhabitantboat;TVH=transferablevesselholder

a Thisfigureisknowntobeasubstantialunderestimateandwillbereviewedin2009.

226 Fishery status reports 2 0 0 8

Themajorityofproductislandedasfrozentails.Thereissometradeinlivelobsters,whichbeganinthemid-1990stoserviceexportmarketsandasmalldomesticmarket.Thehandlingandshippingoflivelobstersrequiremoresophisticatedtransportinfrastructurethanhandlingfrozentails,andthereisalwaysariskoflobstersdyingbetweenthepointofharvestandthemarket.Generally,livelobstersfetchalowerpriceperkilogramthanfrozentails,butoverallaliveanimalisabout1.5timesmorevaluablethanitsfrozentail(atailisabout40%ofthelivelobsterweight).

1 6 . 1 b a C k g r o u n d

The Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery(TSTRLF)wasthesecondmostvaluablefisheryintheTorresStraitin2008andprovidessignificanteconomicopportunities for Torres Strait inhabitants. TorresStraitIslandersfishtraditionallyandcommercially(TraditionalInhabitantboat—TIB—licences),bothonlocalreefsandonmoredistantreefs,withtripsusuallylastingoneday.Growthofthenon-Islandersectorofthefisheryhasbeencappedformorethantwodecades.Asmallfleetofnon-Islanderfreezervessels(transferablevesselholder—TVH—licences)travelstothefishinggroundsontripslastingfromafewdaystoseveralweeks.Lobsters from the Torres Strait stock are also fishedinthePapuaNewGuinea(PNG)areaofjurisdictionintheTorresStraitandtothenorth-eastaroundYuleIsland.Thesouthernextensionofthestockisfishedcommerciallyoffthenorth-eastQueenslandcoastasfarsouthas14˚S.

Tropicalrocklobstersdonotenterbaitedtraps.Mostofthosecaughtaretakenbydiverswithspears,orarecaughtalivebyhandorwithsnaresduringtheday.Diversusuallyworkinpairsfromdinghies(tendersorservicevessels)thatareabout5mlong,andeitherfree-diveorusehookahgear,whichsuppliescompressedairviaahosefromthevesseltothediver.Free-diversworkinwaterstoabout4mdeep;hookahdiversworkinwaterstoabout20mdeep.However,somefisherstakelobsterbyhand-heldnetorspearwhilepullingtheirdinghiesacrossshallowreefflatsatnightinareaswherelobstersemergetoforage.Lobstercatchbyanymeansotherthanbyhandorwithhand-heldimplementsisnotpermittedineitherAustraliaorPNG.

Tropical Rock Lobster PHOTO:NOkOMEBENTLEY,TROPHIA

C h a p t e r 1 6 Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery 227

revisedastheyaredeterminedbytheassumptionsandoutputsofthestockassessmentmodel.

1 6 . 3 t h e 2 0 0 8 F i s h e ry

Catcheswerelowin2008,droppingbyapproximately50%ofthe2007catch.TheAustralianfisheryrecordedacatchof286t,43%belowthenominalAustralianTACof505t.ReducedcatchesintheTVHSectorcanbeattributedtoareductioninTVHeffortasaresultofthevoluntarybuyoutin2007,andareportedshiftinefforttotheQueenslandeastcoastfisherybydual-endorsedvesselsduetounfavourablefishingconditions.Economicdriverssuchashighfuelpricesandadownturnintheexportmarketarealsothoughttohavecontributedtoreducedeffort.TheTIBSectorreportedagreatercatchthan

ta b l e 1 6 . 3 History of the TSTRLF

Year Description

1960s CommercialfishingfortropicalrocklobsterbeganintheTorresStrait.

1970sto1980s Sometrawlcatchesoftropicalrocklobstertaken.

1984 Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984determined.Trawlingforlobstersbannedtoprotectthebreedingmigration.

