Proposed catch cap for commercial fishers in Port Phillip Bay
26 August 2015
A four week public consultation period has commenced today about a proposed sliding catch cap on the harvest of fish by licensed commercial fishers in Port Phillip Bay.
Fisheries Victoria met with Seafood Industry Victoria representatives yesterday to take them through the proposed changes.
The sliding cap is an integral part of phasing-out commercial netting in Port Phillip Bay, which was a commitment made last year in the State Government's Target One Million plan that aims to grow participation in the recreational fishing sector.
Fisheries Victoria Executive Director, Travis Dowling, said the proposed cap would prevent any increase in commercial fishing effort during the phase-out period of eight years.
"It will also ensure that as licences are bought out from the fishery the overall catch reduces in a fair and transparent way," Mr Dowling said.
"The cap will place an annual catch limit on each fishing access licence based on the average catch over five fishing years prior to the government's announcement to remove netting.
"After listening to industry it was decided to use an average of five years of catch as this was the fairest way to introduce the cap but also note individuals' personal circumstances and fluctuations in fish abundance.
"There is also a proposal to introduce new reporting requirements for commercial fishers to enable effective enforcement of the cap, consistent with best-practice fisheries management in Australia.
"Phasing-out netting in Port Phillip Bay will improve recreational fishing opportunities and help increase the number of anglers to one million, growing tourism and strengthening our rural and regional communities."
The four week consultation period, which provides the public with an opportunity to comment on the details of the proposed Fisheries Notice (Port Phillip Bay and Western Port Commercial Catch Limit), concludes on 25 September, 2015.
Read more about the Removal of net fishing from Port Phillip Bay.