1985 Torres Strait TreatyratifiedbyAustraliaandPNG.

1986 Australiancatchespeakedat914tliveweight.

1989 Baseline-abundanceandage-compositionsurveyoftropicalrocklobsterconducted.

1990 Beginningofannualmid-seasonfishery-independentsurveys.

1990s IntroductionofaclosurefromOctobertoNovembertopreventfishingusinghookahgear.

1997 LogbooksmadecompulsoryforTVHoperators.

2001 Australiarecordedacatchof116t,thelowestonrecord.Minimumlegallengthoflobstersincreasedfrom100mmto115mmtaillength.HookahclosureextendedfromOctobertoJanuary.

2002 October–Novemberhookahclosureextendedtoallmethodsofcommercialfishing.

2003 30%tenderreductiononTVHvesselsimplemented;thismeasurehasbeenreintroducedannually.Moon-tidehookahclosureintroducedfor1weekduringpeakspringtideeachmonthasaninterimarrangement;thismeasurehasbeenreintroducedannually.

2005 TorresStraitTropicalRockLobsterResourceAssessmentGroup(TRLRAG)established.Fishery-independentpre-seasonsurveyintroducedtosupportthedevelopmentofaproposedquota-basedmanagement system.

2007 13TVHboatlicencesand29associatednon-Islanderlicencetendersvoluntarilysurrenderedinanopen-tenderprocesstomeetAustralia’sobligationsundertheTorres Strait Treaty.

2008 Areviewofthestockassessmentmodelcommenced.Resourceassessmentgroupagreedtoanewweightconversionfactorof2.7forconvertinglobstertailweighttoliveweight.

PNG=PapuaNewGuinea;TVH=transferablevesselholder

1 6 . 2 h a rv e s t s t r at e g y

The Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy(HSP)doesnotapplytotheTorresStraitfisheries;however,aharveststrategyisbeingdeveloped.Thefourfishery-specificparameters—BLIM,BTARG,FLIMandFTARG—havebeendefined.Theharvestcontrolruleconsistsofaconstantexploitationrate(FTARG =0.35year

–1)whilethestocksizeisabove BTARG (= SBMSY),andanexploitationratethatreducestozerolinearlyasthestockreducestoBLIM(=0.2S).ThelimitfishingmortalitywassetatFLIM = FMSY.Inaddition,amaximumtotalallowablecatch(TAC)of1200twasdefinedasaprecautionarymeasuretopreventextremelyhighfishingpressure.

Thestockassessmentmodelisbeingrevisedin2009,andtheharveststrategyparameterswillthereforealsoneedtobe

228 Fishery status reports 2 0 0 8

1997−98 1999−00 2001−02 2003−04 2005−06 2007−080

5

10

15

20

GVP: Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery, TS

2007

−08

A$ m

illion

F i g u r e 1 6 . 2 TSTRLFrealGVP,byfinancialyear,1997–98to2007–08

theTVHSector,byapproximately70t.ThisisnotuncommonwhenashiftinTVHefforttotheeastcoastoccurs.Thedemandforsmaller1-kglobstersreportedlyincreased,whichisalsoattributedtotheeconomicdownturn.

PNGreportedacatchof41t,or13%ofthetotalreportedcatchforthefishery,whichiswellbelowthenormalrange(PNGcatchrepresents,onaverage,20–35%ofthetotalTorresStraitcatch).ThePNGfisheryhadanominalTACof244t.AnecdotalreportsbysellersandbuyersofPNGproductsuggestthisfigureisasubstantialunderestimateandthatPNGcatchesmaybemorerealisticallyaround100–200tliveweight.PNGfishersarenotobligedtoproviderecordsofcatchandeffort(althoughcatchdataarerecordedbyfishreceivers,andsomeoperatorsdoprovidecatchrecords).AsfortheAustralianfleet,PNGfisherswereconstrainedbypoorfishingandeconomicconditions.

TherewasnofishingbyPNGlicenseesintheAustralianjurisdictionoftheTorresStrait.Cross-endorsementwassupportedbyAustralia,butadministrativedelaysmeantthatitwasnotpracticalforfisherstotakeadvantageoftheendorsement.PNGhasbeengrantedcross-endorsementforsixprimaryvesselstofishinAustralianwatersduringthe2009fishingseason.In2009,PNGisproposingtoreviewitslobsterfisherymanagementplan,whichwasintroducedin2002,in2009.

TheProtectedZoneJointAuthorityhasrecommendedthatthe2008managementarrangementsbecarriedoverinto2009.Thetwofishery-independentsurveys(pre-andmid-season)areagainproposedforthe2009fishingseason,althoughthefeasibilityofreducingtoasinglesurveyisbeingexamined.

Tropicalrocklobsterproductioninthefisheryfellin2007–08forthethirdconsecutiveyearto339t,a25%reductionfrom2006–07production.Realgrossvalueofproduction(GVP)alsodecreasedforthethirdconsecutiveyear,to$9.4million(Fig16.2).Realpricesincreasedby17%in2007–08to$27.79perkilogram—thethirdconsecutiveyear of real price increases.

Lobster year classes PHOTO:CSIRO

C h a p t e r 1 6 Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery 229

0

500

1000

1500

1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008

Catch: tropical rock lobster, TS

Papua New GuineaAustralian

Cat

ch (t

onne

s, li

ve w

eigh

t)

F i g u r e 1 6 . 3 Tropicalrocklobstercatchhistory, 1978to2008

previous assessments

Abaselinesurveywasconductedin1989.Since1990,annualsurveysofabundanceandagecompositionhavebeenconductedtosupportfishery-independentestimatesofthefishablestock,therelativeabundanceofrecruitsthatwouldcomprisetargetstocksinthefollowingyear,andthepotentialyield.TheannualsurveysareconductedinMay–June(mid-season)tomeasuretheabundanceofrecruiting(1+year-old)andfished(2+year-old)lobstersintheTorresStrait.Tosupporttheintroductionofaquota-basedmanagementsystem,anadditionalfishery-independent,pre-seasonsurveywasintroducedin2005.Thetrialsoverthepastfouryearsshowthatthepre-seasonsurveyprovidedthemostreliableinformationforthesettingofaTAC.Therunningofthemid-seasonandpre-seasonsurveysaresubjecttoongoingreviewbutwillcontinueduringthe2009fishingseason.

Thesurveyshighlightapoorstock–recruitmentrelationshipandthevariabilityofthelobsterpopulation,includingannualrecruitmentthatvariesbothtemporallyandspatially.Analysesofsize-frequencydatahaveshownthatgrowthratescandifferbymorethan10%betweenyears,andupto40%betweendifferentareasoftheTorresStrait.Forexample,lobstersinnorth-westernTorresStraitgrowfasterandaresignificantlylargerthanthoseinthesouth-eastandsouth-west.

1 6 . 4 b i o l o g i C a l s tat u s

tRoPicAL RocK LoBstER

ta b l e 1 6 . 4 Biology of tropical rock lobster

Parameter Description

General Inspringeachyear,2+year-oldlobstersemigratefromtheTorresStraittobreed.Taggingstudiesshowthatsomelobstersmovenorth-eastintotheGulfofPapuawhiletheyarebecomingsexuallymature.SomemoveasfarastheeasternGulfofPapua,whereforafewmonthseachsummertheyaretargetedinaseasonalfisheryaroundYuleIsland.StudiesatYuleIslandhaveconcludedthatnearlyallpost-emigrationlobstersdieattheendofthesummerbreedingseasonfromthecombinedstressesofemigrationandbreeding.

Range WidelydistributedthroughouttheIndianandwesternPacificOceans.InAustralia,theyarefoundthroughoutthetropicalnorthernwatersandgenerallyasfarsouthastheNorthWestCape(NingalooReefregion)andSydney.

Depth 1–200m;generallyfoundinseabedholesorcrevicesinshallowreefsorthedeeperareasbetweenreefs.

Longevity 3–5+years

Age at maturity

2–3years

Spawningseason

TorresStrait:August–March.Maturefemalesbrood2–4clutchesof300000–750000eggs.Theeggshatchafteraboutonemonth,andtheplanktoniclarvalstagelasts4–6months,beforerecruitingtoshallowhabitatsoftheTorresStraitandcoastalQueensland.DispersionisthoughttobelargelyinfluencedbytheCoralSeaGyre.

Size Maximum:Therearenoreliablemaximumsizeestimatesfortropicalrocklobsters.Afewindividualsof130–140mmCLarefoundintheTorresStraitandareestimatedtobe5yearsold.Fastgrowing,attaining40–60mmCLinthefirstyearaftersettlement. Recruitmentintothefishery:Mostlobsterstakeninthefisheryhavetailsweighing250–450g,correspondingtoawhole-lobsterweightofabout625–1100g.Somelobsters remain in the Torres Strait for an additionalyear,andtailsof1000garenotuncommon.

Source:kailolaetal.(1993)

230 Fishery status reports 2 0 0 8

recruitment.Thefisheryisexpectedtoimproveforthe2010fishingseasononthebasisofthegoodrecruitmentobservedin2007(Dennis et al. 2009).

Amoretransparentandflexiblestockassessmentmodelisbeingdevelopedforthefishery,andpreliminaryresultsappearconsistentwiththepreviousassessmentmodel.Thisresultprovidessomereassuranceaboutthe historical use of the previous stock assessmentmodelasitaffirmsthattherearenogrossdifferencesintheassumptionsthatunderpinbothmodels.Asdoesthepreviousmodel,thenewmodelincludesthemid-andpre-seasonsurveydata,catchstatistics,length-frequencydataandcatchperuniteffort(CPUE)datafromthenon-Islandercommercialsector.

Theconversionratiousedtoconverttheweightoflobstertailstoliveweight(informationvitaltotheproposedquotamanagementsystem)hasbeenreviewed.Dennisetal.(2008)analysedmeasurementsfrom450livelobstersatvaryingtimesbetweencapture,landingandsale(toaccountforanyweightlossovertime)andrecommendedanewconversionratio.Theresourceassessmentgrouphasendorsedthefindingsoftheresearchandrecommendedthatthetailweighttoliveweightconversionratiobeamendedto2.677(from2.562).TheQueenslandEastCoastTropicalRockLobsterFisherywillapplythesameconversionfactorunderitsquotamanagementsystem.

A project trialling the clipping of lobster tailswasundertakentohelpinformfishersandstakeholdersonthismethodfordistinguishingtraditionalandrecreationalcatchfromcommercialcatch.TheIslandersectorwasconcernedabouttheeffectthattailclippingmighthaveonthehealthandqualityofthelobsterskeptinholdingcages.Thestudyobservedtheimpactoftailclippingonasampleoflobstersthatwerekeptinconditionssimilartothoseintypicalholdingcagesusedbyislandcommunities.Itconcludedthattailclippingdidnotsignificantlyincreasedamageto the tail fan or affect lobster survival (Dunkerley&Lara-Lopez2008).TailclippingismandatoryforallrecreationallycaughtlobstersinQueenslandandtheTorresStrait.

The2007stockassessmentestimatedthemaximumsustainableyield(MSY)tobe700t(liveweight).Thiswasanincreaseof60tontheestimateprovidedin2006.Atthecloseofthe2007fishingseason,thespawningstockbiomasswasestimatedtobeabovethelevelrequiredtosupportMSY.Overall,theresultsofthe2007stockassessmentindicatedthatthe2007spawningstockandthenumberof2+year-oldlobsterswerehigherthanin2006.

2008 update

AnominalTACof749twassetforthefishery.Thefisheryrecordedacatchof327t,lessthanhalftheTAC(Fig.16.3).Asdiscussedpreviously,thePNGcatchhasbeensubstantiallyunderestimated.EveniftheunderestimatedPNGreportedcatchisextrapolatedtothehighendofwhatmaybereasonable,thetotalcatchforthefisherystillappearslikelytohaveremainedwellbelowtheTAC.Itshouldbenoted,however,thatthereisstillasignificantamountofuncertaintyintheTAC-settingprocess.

However,effortwasknowntobeconstrainedbyfactorsotherthantheabundanceofthestock,andfishery-independentinformationverifiedabundanceestimates. The harvest strategy reference points werenotapproached,andthereforethe2008fisheryisnotconsideredoverfished,norwasoverfishingconsideredtohaveoccurredacrossthefisheryasawhole.TherearesomeconcernsthatlocaliseddepletionisoccurringonaregularbasisinPNGwatersduetounconstrainedartisanalfishingeffort.

Themid-seasonandpre-seasonsurveysshowedthat,in2008,theabundanceofthe2+yearclassfelltojustbelowthelong-termaverage,incontrasttothehigh2007stocklevel(Dennisetal.2009).InMarch2009,theresourceassessmentgrouprecommendedaTACforthe2009seasonof355t,basedontheestimatesoftheabundanceoffishable(2+year)lobstersobtainedfromthe2008pre-seasonsurvey.TheTACislowincomparisonwiththeTACsestimatedforthe2007(835t)and2008(749t)fishingseasons.However,thiswasnotunexpected,duetothelowerthanaveragestocksin2006andsubsequentpoor

C h a p t e r 1 6 Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery 231

Future assessment needs

Thereispressuretoreducethecostoftheannualstockassessmentmethods.Theresourceassessmentgroupisexploringamanagementstrategyevaluationexercisetoexaminearangeofoptions.Thehighvariabilityinrecruitabundancerecordedsince1989highlightstheneedforaccuratemonitoring of the lobster population to ensure thatsustainableTACsareseteachyearundertheproposedquota-managedsystem(Dennisetal.2009).ThedataobtainedfromPNGandthequalityandtimelinessofdatafromthenon-Islanderfreezervesselsectorneedparticular improvement.

Thesetypesofissuesraisetwosignificantchallenges that threaten the successful introductionoftheproposedquota-management system. One challenge is reliably forecastingtheTACforaforthcomingseasonwithsufficientnoticetoallowfishersandmanagement agencies to plan appropriately. Thesecondisdetermininghowtomonitor,andpotentiallyrestrict,thecatcheffectivelythroughout the season to ensure catches remain withinlimits.ThelowTACproposedforthe2009fishingseasonmaychallengetheabilityof the current management arrangements to adequatelymonitorandconstraineffortthroughouttheseason.ItshouldalsobenotedthatannualvariationsinthelobsterstockwillresultinsignificantlydifferentTACsfromyearto year. This may challenge the structure of somefishingbusinesses.

Resourcespermitting,thepre-andmid-seasonsurveyscouldbeextendedtotheareafromthesouthernboundaryoftheTSTRLFtothenorthernboundaryoftheQueenslandEastCoastTropicalRockLobsterFishery.Thiswouldprovidevaluableinformationontransjurisdictionalmovement,andatleastpartiallyanswersomequestionsaboutthesizeofthespawningstockoutsidetheTorresStraitYeetal.(2007).

reliability of the assessment

CurrentdatadeficienciesincludeuncertaintiesincatchdatafortheTIBsectorandPNG.CatchrecordingisvoluntaryintheTIBsector(althoughfishreceiversarerequiredtokeepmandatoryrecords),andlittleisknownabouttheamountandlocationofTIBeffort.ThePNGcatchandeffortdataareprovidedmainlybytwocompaniesandsorepresentonlypartofthecatch.RecordsfromPNGfishreceiversarealsousedtohelpestimatePNGcatch.There is very little information on effort outsidethenon-Islanderfreezervesselsector.Theaccuracyofthecatchandeffortdatadirectlyinfluencesthereliabilityofthestockassessmentandthesubsequentestimationofstockproductivity.

Itisuncertainwhatproportionof0+yearlobsterssettleinthePNGjurisdictionorwhatproportionmigratefromAustraliantoPNGwatersastheygetolder.Thisinformationisnecessary for estimating the percentage of TorresStraitstockoriginatinginPNGwaters.Incorrectassumptionsinthisregardmayleadtounder-orover-estimatesoftheTorresStraitstocksizeandstructure.

Thestock–recruitmentrelationshipispoor,indicatingthatarangeofothervariables(e.g.environmentalfactors)influencethisrelationship that are not currently being explainedwellbythestockassessments.Naturalandfishingmortalitiesalsovaryacrossyearsandareas.Thesevariationsallcontributeto uncertainty in the assessments.

Tropical rock lobster on handheld spear PHOTO:CSIRO

232 Fishery status reports 2 0 0 8

1 6 . 8 l i t e r at u r e C i t e d

Dennis,D,Ye,Y,Lara-Lopez,A,Jones,A&CheersS2008,Commercial catch age composition and conversion ratio for the Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery,finalreporttotheAustralianFisheriesManagementAuthority,CSIROMarineandAtmosphericResearch.

Dennis,D,kienzle,M,Ye,Y,Haywood,M,Mcleod,I,Wassenberg,T,Pillans,R,Dell,Q,Coman,G,Tonks,M&Murphy,N2009,Estimation of total allowable catch and stock abundance surveys of the Torres Strait tropical rock lobster fishery— 2008,half-yearlyprogressreport(January2009)to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority,CSIROMarineandAtmosphericResearch.

Dunkerley,k&Lara-Lopez,A2008,Impacts of tail clipping on the tropical rock lobster, Australian Fisheries Management Authority,Canberra.

Fairhead,L&Hohnen,L2007,Torres Strait Islanders: improving their economic benefits from fishing,ABAREresearchreport07.21,preparedfortheFisheriesResourcesResearchFund,Canberra.

kaliola,J,Williams,M,Stewart,P,Riechelt,R,McNee,A&Grieve,C,1993,Australian Fisheries Resources. Bureau of RuralSciences,DepartmentofPrimaryIndustriesandEnergy,andtheFisheriesResearchandDevelopmentCorporation,Canberra,pp.64–67.

Ye,Y,Dennis,D,Skewes,T,Polon,P,Pantus,F,Brewer,D,Haywood,M,McLeod,I,Wassenberg,T,Pillans,R,Chetwynd,D&Sheils,J,2007,2006 Relative Abundance and Preseason Surveys, Assessment of the Torres Strait Lobster Fishery and TAC Estimation.CSIROMarineandAtmosphereicResearchandAFMA.

1 6 . 5 e C o n o m i C s tat u s

In2007,theAustralianBureauofAgriculturalandResourceEconomics(ABARE)surveyedthefishersintheTSTRLFandTorresStraitFinfishFishery(seeFairhead&Hohnen2007).Between2004–05and2005–06,totalcashreceiptsandtotalcashcostsdeclinedby43%and33%,respectivelyintheTSTRLF.Becauseofthelargerrelativedecreaseintotalcashreceiptsthanintotalcashcosts,vesselbusinessprofitdeclinedby65%betweenthetwoyears(Fairhead&Hohnen2007).

Beyondthe2007study,thereislimiteddataontheeconomicperformanceoftheTSTRLF.Althoughthefisheryismanagedwithinputcontrolsatpresent,amovetomanagementbasedonindividualtransferablequotas(ITQs)isanticipatedinthefuture.TheTSTRLFisasingle-speciesfishery,withreasonableinformationaboutstocksandfishingcostsandrevenues.IssuessurroundinghighgradingandmonitoringlandingswouldneedtobeconsideredinamovetoITQs.

1 6 . 6 e n v i r o n m e n ta l i s s u e s

Thefisheryhasrelativelylittledirectimpactonothermarinespeciesandthemarinebenthosbecausethehandcollectionfishingmethodsallowcarefulselectionofcatch.Mortalityamongreleased,undersizedlobstersisaproblem,butitcanbemanagedwithdiverexperienceandshouldbeamelioratedbymovestolandagreaterproportionofthecatchalive.

1 6 . 7 h a rv e s t s t r at e g y p e r F o r m a n C e

Not applicable.